S02E12 - Godzilla vs. Megalon

Plot

Nuclear tests being performed underwater have resulted in the destruction of a third of Seatopia, an underground civilization that was sent beneath the earth thousands of years ago. In retaliation, Seatopia sends several agents to Earth's surface to capture the robot of a scientist and use it to lead the monster Megalon on a destructive rampage across the land. Only Godzilla can combat this menace and restore peace to the world.


Movie Review

Yet another anti-nuclear film makes its way onto the screens of MST3K, but this one is a bit more interesting than previous films in that this one features Japanese icon Godzilla, that lovable allegory for nuclear weapons that happens to be a giant rampaging lizard. Granted, the subtlety of the original Godzilla movie's stance on nuclear war has somewhat been diminished over the years as the movies became more and more about giant monsters fighting other giant monsters. And while Godzilla vs. Megalon does feature some slight commentary on nuclear testing, no one really cares when one can watch a giant lizard and robot battle two giant evil monsters.

There is a story to be found in this movie, but it's complete fluff and barely worth worry about. The anti-nuclear sentiment is isolated in segments about the "enemy" in this flick, an underworld kingdom called Seatopia who had 1/3 of their population wiped out by underwater nuclear tests. Outside of that, the plot involves two scientists (I think) and a young annoying boy (because tokusatsu kaiju films always have children) in some ridiculous side plot about a robot one of the scientists built. Its only purpose is to provide backstory for Jet Jaguar, the scientist's robot that will eventually help fight alongside Godzilla. And anytime you see the human characters on screen, you will just beg for the movie to skip straight to the giant monsters.

Because this is a kaiju flick, and giant monsters battling it out is where it is at! Not content with just the eponymous Godzilla and Megalon, the film also throws in the aforementioned Jet Jaguar and a monster from a previous Godzilla flick called Gigan. The climactic battle that they pull of is...well, ridiculous! Kaiju flicks can get pretty silly at times, but it's unlikely they'll ever be as silly as the fight seen in this film. The monsters jump around and bounce into the air like preschool kids on a sugar high, and they do things like high five each other and shake hands. And watching Megalon and Gigan scrape their hands together like they're clapping or preparing for a fight...hilarious! It's completely stupid, but it's also incredibly entertaining, which makes the fight a must see.

The rest of the movie, despite not having the same charm as the monster fight, is still bewilderingly entertaining as well. Car chases that make no sense, toys and house decorations that obviously made by mad men, military that lets a civilian take charge of an operation, a robot that grows into a giant because it "programs" itself to do so...it's all hilariously bad and yet oddly compelling. Alas, despite all the wacky goofiness, the characters are annoying as hell. Forget the atrocious dubbing, the characters' personalities are blank slates with itemized and phoned-in traits. The young boy, especially, is incredibly irritating (and did I say forget the atrocious dubbing? I lied. His voice is horrible!).

There are, of course, a few good reasons for why this movie is such a mess. First, it was originally intended to be a movie staring the robot Jet Jaguar, but Godzilla was added because the film makers felt the robot couldn't carry the film by himself. Second, the film was shot in a span of three weeks, which is still better than a Bert I. Gordon film but is still incredibly rushed. And finally...Godzilla is a good guy! Why is Godzilla a good guy? He was a bad guy in the original film, but by this one (his thirteenth film) he's become a good guy who comes at the beck and call of a toy robot. Why? I'm guessing the answer might lie in previous films I have not seen, but still, why?

In the end, despite its convoluted story and ridiculous monster fighting antics, Godzilla vs. Megalon is actually a really entertaining film, if only because of the silliness. The highlight, of course, is the giant monster fight, but there is some merit to be found in the rest of the movie (when that stupid kid isn't talking, of course).


MST3K Review

Several people have said that this movie is one of the best film in the entire MST3K series. While I don't entirely agree with that, I do agree that it is one of the highlights of Season 2 and one of the best episodes in the series thus far. The riffs were sharp and well delivered, and they got especially witty when the giant monsters started their epic brawl. A silly but watchable movie made even better by some great joke delivery by Joel and the bots.

Also, while I'm not really interested in reviewing the host segments for reasons previously stated, the Orville Redenbacher skit was one of the funniest things I've seen in the show to date.


Stinger Review

All of the brilliant cheese in this film...and they choose this as the stinger? Godzilla leaping off a cliff and canon-balling into the ocean below? Granted, it does look a little silly, but it's nowhere near on the bizarre level of some previous stingers we've seen. A much better stinger would've been Godzilla's flying kick into Megalon as he was being held by Jet Jaguar, a kick so ridiculous that it was done twice in the movie (not to mention it was more than short enough to work as a stinger). An incredible episode that went out on an anticlimactic note with such a disappointing stinger.