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Friday, April 12, 2019

Quick Take: Godzilla vs. Megalon

Godzilla vs. Megalon (Jun Fukuda, 1973), along with several others of the Godzilla Showa era, scared the heck out of me as a kid. The monsters were huge and scary looking, the sound effects loud and weird, and I freaked out whenever Megalon melted and burned Japanese tanks. Sure, you couldn't see the crews burning, but I knew they were there, and I was horrified.

But even though I was scared, I had a great time. What kid doesn't love a giant robot fighting alongside Godzilla? That was the very definition of a good day for a child in the 1970s.

Rewatching the film last week - my chosen debut for the launch of The Criterion Channel - I finally saw Godzilla vs. Megalon for what it is: a fairly lazy and slipshod entry in a series that was well past its prime by this point. But that doesn't mean I don't still love it, even though I don't rate it very highly. If nothing else, it's sincere kid's entertainment.

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