Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Voyager »

mikelcho wrote:as well as Varan (who's another dinosaur, btw, not a lizard).
Varan is actually a lizard, hence the name Varan which is derived from the genus Varanus which encompasses monitor lizards like the Perentie or Komodo Dragon. Also, in Varan (1958) the characters propose that he is a Varanopode, which is a fictional prehistoric species of Giant Lizard.

So in short, he’s a lizard. Gorosaurus is a dinosaur, Baragon is a dinosaur, Godzilla is a dinosaur, Titanosaurus is a dinosaur, Anguirus is a dinosaur, but not Varan.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Chrispy_G »

I know others have probably said this....but this film is kind of over-rated.

Global monster attacks is cool, and the giant monster team-up at the end is cool, and the score is great....outside of that the entire thing just lacks a certain 'feel' to it to really make it feel special and memorable.

The plot is basically a 'bigger' version of the plot of Astro-Monster. Sure 'bigger is better' and all that stuff, this film has much more monster action than that one.

But Astro-Monster at least has the more interesting Glenn-Namikawa tragic romance going for it. I don't know.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Terasawa »

Chrispy_G wrote:The plot is basically a 'bigger' version of the plot of Astro-Monster. Sure 'bigger is better' and all that stuff, this film has much more monster action than that one.
I think of it as Toho's Battle in Outer Space with monsters. There are a lot of similarities.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Omegazilla »

I know others have probably said this....but this film is kind of over-rated.

Global monster attacks is cool, and the giant monster team-up at the end is cool, and the score is great....outside of that the entire thing just lacks a certain 'feel' to it to really make it feel special and memorable.

The plot is basically a 'bigger' version of the plot of Astro-Monster. Sure 'bigger is better' and all that stuff, this film has much more monster action than that one.

But Astro-Monster at least has the more interesting Glenn-Namikawa tragic romance going for it. I don't know.
I agree with this. It is by no means bad, I would say it is decent overall, but it definitely seems to fall short of it's very ambitious prospects. I don't blame Toho though, there is only so much you can do within your budget.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by eabaker »

I find it weird that anyone still bothers to call it overrated when it seems like a good 30% of comments about it are about how overrated it is, or how disappointed people were when they finally saw it. At this point, I'd call it a film with a decidedly mixed/moderate reputation.
Last edited by eabaker on Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by szmigiel »

"Destroy All Monsters" kind of has the same problems as "Battle in Outer Space". It feels like a documentary recreation of events, more than an actual story focusing on a few characters.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by edgaguirus »

eabaker wrote:I find it weird that anyone still bothers to call it overrated when it seems like a good 30% of comments about it are about how overrated it is, or how disappointed people were when they finally saw it. At this point, I'd call it a film with a decidedly mixed/moderate reputation.
Agreed. It's an enjoyable entry with a fair number of reviews on both sides.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by H-Man »

My 12-year-old daughter and I watched it last night and had a good time. Our observations included:

- Nobody can aim anything: handguns, machine guns, etc. About 70% of the damage to Tokyo was caused by errant missiles.

- If sinister-looking smoking is entering the room, are you going to a) get the heck out of dodge or b) open the door and LET MORE SMOKE IN?

- Why would you send the Fire Dragon to destroy Tokyo if you sent the monsters to destroy it a few days before? And why would it take 3 hours to raze a city that's already been razed?

- What happens to the humans who are still brainwashed when the Kilaaks are defeated? Do they keel over dead? Are they killed in resulting explosions?
Last edited by H-Man on Fri Oct 16, 2020 5:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by mikelcho »

A fourth one: nobody ever learns anything about fighting kaiju from previous experience.

Every time they bring out the weapons, I say or think (mostly the former) to myself, "You stupid idiots - don't you know? Weapons don't hurt these things! Weapons only make them mad! And they get mad, they smash things!"

Every. Single. Time.

It gets kind of old after a while, don't you think?

Every unit in the JSDF thinks that it'll be the one to kill Godzilla.

They never do. It never works.

You'd think they'd learned their lesson by now, but no-o-o-o-o-o...

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Last edited by mikelcho on Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:27 am, edited 7 times in total.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Terasawa »

The alternative is to let the monsters stomp all over their country unopposed. So they have to try, even if the weapons are ineffective. At least in DAM the JSDF is using remote controlled weapons, presumably to mitigate casualties.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by SoggyNoodles2016 »

So they should just aside and let them smash shit?

Also, might just be my opinion, but I think there's an unspoken implication in the Showa films that more often then not, the JSDF is attacking them solely to keep them occupied. As in, "Yeah, our tanks aren't gonna work and we'll die in like 4 minutes, but those are four minutes more for the city to be evacuated before he turns his attention that way."

Also also, find it funny you're lobbying this against Destroy All Monsters, the film with the LEAST amount of JSDF attacking kaiju time. Like, literally two scenes (Mount Fuji base raid and the Tokyo attack) actually have the JSDF confront kaiju and even then, don't they all screw the minute Godzilla and Anguirus show up? might need to double check.

