Astronauts Fuji (Akira Takarada) and Glenn (Nick Adams), from the World Space Authority, land on the mysterious Planet X that lies just beyond Jupiter. The inhabitants are plagued by the giant monster Ghidrah (known there as Monster Zero) and ask to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to fight him. But really, they plan to take over the Earth using their advanced weapons and the monsters. It is up to the astronauts and Fuji’s sister’s inventor boyfriend to free the monsters from alien control and fend off the invasion.
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero took the Godzilla series in a new direction, one that was often repeated in plot, though not in tone. A close kin to The Green Slime and direct descendent of Flash Gordon, it is much more of a space opera than a giant monster movie. The timeframe is uncertain—Godzilla movies had always been set in the present, but in this one, Earth has space ships that can take a crew past Jupiter quickly and repeatedly. The monsters are almost an after thought, and could easily be removed and replaced by any futuristic weapon.
More than the timeframe is out of whack. Nothing makes sense. The science has little to do with…well, science. There are bizarre devices (a radar thermometer), nonsensical directions in space, incorrect chemical designations (not for something complicated, but for water), and ridiculous astronomy. The engineering is worse (“Hey, let’s build a completely new super weapon and have it ready to go tomorrow”), and no one takes any action that follows from thought or even emotion. The Planet X dudes ask permission to grab the giant monsters, and then go through an elaborate ruse of using them to defeat Ghidrah, when all they needed to do was attack Earth. After demonstrating that they are keen on killing large numbers of humans, they keep alive the one person who could hurt them. Glenn finds the alien commander in his bedroom in the middle of the night, and his only reaction is to ask his girlfriend about it. If I found the leader of Bulgaria rummaging through my bookshelves at 3:00am, I’d make sure someone knew about it.
A Japanese/American co-production, minor U.S. star Nick Adams speaks English throughout and is dubbed for the Japanese release. The rest of the cast speak Japanese and are dubbed for the American release. It’s amusing watching the characters’ lips in any conversation that involves Adams since it is obvious they are speaking different languages.
Actually, watching Nick Adams at any time is amusing, as he over acts in ways previously unseen in Godzilla movies, which is saying something substantial. This is junior high theater-level acting. However, somehow that doesn’t hurt the movie. We’re too deep into camp. All the outlandish performances, shoddy spacecraft, and over-the-top action just makes it more fun. That is, with the exception of Godzilla dancing a jig and pretending to box (we’ve left camp and entered moronic). Fans of Mars Attacks will get a laugh from the sound that causes the alien ships to wobble.
Footage is reused from previous movies, but it doesn’t harm anything, and is only noticeable if you already know it’s there. Godzilla looks worse than in his previous five outings. His appearance had been tweaked to make him friendlier. Did anyone need a friendly Godzilla? Ghidrah has been changed as well, but more in strength and behavior. This is a much wimpier critter than in the previous year’s Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster.
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero was the last fun Godzilla movie for quite some time. Fans would find few high moments until the mid-eighties when the big guy got to be nasty again. In 1965, what had once been a force of nature was more than half way through his metamorphoses into the protector of Japan and friend of children.