JLRVancouver Ostensibly a sequel to 1965's "Frankenstein Conquers the World", the connection between "War of the Gargantuas" and that film is pretty tenuous (especially if watching an English-dubbed version* in which the name 'Frankenstein' is never used). Apparently, despite Frankenstein's supposed demise at the end of FCtW, some of his tissue developed into a savage green clone named 'Gaira' AND either the original Frankenstein survived to become the mellow brown giant 'Sanda' OR both 'Gargantuas/Frankensteins' are clones grown from the discarded tissue (this is far from clear). The evil Gaira dispatches a giant octopus, sinks a ship (where he demonstrates an appetite for humans), and then attacks an airport (an amazing miniature set considering its brief screen-time). As usual, the JDF's conventional weapons are useless against the marauding colossus but the new maser cannons carve him up pretty badly. At this point Sanda appears and the two monsters go into hiding. An American professor working in Japan (a non-dancing Russ Tamblyn) points out to the military that, if a fragment of the original Frankenstein's tissue begat the behemoths (one or both), then blowing Gaira to pieces would be ill advised. This complicates anti-Frankenstein strategies, but the gigantic pair begin to fight each other so the JDF is off the hook for saving Japan (yet again). The humanoid 'Gargantuas/Frankensteins' are a bit of a departure for Toho's monster factory but are surprisingly engaging. The miniature cityscapes that they destroy are as good as any in the Showa-era Godzilla films and in general, the optical effects (maser beams, back projections, mattes, etc) are quite effective. The presence of Russ Tamblyn (best known for his energetic choreography in "West Side Story" (1961) or "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)) adds little to the film (apparently he was a pain in the ass to work with) and the American professor character was likely included to make the film more marketable in the USA. His assistant (Akemi Togawa (Kumi Mizuno)) supposedly worked with a young Sanda (hence the inconsistency with Sanda being a clone of the original Frankenstein), which is all very confusing, as Kumi Mizuno was in FCtW and did interact with the young Frankenstein, but as a character named Dr. Sueko Togami. While definitely a kaiju film not to be thought about too carefully, "War of the Gargantuas" is fast-paced, well-executed, and quite entertaining in a silly sort of way. * there appear to be a number of versions in circulation, I am commenting on the Classic Media subtitled Japanese version on DVD.

a_chinn Two giant Godzilla sized Kaiju go toe-to-toe in this entertaining Japanese monster movie. Gaira is the giant green violent savage gorilla-like monster from the sea and Sanda is the giant brown peaceful gorilla-like monster who lives in the mountains. The film starts with the green one going on a puny human killing spree. The puny humans almost kill the green monster when the brown monster shows up to rescue it's brother. After the green one recovers, it resumes killing puny human and the brown one realized he must stop the green one. The two fight a slow motion battle in a miniature Tokyo, which is a whole lot of fun for Japanese monster movie fans. Compared to other Kaiju films, this one consistently features giant monsters throughout and didn't make it's audience wait through dull talky exposition between rubber suited monster battle. Overall, "The War of the Gargantuas" a must see for fans of rubber suited actors smashing miniature sets.

gavin6942 An experimental lab animal called a gargantua escapes from his captors and is suspected to be the creature that is killing people all over the countryside. But when the gargantua from the lab appears at the same time as the evil gargantua, the two begin to battle across Japan.I love seeing Russ Tamblyn in any movie, and here he is so young (and yet somehow a respected doctor... well played). He really made the film for me, and distinguishes it from many other monster movies.I do love the awesome monsters, the effects, the suits. The squid creature in the beginning was excellent and very creepy. The gargantuas are cool... like giant Sasquatches.My only real complaint was the inclusion of the most terrible singer who ever lived. Apparently this was Kipp Hamilton, who had an otherwise lackluster career and died young (age 45). I hate to be rude, but her "talent" is not missed.

walk_wild777 I recently watched this for the first time since I was a small boy and was surprised at how actually scary parts of this film is. I've been a fan of the giant monster film since I was a small boy, Godzilla especially, but was never once scared by any of the films. Instead I appreciated them as fantasy. However, the green Gargantua in this film is scary. The monster costume is scary, the fact he eats people is scary, and the film itself is just fun to look at. The scene early in the film where a fisherman's boat is stopped dead in the water when he hooks something, and we see this ugly creature gazing up from under the ocean, remains one of the creepiest and most effective images from a movie I've seen.The movie becomes a bit cheesy towards the end when the heroic brown Gargantua shows up to battle the green one, but all in all I recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Toho's Godzilla series, or anyone with slightly unusual tastes in movies. Good luck finding a copy tho. Toho hasn't released it on DVD and the old VHS tapes are pricey. Keep an eye out on cable for it!