“Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster” Review

Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster is the very first Godzilla film I ever saw. If you’re thinking I have some sentimental attachment to this film, you’d be correct. But for the purpose of this review, I tried the best I could to try and remove that sentimental feeling I have for this film in order to review it with a critical eye and to give my best assessment as far as how good, or bad, the movie actually is; and I think I did well.

So, in terms of a 10 rating, where does Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster stand amongst other Godzilla movies? Read on!

Story: This is Jun Fukuda’s first Godzilla movie. Fukuda is known more for his crime thrillers and it shows here with the characters. Yoshimura is our bank robber and we get a terrorist organization in the Red Bamboo. Even the score, by Masaru Sato, has a James Bond-esque feel to the film.

This movie, also, is the first movie that breaks away from the previous films. In other words, it’s not a direct sequel of sorts like the previous films. That doesn’t hurt the film in the least.

The idea of a terrorist organization developing nuclear weapons on a remote island in the South Pacific is fresh for the Godzilla series and is suspenseful. I still find myself, to some extent, on the edge of my seat every time the nuclear timer is set off. Not to mention the numerous encounters our protagonists have with the Red Bamboo.

What makes the story interesting here has a little more to do with character development than anything else. I, personally, believe this film doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves for its story, character development, and human drama.

One thing I did notice, though, is that, while Godzilla, Ebirah, and Mothra do play a role in this movie, they weren’t necessary. What do I mean? I mean if you take all three of these kaiju out, it wouldn’t change the movie that much. So, as a bit of a drawback for this film, the monsters are unnecessary. Nevertheless, they do fit in.

Regardless of the fact that the kaiju aren’t necessary, the story is intriguing and entertaining. We have interesting characters we feel some connection to and enough kaiju action to, somewhat, satisfy our monster palette.

Special Effects: There isn’t a whole lot to say about the effects in this movie. Most of it is set on an island and there are very few miniatures on set. The Godzilla suit is reused from the previous film and Mothra looks like she’s had some touch-up work done. The new kaiju, Ebirah, looks very realistic despite not being an impressive foe.

The matte paintings, however, are impressive, and are throughout much of the Showa era. I found the Yahlen miniature to work very well as the stand in when the ship is experiencing turbulence and crashes into Ebirah’s claw. Eiji Tsuburaya’s team did a fantastic job with that!

There isn’t a whole lot to discuss in this film when it comes to effects. While there are not grand cityscape miniatures, what we do get is good. While some may give the effects for this film a low score, because of the absence of other miniatures, I have to give it a better score. This isn’t the decade when budgets were severely slashed for Godzilla films. That began with Godzilla’s Revenge. The Ebirah suit, also, is very impressive and has nice detail to movement of eyes and antennae.

Acting: While Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster is considered a middle-of-the-road Godzilla film by most fans, we do have some great actors in this film!

Akira Takarada, as Yoshimura, does a fine job playing his role. He comes off as stern and, somewhat, unpredictable. Kumi Mizuno plays the strong Daiyo well. Akihiko Hirata, as Captain Ryuui, looks like Dr. Serizawa from Gojira. Yet his character has a cold demeanor about him that, perhaps, only Takarada, couldn’ve pulled off well.

Hideo Sunazuka is the comic relief here with Nita. While his character isn’t annoying like most comic reliefs tend to be, his character does contribute to the story and the characters’ plight to get off the island. Nevertheless, while Sunazuka’s acting is very good, it clashes a bit with the overall chemistry of the characters. I won’t, though, dock many points as a result of that, for Sunazuka was doing what he was told; and he did it well.

Battles: Outside of the several encounters the protagonists have with the antagonists, we get some decent battles in Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster.

The two battles with Ebirah are entertaining, but relatively short. The final battle is longer, but the interweaving of what’s happening with the characters makes the battle seem shorter than it really is. The brief skirmish Godzilla has with Mothra is a nice touch and Godzilla’s battles with Ookondoru (the giant condor) and the fighter planes are fun.

Of course, we would love to see more Godzilla vs. Ebirah action. But part of the shortcomings with those battles are due to the simple fact Ebirah is nothing more than a giant lobster with no special abilities or powers. They do a good job of keeping Ebirah in the battles as long as they could and I have to admit it’s nice to have Godzilla battle a kaiju without some sort of beam weapons or other extraordinary abilities. The film crew needs to be recognized for that. Even if it does, in the big scheme of things, make the battles still very one-sided.

Human Drama: Rarely, in my opinion, do you find a Godzilla film where 1) the characters are fleshed out well enough for the audience to establish a connection with them and 2) the characters’ actions having so much of a fun impact on the film and carrying most of the story along.

Sure, we watch these movies mostly to watch the giant monsters, but we all know people are going to play a part in the story. For the most part, these individuals need to be interesting and to, importantly, help move the story along; especially when the kaiju don’t dominate the film as much such as this one.

In all my viewings of Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster, I have never felt like the human drama was boring or unnecessary. The writers did a great job of not adding a lot of fluff to the story and sticking to what needed to be focused on.

Overall: Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster is an overlooked and under-appreciated film. I have always believed this film deserves more credit than it actually gets, but it is glossed over throughout the series. Heck, I even have to admit that I forget the movie exists sometimes, and this was my very first Godzilla movie!

While the kaiju antagonist, Ebirah, is nothing impressive in terms of a foe for Godzilla, his execution is impressive. The actors involved with this project are ones we’ve seen many times over in the series and are considered to be some of the best within the series. The kaiju battles are short, and it does take a while for Godzilla to come out of his deep sleep. But when he’s revived, he begins to steal the show.

I advise fans to definitely take a look at this film. Sure, Godzilla fighting a giant lobster doesn’t seem like much fun, but it actually is enjoyable and, thankfully, much of the surrounding story elements are enjoyable as well. Otherwise, this would maybe be the worst film in the series.