Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965)
Godzilla Minus One is coming to American theaters as of December first, after enjoying a strong showing in Japan, and I thought it would be cool to look at one of the older titles by way of whetting the proverbial whistle. Heh. 1965’s Invasion of the Astro-Monster gave me more than I bargained for. Way, way more. And also way, way less.
It’s sometime in the future, and astronauts Glenn and Fuji are on their way to Planet X, where they meet supposedly friendly locals, the Xiliens. They’re so friendly, in fact, they rebuild Glenn and Fuji’s spacecraft for them and give them a cordial send-off.
Oh, but first the Earthlings have to watch in horror from the Xiliens’ underground base while a three-headed creature called Monster Zero comes around to go smashie-smashie on the rocky landscape. Fuji and Glenn have seen the monster before because he also attacked Earth. The Xiliens request the Earthlings send Godzilla and Rodan to them to fight off Monster Zero because two heads are better than one, especially when the enemy has three.
There’s a catch, though. There’s always a catch. The Xiliens aren’t as friendly as they seem, Glenn starts dating a mysterious woman who’s just a little too curious about his work, and Fuji’s sister gets serious about her boyfriend, a nice-enough scientist Fuji can’t stand. Then there’s the small matter of fishing Godzilla and Rodan out of the lake where they’ve been snoozing since the last movie. There’s obviously a battle or two ahead, where things go crash and smash because kaiju.
Oh gosh, this movie. I had so many buts. On one hand, the production design was pretty cool, but on the other hand, it looked cheap, particularly the Xilians’ flying saucers, which appeared to have been made out of plaster of Paris and showed visible strings. On one hand, the story is good, but on the other, a lot of the dialogue is clunky and repetitive (“We have mutual trust in each other.”). One one hand, the monsters weren’t bad and seemed appropriately menacing, but on the other they were hilarious.
I think that part stood out to me the most. First of all, we don’t see much of the monsters and instead focus on the evil aliens and political intrigue, but when the monsters are around they, again, fall between menacing and hilarious. In one scene when Monster Zero flies off, Godzilla is apparently supposed to be all mad or something, but he looks like he’s dancing a jig, or maybe the Macarena.
Astro-Monster’s fight scenes get even more confusing. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s on what side, especially once the movie hits a point when all bets are off and a somewhat flaccid three-way ensues. Points must be given for creativity on the part of the creatures, though—in one scene Rodan picks up Godzilla and flies him straight at Monster Zero, where Godzilla starts swinging. It doesn’t work too well, but it’s a nice try, anyway.
The key with Godzilla films seems to be to just take whatever comes and not take any of it too seriously. I know a lot of people wax lyrical about these movies because they’re definitely fun, and sometimes I wonder if it’s the lore or the evident hokiness that grabs people. Seeing Godzilla Minus One next month is going to be very interesting.
Invasion of the Astro-Monster is currently streaming on HBO Max. Rated G.
My grade: C+ for the movie, A+ for the kitsch.
Principal Cast: Akira Takarada, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Keiko Suwai, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Takamaru Sasaki, Gen Shimizu, Yoshifumi Tajima, Haruo Nakajima, Masaki Shinohara, Shiochi Hirose
Directed by Ishiro Honda.
Written by Shinichi Sekizawa.