Invasion of Astro-Monster 1965

The great fierce battle between Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah that will sway the ruler of the Universe, Planet X!

6.8 / 10   190 vote(s)
G
Action Adventure Science Fiction

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As Glenn investigates, he develops a romance with Miss Namikawa and uncovers the Xilien's true intentions.

Release Date 1965-12-19
Runtime 1h 36m
Directors Ishirō Honda, Hajime Koizumi, Koji Hashimoto, Eiji Tsuburaya, Kôji Kajita
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
Writer Shinichi Sekizawa

We need from you Monster Zero 1 and Monster Zero 2, Godzilla and Rodan.

It's one of those Godzilla movies where you fully understand why some fans of the "Zilla" series positively dislike it. The big atomic lizard is only a bit part player here, and when push comes to shove the monster mayhem is in short supply, which considering we also have Ghidorah and Rodan in the mix is for sure a bit of a waste. Yet this is one of the better sequels from Toho's original wave, it quite literally has all the ingredients that made "Zilla" and the off-shoots so iconic.

We are in live action cartoon territory, a sci-fi story of bonkers proportions yet engrossing all the same. The joyous model work synonymous with the series remains intact, the cardboard sets being obliterated are still fun to watch, and the divisive sight of "Zilla" doing the "shay" dance is in here whether you like it or not. More fun, though, is watching "Zilla" boxing the three headed Ghidorah, now that is comedy gold, if only the moody lizard had gone southpaw a bit earlier then saving the world could have been achieved quicker.

Great fun, could have been better from a monster point of view? Yes, definitely, but this be a nutty fruitcake production from Toho and amen to that. 8/10

John Chard