bkoganbing Ghidorah, that three headed flying Cerberus from outer space is in control of the folks from Planet X who look quite Oriental, but they have gray suits and helmets to distinguish them from the earthbound Japanese who made this addition to the all star monster lineup of films they do.Planet X is a planet in parallel orbit behind big Jupiter, the better to conceal it from prying earthling eyes. The X people live underground and Ghidorah does his thing on the surface. If I may digress, an observation here. In all the Japanese monster films I never see these monsters actually eat anything. What do they do for food. Godzilla and Ghidorah both carry a built in microwave if they like their humans well done. They make a lot destruction but never seem to consume anything. Certainly on Planet X it looks barren, so what does Ghidorah eat? Those X guys have a nefarious scheme afoot. They want us to send Godzilla and Rodan from earth to defeat Ghidorah. Actually they want to use all the monsters to capture earth.What the X guys weakness is? You won't believe it, but think of that classic Twilight Zone episode with Andy Devine and how he defeated those aliens who wanted to take him back to their home planet.As bad as they are I do so love these monster fests from Japan.

Spikeopath It's one of those Godzilla movies where you fully understand why some fans of the "Zilla" series positively dislike it. The big atomic lizard is only a bit part player here, and when push comes to shove the monster mayhem is in short supply, which considering we also have Ghidorah and Rodan in the mix is for sure a bit of a waste. Yet this is one of the better sequels from Toho's original wave, it quite literally has all the ingredients that made "Zilla" and the off-shoots so iconic.We are in live action cartoon territory, a sci-fi story of bonkers proportions yet engrossing all the same. The joyous model work synonymous with the series remains intact, the cardboard sets being obliterated are still fun to watch, and the divisive sight of "Zilla" doing the "shay" dance is in here whether you like it or not. More fun, though, is watching "Zilla" boxing the three headed Ghidorah, now that is comedy gold, if only the moody lizard had gone southpaw a bit earlier then saving the world could have been achieved quicker.Great fun, could have been better from a monster point of view? Yes, definitely, but this be a nutty fruitcake production from Toho and amen to that. 8/10

Michael_Elliott Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A couple astronauts (one played by Nick Adams) travel to Planet X where they are shocked to find an alien race asking for their help. Apparently King Ghidorah is holding them hostage so they ask for the help of Godzilla and Rodan. The astronauts agree to help since the aliens promise to tell them the cure for cancer but sure enough there's a twist, which has all three monsters threatening to destroy Earth. This is a pretty fun film from start to finish, although I'd argue it runs about ten minutes too long. With some editing down of the talking scenes this here would have played much better but as it is the movie remains one of the better ones I've watched from the series. As with many others, the budget is obvious very, very low and this is clear in how many things look incredibly fake but this has a certain charm here because it all looks rather unique. The outer space sequences have a surreal nature to them and the aliens are somewhat enjoyable even though they look just like any other human except for the weird clothes. Adams is fun to watch in the film as is the supporting cast, which is something I haven't said too often while viewing these movies. The final battle sequences are a lot of fun with Godzilla getting to do some boxing and Rodan doing his thing. AKA: INVASION OF THE ASTRO MONSTER

MisterWhiplash The title for this movie, Godzilla Versus Monster Zero, is a little misleading. It was actually titled something else in the US for a short while when originally released- Invasion of the Astros- though Monster Zero eventually stuck. Because for the bits of Godzilla action that are in the film, and there are a few to appease the fans, it's really more of an invaders-from-another-planet movie, with the aliens from Planet X being a bunch of guys in thin sunglasses and silver suits looking to take over the Earth. And as a typical B (or less than B) science fiction knock-off of ten different other ones all leading back to the Day the Earth Stood Still, it actually isn't that bad, or as bas as one might expect. Astronauts head to Planet X to see if there is hospitable life, only to find a group of aliens who are being bothered incessantly by King Ghidra. A proposal is hatched: bring the aliens to Earth to get Godzilla and Rodan to fight Ghidra on Planet X home turf, then the human race gets, get this, a cure for all known diseases! Sounds like a trap? It is, of course, and the aliens follow the astronauts back to their planet to conquer them, using Godzilla, Rodan and Ghidra under command to destroy the world. Through this, there's some story-padding that the filmmakers put in involving a romantic tryst between the American (yes, American) astronaut, played by Nick Adams, and with the Japanese astronaut's younger brother, an unsuccessful inventor, who late in the film finally gets his due. And then, meanwhile, the planet is under threat, the people protest (in newspaper montage- not newsreel, news*paper*), and the military strikes back, only to find that only one thing can stop the Planet X-ians: a specific sound. In the realm of meaningless, hokey monster-movie fare, Godzilla Versus Monster Zero is fun enough, though lacks a lot of the meaty monster battles one is expecting. Aside from a brief mid-point where we see the three monsters go at it on Planet X (with Godzilla providing a classically hilarious victory dance that looks like he's doing a jig), all the monster action is confined to the last ten minutes.At this point, finally, Ishiro Honda and FX man Tsuburyara finally unleash their special effects fury (toy tanks included), and there's some cheesy enjoyment in that. But in general, this flick suffers from a bit too much talk, a little too much time spent on the people from Planet X, who's cool look fades after thirty seconds, and the usual paper-thin characters. It might make some mild enjoyment to watch, if you're young, but those looking for a lot of action may be disappointed. A decent entry that suffers from taking a little for granted what it means to have GODZILLA appearing first on the title card.