Son of Godzilla (1967)

Directed by Jun Fukuda. Starring Akira Kubo, Beverly Maeda, Tadao Takashima, Akihiko Hirata, Yoshi Tsuchiya, Kenji Sahara, Seishiro Kuno, Kenichiro Maruyama. [PG]

It ain’t easy being Godzilla’s kid. You’re newly born into a world that has no place for you, and immediately get picked on by giant praying mantis bullies. Sure, Pops shows up to set those ruffians straight, but the psychological damage has already been done. What follows is a thoughtful critique of Japanese parenting, as a human scientist observes that the radioactive daddy won’t let his pathetic whelp play. Meanwhile, where is Mama during all this? If only the filmmakers had eschewed the usual cheesy monster mash finale for a powerhouse courtroom showdown between the parents, Kramer vs. Kramer-style. Now, a movie with a gigantic Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep duking it out with each other (and a spider the size of a post office) might have really worked, Instead, make do with this excessively silly entry in the Godzilla series begging for better battles and a redesign of its scrawny “hero” (known as…Minilla??). The play date scene with Mothra’s larvae presumably ended up on the cutting room floor.

45/100