GODZILLA’S REVENGE (1969) **

Ichiro (Tomonori Yazaki) is a bullied latchkey kid who returns home from school and disappears into his own imaginary world.  There, he takes flight to Monster Island and watches Godzilla duke it out with some monsters, courtesy of stock footage from Son of Godzilla.  Ichiro falls into a hole, and Minya, the Son of Godzilla helps him out.  They quickly become chummy and watch more monster battles together. 

I’ve long had a theory about Godzilla.  It is my belief that his film career closely resembled Elvis Presley’s.  Early on, they were both wild, dangerous entities that were signals of the upheaval and change in the world around them.  About a decade into their run, their edge and mystique faded.  No longer a dark and scary force of nature, they became audience-friendly matinee idols and often wound up playing opposite cute kids.  Despite their latter-day shortcomings, I still maintain that any Godzilla or Elvis movie is still worth watching, just for the sheer fact that they’re in it.

Some would argue Godzilla’s Revenge is the nadir of the entire series because it is the most cloying, silly, and obvious cash-grab made at the kiddie market.  It features an annoying juvenile hero in too-tight shorts (who seems modeled on the Kenny character from the Gamera movies), relies heavily on stock footage, and runs a brisk 69 minutes.  While I agree that most of this is dumber than a bag of hammers, it does have a certain charm about it.  Say what you will about it; at least it’s not boring, like Godzilla vs. Monster Zero.  

The scenes on Monster Island are kind of fun, even if they mostly consist of recycled footage from Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Son of Godzilla.  The scenes of Ichiro and Minya palling around are cool in a kitschy way.  It’s the scenes that take place in the “real world” that are kind of the problem.  I know Godzilla movies aren’t exactly known for their “dramatic” scenes with actual human beings, but the stuff with the kid and his absentee parents is downright annoying.  The subplot about Ichiro getting mixed up with a gang of bank robbers is especially dire and the whole thing just kind of fizzles out in the end.

In the American dubbed version, Minya sounds like a cross between Goofy and George from Of Mice and Men.  (In the Japanese version, he sounds more childlike.)  The subtitled version does have the benefit of a hilarious theme song, so both versions have their merits.  Despite the cheapjack nature of the whole enterprise, this is far from the worst one in the series.  Not a ringing endorsement for sure, but the kids are sure to love it.

AKA:  All Monsters Attack.  AKA:  Minya:  Son of Godzilla.  AKA:  Godzilla:  All Monsters Attack.  AKA:  Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara:  All Monsters Attack.  AKA:  All Monsters on Parade.  AKA:  Attack All Monsters.  AKA:  Great Charge of All Monsters.