Had the monster fights all been original, this one might have been more respected than it is. There is a fantastic fight amongst an oil refinery, a pyromaniacs dream if you will. In fact, it stands as one of the most intense segments in the series. Unfortunately, the film takes the cheap route like so many others from this era and delves into the Toho vault. They didn't even do a careful job with the stock footage either. It's blatantly obvious that night changes to day almost at will, Godzilla has multiple form changes, and other monsters (Mothra, Rodan) that aren't even featured in the film show up in the background. Oh, almost forgot. The monsters talk in this one. Seriously.

This is far from the worst entry in the incredibly long running series, but that's making excuses for it. In a way, it's cheap fun like many of the 70's films, but in another it's yet another movie non-fans see to make them all the more confused as to the appeal. This one is worth it for a few original scenes, but have your finger ready to fast-forward at a moments notice. (** out of *****)

This is yet another great print from this recent string of release. Excusing the stock footage (which is full of scratches, lines, and specks), there is almost no damage to it whatsoever. As for the transfer, the colors are strong, bright, and clean. There is a light layer of grain over a few sequences and backgrounds exhibit a bit of noise, but these are minor complaints. Compression is well under control, almost never showing through in a distracting manner. (***)

Two language options are here, both Japanese and English. The original language track is far superior, not only because you don't have to deal with dubbing, but also the clarity is superb. The English track is almost hard to make out at times. It's a shame we can't have the 5.1 mix the official Toho Region 2 disc has, but it barely makes a difference anyway. (***)

Extras? None here. Only a few trailers for related DVD's are included. (No stars)

The series would move onto what is almost undisputedly the worst film Toho would ever shovel out, "Godzilla vs. Megalon." It brought back Gigan, most likely just so they could borrow footage to be re-used from this one. At least "Godzilla vs. Gigan" has some decent original battles.