Dir. Jun Fukuda
84 Minutes
Japan
1967
Starring: Tadeo Takashima, Akira Kubo, Beverly Maeda, Akihiko Hirata, Yoshio Tsuchiya
**1/2/*****
Second of Jun Fukuda's pair of Godzilla films with an island focus, this time completely tipping into the absurdly juvenile with the introduction of Godzilla's rather hideous son (later named Minilla) which appears in an egg that has absolutely no backstory whatsoever (all procreation must be inferred. . .) The arbitrary human drama involves some scientists who run an experiment that goes amuck, causing temperatures to go up to two hundred degrees and some already giant mantis' to get even bigger. Naturally Godzilla needs to take care of these things (as well as a giant spider who will return in the next installment), but before that he needs to show the demon child the ropes of how to be menacing. The kaiju-youth (played by former professional midget wrestling 'Little Man' Machan) tries to roar, attempts a paltry beam from its mouth, and rides on Godzilla's tail to get around, and it is all really bizarre (though certainly entertaining) stuff, But it all feels rather routine and uninspired, the island setting once again mostly a drag, the human narrative not even absurdly fun (like when assassins were trying to complete a job during the Godzilla fight), and the new addition does not give the freshness of something like Ghidorah or Invasion of Astro-Monster. Low installment, and Honda makes a welcome return in the next two.
Viewed on May 11th, 2020
Part of the ongoing Godzilla Project, notes on selected films in the Godzilla franchise.