Edit: sniped by Terasawa.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by H-Man »

SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:Also also, find it funny you're lobbying this against Destroy All Monsters, the film with the LEAST amount of JSDF attacking kaiju time. Like, literally two scenes (Mount Fuji base raid and the Tokyo attack) actually have the JSDF confront kaiju and even then, don't they all screw the minute Godzilla and Anguirus show up? might need to double check.
With all due respect, didn't Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla have even less, if almost zero, JSDF attacking scenes? The same goes for the two island films, although one may discount those for that very reason.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by SoggyNoodles2016 »

H-Man wrote:
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:Also also, find it funny you're lobbying this against Destroy All Monsters, the film with the LEAST amount of JSDF attacking kaiju time. Like, literally two scenes (Mount Fuji base raid and the Tokyo attack) actually have the JSDF confront kaiju and even then, don't they all screw the minute Godzilla and Anguirus show up? might need to double check.
With all due respect, didn't Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla have even less, if almost zero, JSDF attacking scenes? The same goes for the two island films, although one may discount those for that very reason.
Yeah, they do.

You misunderstand me, I'm not saying this is the ONLY film that doesn't have a ton of JSDF vs Kaiju scenes, I was critiquing him choosing this film for what seemed to be a rant about this trope in general.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by mikelcho »

Okay, guys, you win. I can see where you're all coming from, believe me.

I was thinking that the situation in all of these films is just like the Hulk on Earth-616 in the mainstream Marvel Universe - that the kaiju are dangerous only when provoked and all they really want is to be left alone.

The only thing is, the world they once ruled doesn't exist anymore and has been transformed. Maybe, as Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special #1 has stated, they're voicing their displeasure at the change. Maybe, they think they've awakened in an age of monsters.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Terasawa »

SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:Also, might just be my opinion, but I think there's an unspoken implication in the Showa films that more often then not, the JSDF is attacking them solely to keep them occupied. As in, "Yeah, our tanks aren't gonna work and we'll die in like 4 minutes, but those are four minutes more for the city to be evacuated before he turns his attention that way."
Also, in some of the films, conventional weapons are used to lead the monsters into a trap. The classic example is Mothra vs. Godzilla.

DAM, however, is one of the many kaiju movies where there doesn't seem to be any discernible military strategy. The defense of Tokyo is sheer desperation and the attempted siege on the Kilaak base was kinda foolish. But at least those are more entertaining than similar sequences in Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (as much as I love it), vs Mothra, and vs. Mechagodzilla II. Those are some of the least engaging military scenes in the genre. They just feel totally obligatory.
Last edited by Terasawa on Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:03 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by BlankAccount »

mikelcho wrote:A fourth one: nobody ever learns anything about fighting kaiju from previous experience.

Every time they bring out the weapons, I say or think (mostly the former) to myself, "You stupid idiots - don't you know? Weapons don't hurt these things! Weapons only make them mad! And they get mad, they smash things!"

Every. Single. Time.

It gets kind of old after a while, don't you think?

Every unit in the JSDF thinks that it'll be the one to kill Godzilla.

They never do. It never works.

You'd think they'd learned their lesson by now, but no-o-o-o-o-o...

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
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mikelcho wrote:Okay, guys, you win. I can see where you're all coming from, believe me.

I was thinking that the situation in all of these films is just like the Hulk on Earth-616 in the mainstream Marvel Universe - that the kaiju are dangerous only when provoked and all they really want is to be left alone.

The only thing is, the world they once ruled doesn't exist anymore and has been transformed. Maybe, as Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special #1 has stated, they're voicing their displeasure at the change. Maybe, they think they've awakened in an age of monsters.
Yeah that doesn't work when the monsters are mind controlled and being weaponized. Umbrella would be creaming itself to have these as B.O.W.s.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by SoggyNoodles2016 »

mikelcho wrote:Okay, guys, you win. I can see where you're all coming from, believe me.

I was thinking that the situation in all of these films is just like the Hulk on Earth-616 in the mainstream Marvel Universe - that the kaiju are dangerous only when provoked and all they really want is to be left alone.

The only thing is, the world they once ruled doesn't exist anymore and has been transformed. Maybe, as Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special #1 has stated, they're voicing their displeasure at the change. Maybe, they think they've awakened in an age of monsters.
Again, DAM is a very bad choice for this argument as LC said.

Do know what you mean though and agree with the general sentiment
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by The Killer Meteor »

As I discovered these films via the UK VHS releases, I'm fairly tolerant of Toho's International dubs, but the one for DAM always gets on my nerves. Akira Kubo sounds ammusingly macho, but the voices for Jun Tazaki and Yoshio Tsuchiya are tedious and grate.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Terasawa »

Sheeeeh!

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by edgaguirus »

Akira Kubo sounds very gung ho, especially when he's stating the obvious.
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