Dir. Jun Fukuda (1967)
A reporter discovers an island filled with monsters, including a small beast that is adopted by Godzilla.
I feel like a film franchise can only go on so long before the creators decide to change course by delving into some different genres. Godzilla has, up to this point, been largely serious, and while there are certainly some more lighthearted scenes in some of the previous installments, it has always been a giant monster movie with some interesting social commentary. This changes with Son of Godzilla, director Jun Fukuda's second film in the series and one that is wholly unserious and takes a ridiculously different outlook than the previous films in the series. It does so by creating one of the goofiest looking monsters in horror movie history.
A reporter comes across an island where a group of scientists are running weather experiments in order to attempt to increase food production to feed a growing global population. Their experiments are causing the islands insect population to grow increasingly larger, and the group tries to think about what to do about the new monster problem. They discover a single woman castaway and a giant egg, which opens to reveal a smaller version of the Godzilla creature that's recently been seen off the coast. Godzilla adopts the new creature as its own, and the large bugs try to fight the new lizard pair in order to gain control of the island for themselves.
This is the second film in the series that was presented on Max, where its streaming, with English dubbing over the original Japanese. This would normally bug the hell out of me, but to be honest, it's the only way to watch this film because it is utterly fucking ridiculous. It's got a nonsensical plot, which is saying a lot for a film series that is often convoluted as all hell. The creatures are even cheesier than normal, and the appearance of Godzilla's "son" is just laughably absurd. The soundtrack of the film is peppy and upbeat, and it's plainly apparent that the film was intended to be as ridiculous as it ended up becoming.
The monster fights are hilarious, and its an absolute blast to watch Godzilla body slamming giant praying mantises and roasting them out of the air with his nuclear breath. The creature design is a ton of fun, and the encounters between Godzilla and his foes is patterned almost like a western (but one starring giant monsters, of course). The helpless baby provides a somehow even more sympathetic Godzilla character, which is an excellent direction for a series that was trying to make him less of a monster and more of a hero at this time in the franchise. It works well having him as a father figure, though Godzilla's gender was never actually discussed in the Japanese series (Godzilla being a male was only canon in the American understanding of the creature).
Son of Godzilla may be absolutely ridiculous, but it's also a hell of a lot of fun. It's a complete departure from the first films in the series, but it definitely helps to shore up the franchise's attempts to become more playful. It's well made, or at least as well made as a film like this can be, and it's a nice blend of kaiju film and family friendly entertainment. It's a great introduction to the series for kids, and its self aware enough that it feels like a tongue in cheek critique of its predecessors. All praise aside, however, it is really dumb, and from a critical perspective, it's probably the worst of the series so far. Except for Godzilla Raids Again, which was boring as hell. At least Son of Godzilla is fucking hilarious.
Plus, where else are you going to find a small monster playing jumprope with Godzilla's tail?
Who this movie is for: Godzilla completionists, Kaiju movie fans, New fathers
Bottom line: Son of Godzilla is ridiculous and hilarious, an attempt to make the series even more family friendly and one that plays with a lot of the more serious aspects of its predecessors. It's goofy, nonsensical, and laugh-out-loud funny, and while it carries very little of the social commentary of the previous films in the series, it's a fun film that doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's also a terrible film, so if you're watching this as a cinema fan, you're going to absolutely hate it. Regardless, it's a fun departure from the previous films and one that manages to poke fun of itself as well as the franchise's legacy. But, again, it's absolutely terrible.
