Line #4 Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster


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6	-> ''"On Earth, you gave this terrifying monster the name of Ghidorah. Everything is numbered here. The Monster is Zero"''
7	-->-- '''The Controller of Planet X'''
8
9	The sixth entry in the Franchise/{{Godzilla}} franchise, ''Kaijū Daisensō'' (''The Great Monster War''), initially released in the US as ''Monster Zero'', also known as ''Invasion of Astro-Monster'', and ''Godzilla vs. Monster Zero'', is a sequel to ''Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster'' and stars Akira Kubo, Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Jun Tazaki, and the late Nick Adams. This would also be the first film in the Godzilla series to use the alien invasion plot, but it would not be the last. The Japanese version of the film takes place sometime in the near future, while the American version never specifies when the film takes place.
10
11	In either version, the movie begins with the P1, a World Space Authority spaceship, making its way to Planet X, a newly-discovered planet that lies between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. On board the ship are astronauts Glenn (played by Nick Adams) and Fuji (played by Akira Takarada). After they arrive on Planet X, the astronauts discover that the planet has gravity similar to earth, and an atmosphere of some kind to boot. However, the planet is not as peaceful as it seems, and both astronauts witness lightning and thunder, before they meet the planet's inhabitants, the Xiliens. The Xiliens live inside of the planet, being forced to do so because of Monster Zero, who Fuji and Glenn recognize as the dreaded King Ghidorah. The Xiliens ask the Earth men for a favor: let them use Godzilla and Rodan to drive the terrible beast away, and in return they will give Earth a cure for cancer (or all diseases in the American version).
12
13	Back on Earth, Fuji's sister is in a relationship with a bumbling inventor named Tetsuo (played by Akira Kubo), who has developed a device called the "Lady Guard Alarm", which produces an extremely annoying sound. While Tetsuo doesn't see a whole lot of potential in his device, it ''has'' been bought by a toy company, for reasons that he can't understand. After Glenn and Fuji return to Earth, some interesting things happen. First, it is revealed that Glenn's girlfriend, the beautiful Miss Namikawa (played by Kumi Mizuno) is also an employee of the toy company that bought Tetsuo's invention. Second, the company has no interest in selling the Lady Guard Alarm.
14
15	When the time comes for the Xiliens to retrieve Godzilla and Rodan, everyone learns that the aliens are already here. The Xiliens capture Godzilla from lake Washigasawa and Rodan from the side of a mountain. When questioned about their already being on earth, the Xiliens apologize for not saying anything. Glenn and Fuji both return to Planet X with the aliens, alongside Doctor Sakurai (played by Jun Tazaki). After arriving on Planet X, Godzilla and Rodan engage Ghidorah in battle and win. Godzilla then does a weird victory dance, or has "[[BigLippedAlligatorMoment A happy moment]]," as the Xilien leader puts it. While the monster battle was going on, Glenn and Fuji had left their observation room and decided to explore the rest of the Xiliens' home. Glenn soon makes an interesting discovery when he sees two Namikawas in the same room. Glenn is initially stunned by this, and Fuji is equally perturbed.
16
17	After being returned to Earth, a conference is held where the Xiliens' miracle cure will be revealed. Instead of a cure, however, the Xiliens order for Earth to surrender, become a colony of Planet X, surrender their water, and submit themselves as a food source. The Xilien leader threatens to unleash Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah if the Earth does not surrender. Following this is a montage of riots and civil actions around the world as the Xiliens begin taking over. Glenn is wandering through an abandoned office building when he encounters Namikawa, dressed like an Xilien. "That's what I figured," Glenn says to her. Namikawa begs Glenn to side with the Xiliens so that they can both live together, but Glenn tells her that Earth will fight to the very end. The two lovers are soon interrupted by a squad of Xiliens, who tell Glenn that he is under arrest. Namikawa rushes over to tell Glenn that she loves him, slipping a note inside his pocket as she does. After this display of affection, Namikawa is pulled away from Glenn and vaporized.
18
19	Glenn is soon thrown into a jail cell on an island, where he finds Tetsuo. Tetsuo had been captured earlier, when the Xiliens were leaving with Godzilla and Rodan, when he followed Namikawa here. He then learned that the toy company was a front by the Xiliens. Tetsuo tells Glenn that he's tried everything possible to escape, and that the walls and bars of their cell are sound-proof. Depressed, Glenn finds a note in his pocket, from Namikawa. In the note, Namikawa tells Glenn that she loves him, and that the Xiliens can be defeated by "a certain, simple sound." Tetsuo realizes that this is why the aliens bought his invention, to prevent anyone else from producing it. Since the aliens never bothered to check Tetsuo for weapons, he still has a Lady Guard Alarm with him, which he and Glenn use to escape.
