1965 monster movieRating: 14/20 (Jen: 10/20)
Plot: Earthlings discover Planet X, a new planet that seems dangerously close to Jupiter. They travel there, seemingly in a few days, to investigate and plant a goofy-looking flag. They meet the inhabitants of Planet X, underground mole people who speak in an eerie monotone that should have probably given away the fact that they were up to no good all along. They also, oddly enough, call their planet Planet X. Turns out that Planet X has a few problems. There's not enough water and a flying three-headed Ghidarah won't leave them alone. They ask the earthlings to lend them Godzilla and Rodan in exchange for a special medicine that can cure anything. But can the inhabitants of Planet X be trusted?
My expertise in Godzilla flicks is next-to-nothing, but this is definitely an enjoyable movie. I really thought about boosting the rating by five just because of that little victory dance Godzilla does on Planet X. That's one of my favorite movie moments of the year! I would have liked to see more of the monsters, just like when I watch kung-fu movies and want to see more fighting. The special effects are great for the 1950's which, since this movie was made in the mid-60's, gives this a sort of childish naivete. I saw strings attached to Ghidorah, but I still really liked the effects involved to make that monster work. He's flying, he's flapping, he's gesticulating with his tail, and he's waving all of his heads around. I had my brained turned completely off, so I didn't even try to figure out how he worked. Stop-animation? Puppetry? A three-armed man in a suit? Nick Adams has some great lines as the astronaut who is smart enough to figure out that things aren't what they seem but not smart enough to do anything about it. Aside from certain aspects of the holey story (this screenplay was obviously written by a team of scientists), I did have a couple questions: 1) Why is the rocket ship flying through clouds on its way to Planet X? 2) What's with the footprints they find on Planet X? The X-ers seem to walk normally, but those footprints look like a flamboyant drunkard's footprints. Regardless of its many flaws, you've got giant monsters pushing each other around, giant explosions, cool aliens, model destruction. And that funky dance! What's not to love?
This was watched in honor of Cory's birthday.
I am truly touched. I saw this movie for the first time when I was seven years old, and since I haven't matured at all since then, I still love this movie just as much. It's hard for me to pick my favorite moment, but Godzilla's dance, Nick Adams' rage at being involved in this, and the final battle are all up there. I think my favorite moment and maybe the moment that changed my life forever is the first appearance of King Ghidrah (or Ghidorah for the purists). If my seven year-old vocabulary could have included the phrase "what the fu#@?", I would have said it right then. It was unlike anything I had seen, and it was cool beyond words. These types of movies are indefensible to most people (although the score is objectively terrific), but I will always love them. I love that you gave it a fair shot on my birthday. Outside of a pile of cash, it is the best present I could have asked for. It is still one of my top 40 movies of all-time and gets a 20.
ReplyDelete"Nick Adams' rage at being involved in this"...ha ha.
ReplyDeleteI'll likely see the other two (?) in your top 150 soon enough.
Now I'm touched that you still have my list. I forgot to mention that I liked your line about Adams being smart enough to know something was wrong, but not smart enough to do anything about it. Nice.
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