A step down from previous Godzilla films, but it occasionally has its moments. There has been some discrepancy as to what type of creature Ebirah the Sea Monster really is (a mammoth lobster? a giant shrimp? a humongous crab?), but I'd settle on lobster myself. Anyway, it's a really huge red sea beast with long claws that guards an island where militaristic bad guys toy with nuclear reactors and steal natives off of Infant Island (home of Mothra) to work as their slaves. Meanwhile, a tiny band of unlikely heroes, one of them a fleeing bank robber, board a boat and somehow manage to get themselves shipwrecked on the island. After a lengthy wait of over 50 minutes (!), the slumbering Godzilla is mercifully awakened by a lightning storm and delivers a much-anticipated water fight with Ebirah, which is both fun and funny. Mothra and her two twin girls make a token appearance, but theirs is not much to get excited about if you're a fan.
This movie also features some groovy rock 'n' roll muzak as part of its soundtrack, and some amusing monster fights (you've gotta see the handball bit where Godzilla repeatedly bounces a boulder off his head while Ebirah keeps swatting it back to him). The series still has its 1960s charm and innocence, but this is one of the lesser adventures from that decade and is best appreciated by Godzilla completists only. ** out of ****
This movie also features some groovy rock 'n' roll muzak as part of its soundtrack, and some amusing monster fights (you've gotta see the handball bit where Godzilla repeatedly bounces a boulder off his head while Ebirah keeps swatting it back to him). The series still has its 1960s charm and innocence, but this is one of the lesser adventures from that decade and is best appreciated by Godzilla completists only. ** out of ****