Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster
Starring: Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata, Jun Tazaki, Chotaro Togin
Directed by: Jun Fukuda
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
1966

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Four Japanese men are shipwrecked on a strange island. They soon discover the island is inhabited by a terrorist organization, and blocked from all escape by a giant lobster named Ebirah. The terrorists hunt them down, and their only means of escape is to unleash Godzilla, who is sleeping on the island.

Review:

Tim: After the disappointingly flawed Invasion of Astro-Monster, it wouldn't require too much to get this franchise going back in the right direction. Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster is a similarly flawed movie, but it is better than its predecessor.

I liked the introduction of a new monster, Ebirah, a giant lobster/crab/shrimp thing. It is a bit silly, but it was nice to get some new blood into the franchise, and to give Godzilla a slightly different challenge this time. I hate to say it, but it was probably a good idea to get a new director for this film, instead of Ishiro Honda. I don' want to say anything bad about Honda, bt after the last film, the franchise needed some new vision. New director Jun Fukuda plays it safe by sticking to Honda's approach, but gives the film his own touches, too.

I am not sure how much I liked the idea of the terrorist/spy organization. It seemed a bit silly, but then again, it was a different approach to the Godzilla movies, and so, in that context, I appreciated it. There was a small subplot about nuclear weapons, and I love anytime that is mentioned in a Godzilla movie. That reminds me of the very first (and best) film in the franchise.

The new characters are pretty decent, and I appreciate that we were given enough time to really get to know them. The film spends a good amount of time developing these characters (probably for budgetary, not intentional reasons, but why complain?) and that helps the film quite a bit. I actually thought the movie could have used a little less with our Japanese castaways and more giant monster action.

The battle scenes between Godzilla and Ebirah are pretty impressive. I loved the focus on the water for the battle. There are a few underwater fight sequences, which are pretty impressive. The battle between these two foes is one of the better ones in the entire franchise. I really enjoyed that. I also liked that we got an extra battle between Godzilla and a giant condor. I admit I was confused by this scene, but it was fun nevertheless.

This film has some big flaws as well. Again, too much is ridiculous and hard to believe for the movie to be very convincing. There are also some absurd scenes. The rock tossing battle between Godzilla and Ebirah is pretty crazy- what was the point? It obviously looked the rock wasn't going to hurt much if they could just swat it back and forth like a tennis ball. There was also an awful moment when Godzilla looks at the camera and touches his nose. I know this was some joke/cultural reference that audiences in the 1960s would get, but I thought it was terrible. Any time Godzilla is anthropomorphized, I feel like the movie automatically gets worse.

The end of the film is a bit silly, too. We have a nuclear bomb exploding, Mothra (Yay Mothra- my favorite of all the monsters!) saving the humans via a giant net that they made out of vines), and the humans shouting to Godzilla from a helicopter so he could save himself. The film ends in pretty ridiculous fashion, I'm afraid.

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster isn't a great movie. However, it represents a small step up from the previous installment. While there were plot holes here, they weren't so gaping that your soul and your love for movies would get sucked into them. Many were actually quite forgivable. This is a decent movie, and it gives us enough giant monster battles to keep us somewhat satisfied.

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