Godzilla vs. Gigan
Starring: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima, Tomoko Umeda, Toshiaki Nishizawa
Directed by: Jun Fukuda
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror, Action, Adventure
1972

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An alien race brings monsters from outer space to conquer Earth. Only Godzilla and Anguirus stand in their way.

Review:

Tim: After the franchise delivered its strongest film in years (Godzilla vs. Hedorah), I was excited about the prospect of this franchise again. Unfortunately, a producer was very unhappy with the previous film and wanted to return the franchise to its roots- Godzilla fighting alien invaders. Because going back to do what you've already done is always a brilliant move! Despite my severe anger at Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, I suppose I have to deal with what this franchise delivered. Godzilla vs. Gigan is definitely a step back for the franchise, but it's still one of the more decent entries in the series (which, honestly, isn't saying a whole lot).

The humans in this film stumble across a conspiracy by giant cockroach aliens (seriously), who are determined to conquer Earth by summoning two space monsters, King Ghidorah and the titular Gigan, to destroy mankind. Take a second to let that sink in. If you can follow that and not immediately hate the direction, you may find some enjoyment in this film. I will say that it at least gives Godzilla and Anguirus a legitimate reason to engage in monster-on-monster violence. It's not that they are "good" and trying to save humanity, it's just that they don't like anyone else stepping into their turf. At least that's what I tell myself to be able to watch the film.

Like most films in the franchise, the human characters are weak and underdeveloped. I will say that they actually were slightly better than many films in the franchise. By pitting our four protagonists against the evil alien cockroaches, we at least had a rooting interest in the good guys. I did enjoy the mystery elements of the story as our protagonists try to figure out what's going on. I suppose the giant Godzilla Tower was somewhat clever, at least it offered something we haven't seen numerous times before. The giant laser in its mouth was a little much, but what are you going to do?

Now, the #1 reason why you watch a movie like this is to see monsters fighting monsters and wrecking stuff. Right? The fight scenes here are actually pretty decent. I like when Godzilla seems to be in over his head. The battle royale features a two-on-two clash: Godzilla and Anguirus vs. King Ghidorah and Gigan (a more accurate but too long title). I actually felt bad for Godzilla because Anguirus spends most of the film doing next to nothing. If you're looking for an ally against overwhelming odds, Anguirus would not be my first choice. The villains here are outstanding. Ghidorah further cements his status as the greatest opponent Godzilla has faced. The three heads and his array of powers are quite impressive. I liked the new addition of Gigan. I'm not entirely sure what kind of space monster he is, but he's brutal. He has this crazy saw blade in his abdomen and giant spike things for hands. He really felt like a menacing, terrible force for Godzilla to battle. To my knowledge, this is the first film to ever show Godzilla bleed. I remember the moment when I saw the bright red blood spatter. This is the 12th movie in the franchise, so I've grown accustomed to it. The sight of blood made me sit up and take notice. It was a little thing, but with so many films in the franchise, anything the movie does to differentiate itself is welcome (as long as it's not stupid).

The film deserves heavy criticism for recycling the music and too many scenes of stock footage. That prevents the film from being anywhere close to good. The humans are way too undeveloped and engage in some ridiculous moments (the assault on the tower was absurd, especially how they got the villains to shoot the dynamite). The monster battles were certainly the highlight, but cool battles don't make a great movie.

While Godzilla vs. Gigan is not as good as Godzilla vs. Hedorah, it's still an improvement over the three movies previous. This is the second film in a row that was at least somewhat decent in the franchise, but I hope we're not on a downward slope. This franchise still has potential- let's hope the producers can discover it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gojira, Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, San of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. Hedorah