As world leaders meet to discussâand fail to do anything aboutâenvironmental destruction, a spaceship crashes, releasing the giant Guilala on the people of Japan. Realizing this will be great PR, the leaders stick around and come up with one ridiculous (and culturally revealing) scheme after another to defeat the monster. Meanwhile, a cute tabloid reporter has discovered a hidden shrine where the singing and dancing might be the key to saving the planet.
Forty years after The X From Outer Space (1967) failed to light up the box office, this non-sequel brings back Guilala, the infamous chicken-lizard with tennis balls. But while the original tried, and failed, to be a serious adventure film, Strikes Back is a satire and parody that devolves into a deeply stupid parody. But the satire is fun and even the stupidity can be enjoyed in the right environment.
Much of the film is spent making fun of the G8 Summit leaders. The American president (obviously Bush) just wants to kick-ass and get press. The French president (equally obviously Sarkozy) is interested only in getting laid. The rest of the world leader come up with plots that speak very poorly about their countries (Russia wants to inject the monster with the same poison the Putin used to assassinate a dissident a few years back). It isnât subtle satire, but it is funny.
Our main character is an attractive reporter, following in a long line of attractive reporters in diakaiju films. And like those before her, she spends most of her time just watching. When she does act it is to join in on another diakaiju trope: the summoning of the ancient god. While weâre deep in parody here, the satire runs off and her time with the natives is played far to seriously for a zany comedy. However, I suspect I missed a few Japanese in-jokes with the dance, so it may get more laughs in Japan.
If you are looking for monster action and city smashing, you are going to be disappointed. But then this is a film with the giant chicken-lizard, so if you came for anything other than silliness you need new directions. The few scenes of actual building destruction were lifted straight from the 1967 film, which is part of the charm.
You have to know the diakaiju genre but also not be fanatical about it to like this film. If you donât know what a âkennyâ is, youâll miss the best joke. If you think that guys in rubber suits wrestling are really cool, you are going to feel insulted. I seem to be the target audience, and I found Monster X Strikes Back amusing. The humor was getting pretty stale before the end credits, but there was enough good on screen to justify my time.