Gojira, Ebirâ, Mosura: Nankai no daiketto (1966) Directed by Jun Fukuda

This one generally speaking isn't among the most liked Gojira movies and I can definitely see why but personally, I still enjoyed the movie!

It's still definitely true though that this movie feels like a step down from the Ishirô Honda directed entries. The humor and characters feel a bit too goofy again at parts and the fight scenes aren't among the best or most memorable ones but I still feel that this movie does a more than good job bringing some entertainment to the screen.

Even though most of the characters are goofy and over-the-top, they still are some likable ones, which isn't something I can say about just every Gojira entry. And the humans actually always play a very important and big part in these movies, since Gojira and pals usually only take up about 20% of the movie.

Guess that another reason why people aren't too fond of this movie is because it's mostly taking place at the same locations. Most of the movie is set on a remote island and it's also not hard to see that this originally was supposed to be another King Kong flick. The settings definitely suit the character better and the movie also would have made more sense story-wise if the big ape guy had appeared in this movie, instead of the big lizard guy. Gojira needs some more room to move around really and some more buildings, train tracks and tanks on his path to stomp on and destroy.

Gojira of course still fights though. In this case against Ebirah, the giant lobster. Sounds silly as always but Ebirah actually is a pretty awesome looking and good adversary in my opinion. It also makes sense; Gojira has fought against kaijus on land, creatures who attacked him from the air and even in space, so it only was a matter of time for a water monster to appear, who would take on Gojira. To spice things up, Mothra also makes her return, who is always a welcome addition to any Gojira movie in my opinion. I still have to say that none of the fight scenes are shot as well or as awesome and fun to watch as in any of the earlier Gojira movies though. Not saying that they are bad or disappointing, just not as good and fun as some of the other ones that I have seen so far.

It's definitely not one of the best Gojira movies but fans of the series should still be able to take some enjoyment out of it. It's stupid and silly to watch but that at the same time is also what makes the movie such a fun and entertaining one.

7/10

Watch trailer