Latitude Zero is an odd, weird, cartoonish international production that’s almost too bizarre to explain. Shot in Japan yet entirely in English with both American and Japanese actors, this is supposed to be a spectacle. Instead, it’s a strange fantasy film that is amongst the weirdest to ever come from the usual team that handled the Godzilla series.
Where to begin? There’s an underwater civilization living in perfect peace and harmony, right at Latitude Zero. No fighting, no politics, and everyone wears whatever they want. Sadly, Cesar Romero doesn’t like this, and is out to destroy Latitude Zero’s leader, Joseph Cotton.
The film plays out like a Saturday-morning cartoon, although the plodding pacing would suggest otherwise. Much of the film discusses Latitude Zero and its existence. Conversations drag on while the audience anticipates a final showdown with Romero, which at times seems as if it will never come.
When the banter is over, classic Toho fans are treated to some of the more abysmal suits in the studio's loaded library. If you cringed at the sight of King Kong in King Kong vs. Godzilla, then the flying bats, hilariously awful lion, and giant rats will likely send you into a seizure. It’s a shame too, as the miniature effects of dueling submarines and underwater caverns are excellent. While somewhat overlong, the submarine fight is the best aspect of the film.
A few Toho staples, Akira Takarada and Akihiko Hirata, speak full English in this one. Unfortunately, while their attempt is admirable, it’s incredibly broken. At times, they’re impossible to understand without turning on the captions.
Officially, the English cut is the “original.” The Japanese version is the dubbed version, yet is also significantly shorter. It eliminates scenes that were hardly needed in the first place, and is overall the better film despite the dubbing (and the film itself).
Top all of that off with an ending not even the writers could have understood and you have a movie that’s a far cry from the days of Toho’s finest sci-fi output. Fans of miniatures will enjoy bits and pieces of Latitude Zero, but give up by the time Romero gives a human brain to a flying lion in a surgical procedure that could only happen in a Toho film. Weird, but rarely entertaining. 
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