Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Godzilla vs. Megalon
Year: 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese

By 1973 Godzilla was no longer a representative mankind’s nuclear sins, the King of the Monsters found himself re-purposed as a kid-friendly hero trotted out to fend off a challenge from whatever monster Toho concocted to destroy Japan every year. Toho quickly looked to the skies to book Godzilla’s challenger, but he would also fight foes from below. This is the case with Megalon, a sea-god worshipped by Seatopia, a long-lost civilization looking to rise and conquer the Earth. 

The undersea nation of Seatopia sends the gigantic Megalon to destroy the world above - and it's up to Godzilla and a size-shifting robot, Jet Jaguar, to defeat him.

Godzilla is, unfortunately, firmly a kid's mascot in this era of the series.  Godzilla’s reconfiguration isn’t unlike the monsters that preceded him and those that followed. You either die the villain or live long enough to become the hero...that was the Dark Knight quote right? Godzilla vs. Megalon can be a real chore at times, even attempts at being "different" can appear to be very mechanical in nature. 

The ridiculous looking effects  speaks to how the franchise deteriorating production values compound the other problems on set. What good can be said about Godzilla vs. Megalon? Well, the end battle is somewhat of a spectacle to see. We at least get to enjoy a unique tag team battle wherein Jet Jaguar (a robot) and Godzilla (a nuclear dinosaur) fight Megalon ( a sea god). You don't see that everyday!

When your film is panned by MST3K then you know your film is BAD. I would watch almost every other Gojira picture before this and I have put up with a lot from this series. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka famously thought that Godzilla vs. Hedorah ruined the franchise, but this film brought it to a new low.