Review: Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster/Godzilla vs. Ebirah

Whilst shipwrecked on an island, three young men team up with a mystery man of possible criminal persuasion (Akira Takarada) to thwart the evil atomic plans of a secret criminal organisation known as The Red Bamboo. Meanwhile, Godzilla tangles with the likes of the title monster, as well as Giant Condor, with Mothra chipping in from time to time as well. Jun Tazaki and Akihiko Hirata (eye-patch in tow) play the Red Bamboo Commander and a Red Bamboo Captain, respectively. Considered by many to be among the worst of the Show Era in Godzilla films, this

1966 Jun Fukuda film definitely brings Godzilla and Mothra far too late to the party. It also has goofy young protagonists that didn’t quite ingratiate themselves with me entirely, I must say. However, this very, very 1960s film is mostly quite solid stuff and certainly of superior quality to “Son of Godzilla” and “Terror of Mechagodzilla” from the same director. Scripted by Shinichi Sekizawa (some of the best kaiju films: “Mothra”, “Godzilla vs. Mothra”, and “Godzilla vs. Monster Zero”), the plot and characters here are a bit different from the norm, which has its positives and negatives. It’s got a “Happy Days” or “Gilligan’s Island” vibe to the early scenes that won’t be to everyone’s liking, but certainly does make the film stand out a bit.

I assume Toho were appealing to a teen audience here, much in the same way that American films of the 60s like “Beach Blanket Bingo” did, but with the added bonus of men in rubber monster suits. I know which I’d prefer. However, aside from Akira Takarada playing a more roguish character than usual, our leads are goofy and for me rather hard to take. Your mileage may differ. Nice smaller turns by eye-patch sporting Akihiko Hirata and old pro Jun Tazaki in authority figure roles, but the former is as wasted as Mothra is here. Mothra looks terrific, but turns up even later than Godzilla, whose late entry is a real shame. Aside from that, the real strength here is indeed in the monster footage, some of the best in the entire Showa Era. Right from the very first moment we see only its giant claw, Tazaki proves to have a good grasp of the monster action. His films may gravitate towards the juvenile and stupid at times, but here he definitely gets the most important thing just about spot-on: The monsters. The G-man may make a late arrival here, but once he does? This is lots of fun, though Giant Condor is a third-rate Rodan-by-another-name, and is about as useful in a skirmish as Rodan. Which is not at all. Godzilla is in complete dick mode to Ebirah here, just fucking with the giant lobster for the sake of being a dick. It’s great fun watching Godzilla act like a big swinging dick. I particularly liked the bit where Godzilla and Ebirah play catch with a giant rock. You might think that Ebirah being a water-based monster might make the fights sluggish and dull, but for me that proved not the case. The final 30 minutes or so of the film is terrific stuff, with Fukuda using a lot of close-ups for the monster action which proves interesting. On the downside, the ending is horribly rushed and Ebirah ends up being a little bit forgotten about. It also features corny anti-nuclear sentiment expressed by a bubble-headed idiot.

One of the more outlandish Godzilla’s film, it gets a lot of flack online, but I’ll bet it’s someone’s favourite. I like it too, even if it’s not one of the best. Getting to the monsters quicker would’ve helped immensely, I think. Still good fun once it gets going.

Rating: B-