FIGHTS: Retrospective - #Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

GODZILLA MIXES IT UP WITH A GIANT LOBSTER IN THIS CORNY CLASSIC
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

Things always get crazy in a Godzilla movie.  'Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster' was no exception. I'll let Wikipedia fill you in on the plot of this entry, and then ZBFbooks.com will provide some highlights during the final fight.

PLOT

After Yata (Toru Ibuki) is lost at sea, his brother Ryota (Toru Watanabe) steals a yacht with his two friends and a bank robber, the crew runs afoul of the giant lobster Ebirah, and washes up on the shore of an island, where a terrorist organization manufacturesheavy water for their purposes, as well as a chemical that keeps Ebirah at bay. The organization, known as the Red Bamboo, has enslaved natives from Infant Island to help them, but the natives hope to awaken Mothra to rescue them.

In their efforts to avoid capture, Ryota and his friends, aided by a beautiful native girl, stumble across Godzilla sleeping within a cliffside cavern. The group devises a plan to defeat the Red Bamboo and escape from the island. In the process, they wake Godzilla using a lightning rod. Godzilla fights Ebirah, but the giant crustacean escapes. Godzilla is then attacked by a giant condor and a squadron of Red Bamboo fighter jets, but destroys them.

The humans retrieve the missing Yata, free the enslaved natives and Godzilla begins to destroy the base. Godzilla smashes a tower that has a self-destruct button that makes the island unstable. Godzilla fights Ebirah and defeats it, ripping off both Ebirah's claws and causing it to retreat into the sea. The natives summon Mothra to save everyone, however, Godzilla challenges Mothra when she gets to the island. Mothra manages to push Godzilla away and carry the people off. Godzilla escapes the island just before it explodes.

BIG FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS

-- EBIRAH'S SPLASH ATTACK
You remember how when you went to the pool as a little kid and cupped your hands to splash your buddy?  Well, Ebirah uses this move to stun Godzilla when they're fighting in the water.  It works enough to blind him so Ebirah can drag him under water

-- GODZILLA USES BIG ROCKS TO SMASH STUFF
When Godzilla is dragged under water, he picks up a big rock and smacks Ebirah with it.  Ebirah wants none of it and takes off.

-- GODZILLA GETS SMACKED AROUND BY THE BIG ASS CLAWS
Ebirah doesn't put up much of a fight, but when he connects with his claw with looping hooks, they rock Godzilla.

-- GODZILLA'S WTF FACE WHEN MOTHRA SHOWS UP
After tearing off Ebirah's claws before running it off, Godzilla celebrates.  It's then he looks to the sky and see's an old enemy:  Mothra.  Mothra shows up to help some of her friends off the island, and it flips Godzilla out.

-- MOTHRA EXPLOITS GODZILLA'S HIGH CENTER OF GRAVITY
When he's not fighting or grappling with a giant monster, Godzilla has a very hard time maintaining a low center of gravity.  When Godzilla charges Mothra, who's just trying to save her human friends from an exploding island, Mothra uses her wings to generate high winds that knock Godzilla over.  That gives Mothra enough time to fly her friends away.

-- GODZILLA DOES A CANNONBALL INTO THE OCEAN
As the humans fly away, they don't want Godzilla killed in the explosion.  So they shout at Godzilla to jump off the island.  It seems to be able to understand what's going on, and he jumps in the ocean, cannonball style.

It's a fun classic entry to the series.  Check out the trailer here:

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

FIGHTS: Review - 'Godzilla: Final Wars' was ready made for PacRim fans ten years before

GODZILLA IS LUCKY HE GOT TOP BILLING OVER DON FRYE
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

 

Listen to me, Godzilla: Final Wars was outstanding as it not only put together some of the greatest monsters to ever come out of Japan to fight Godzilla, but the one of the greatest monsters to come out of the good ol' US of A to fight Godzilla:  Don Frye.  Check this out.

 

So, Godzilla had been put down at the north pole by a young Don Frye, who was an airman in a giant fighting rocket.  He was the one that pulled the trigger that buried Godzilla under a mountain of ice.

 

So a few decades later, Don is the captain of his own fighting rocket ship, who takes down kaiju with reckless abandon.  He gets in trouble after a mission for the tactics he used to take down the flying fire serpent monster, Manda, and gets put in the brig.

 

Members of his team are mutants, who have elevated fighting ability to defend the earth.  But the monster Gigan is discovered, and a scientist notes that Gigan has the same mutant DNA as the human mutants.

 

A race of aliens arrives to earth, the Xilians, and attempt to covertly take over the earth using the planet's most diabolical monsters that had gone on a rampage.  When the plan is discovered, the monsters wreck shop on the earth.  Don Frye is freed from prison, and with the remaining humans, is the earth's only hope against the invading aliens.

 

Their plan:  Free Godzilla from his icy tomb to throw down with a huge lineup of monsters:  Anguirus, Ebirah, Gigan (who is an absolute mecha-terror in this one), Rodan, Hedorah the Smog Monster, Kamacuras, King Caesar, Kumonga, Godzilla 2000, and the powerful Monster X (Monster XX II), who makes its first appearance here.

 

When I say 'the story is actually pretty good', remember we're talking about a Godzilla movie here.  This isn't 'The English Patient', okay.  Just to make that clear.  It's a fun story of face/heels with high stakes and lots of monster action.

 

But what I appreciated the most, even over the monster action, was the cast.  Don Frye in a featured role, playing a military leader and putting his MMA training to good use in some of the final human on mutant fight scenes.

But he's not the only martial arts action here in the movie with legit street cred.  The legendary modern MMA fighter, Masakatsu Funaki is also featured in this movie.  And the son of the old school Kung-Fu Theatre flicks, Kane Koshugi, son of Sho Koshugi is also featured.  Hell, he's an action star in Japan.  Gary Goodridge even makes an cameo, as well as Kasayuki Fujita.

 

Bottom line, if you like Godzilla movies, you got to check this out.  You'll get an extra treat if you are familiar with some of the big names from MMA's early days.

 

Eat your heart out, Pacific Rim!

 

 

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' Zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  His latest novel, 'Alamo Rising' is a supernatural horror story about a curse unleashed in San Antonio, Texas, and is available in Kindle or paperback here.

 

Network with Bowie at his official website, ZombieBloodFights.com.