20
21	Unfortunately, the Xiliens have already unleashed the giant monsters, who begin wreaking havoc across the country. After escaping and finally returning to their comrades, Fuji reveals that the aliens control the monsters with some kind of mind control rays, and that Fuji and his comrades have been working on the "A-Cycle Light Ray" which should block the mind control. Glenn tells Fuji about Tetsuo's invention. Armed with this knowledge, the device is put into production. After preparations are complete, people around the country are asked to turn up their radios' and television sets' volumes as high as they can go. The sound of Tetsuo's Lady Guard Alarm begins broadcasting all over the place, and coupled with the A-Cycle Light Ray and other weapons, the Xiliens are finally defeated. However, King Ghidorah must still be contended with, and both Godzilla and Rodan are eager for a fight. The three monsters do battle, eventually tumbling into the ocean, where upon Ghidorah emerges and flies off into space. The film ends with Doctor Sakurai telling Glenn that he's going to be an ambassador to Planet X.
22
23	Followed by ''Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep''.
24	----
25	!!This film contains examples of the following:
26
27	* AlienInvasion: The Xiliens turned out to only be [[BitchInSheepsClothing feigning kindness the whole time]] to gain our trust, and then our planet's water. They demand the human race go the easy way (surrender) or the hard way (be destroyed by three monsters our militaries can't stop and the aliens get our water when we're all extinguished).
28	* AsceticAesthetic: The underground complex on Planet X is composed primarily of plain white tunnels with curved walls.
29	* BigBad: Ghidorah again. He is the one terrorizing the people Planet X. It ends up Subverted when it's revealed Ghidorah was under the Xiliens' control all along, making the Controller of Planet X the real BigBad.
30	* BizarreSexualDimorphism: All the Xilien women look [[DittoAliens exactly alike.]]
31	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: The Xiliens disarm both Fuji and Glen in this manner.
32	* BoringButPractical: Tetsuo's annoying alarm. All it does is produce a high-pitched wail that makes people uncomfortable... and if they're aliens, then the effects are even more profound.
33	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. It's debatable just how much control King Ghidorah was under, since he behaves exactly the same after the Xiliens are defeated.
34	* BrownNote: Tetsuo's aggravatingly loud Lady Guard Alarm, to the Xiliens at least.
35	* BunglingInventor: Tetsuo, until his above-mentioned blunder saves the day!
36	* DeadpanSnarker: The Controller, of all people, has moments of this:
37	-->'''Glen:''' "Can't you drive [King Ghidorah] away?"
38	-->'''Controller:''' "If you have an idea how to do it, won't you tell us?"
39	* DemotedToExtra: Once Godzilla and Rodan "defeat" King Ghidorah, they don't appear until the final act of the film. Even King Ghidorah's role was reduced to show how much of a "threat" he is to the Xiliens.
40	* DragonTheirFeet: Even after the Xiliens are defeated, that still leaves a hostile Ghidorah on Earth to deal with. Fortunately, Godzilla and Rodan are nearby and ready to go for round two.
41	* DragonInChief: Ghidorah is the main reason the Xiliens are a threat. Without him their invasion plan is shot, and this becomes a trend for him in later films.
42	* TheDreaded: The Xilien leader presents "Monster Zero" as this, "the demon of the galaxy" who holds his people in such a grip of terror they are forced to live underground to escape his wrath. [[spoiler: This is a subversion, as the Xiliens actually ''control'' the monster.]]
43	* EvilPlan: The reason the Xilien-owned toy company bought Tetsuo's Lady Guard Alarm was so that no one else would be able to legally manufacture such a device, since they knew how dangerous it was to them. Apparently, they'd never heard of emergency sirens or alarms, since there are plenty of other things on Earth that make loud and annoying sounds.
44	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
45	** Fuji surmised there must be a lack of water on Planet X, noting how dried up the planet was.
46	** The Xiliens are really quick to guide the Earthlings away from wandering their base, and seal them in a soundproof force field when one alien mentions the phrase "If we are to maintain control--!" The implication is Ghidorah accidentally hit something that's keeping him under their control, and without it he'd destroy the planet for real.
47	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Even though they know that his device is dangerous to them, the Xiliens never once [[DumbIsGood check Tetsuo to see if he has his Lady Guard Alarm on his person after capturing him]].
48	* HumanAliens: The Xiliens in this movie look just like human beings, and their ability to pass as humans is an important plot-point. How else would Glenn not realize that the woman he's been banging is from outer space?
49	* MarsNeedsWater: This is the objective of the people of Planet X.
50	* MsFanservice: Ms. Namikawa and the other, physically identical female Xiliens.
51	* MySisterIsOffLimits: Fuji doesn't exactly take kindly to Tetsuo.
52	* NonIndicativeName: Toho's English title, ''Invasion of Astro-Monster''. Even in the English dub, there is ''no'' monster in this film called "Astro-Monster". Rather, the title refers to King Ghidorah. But another American version is titled "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero", making it more appropriate.
53	* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome:
54	** Ghidorah spends a good portion of the film attacking the United States, but we only hear about it and never get to see it. It would have been the first time a Godzilla film showed a monster on American soil, but we had to wait for Godzilla to show up in New York in ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' a few years later.
55	** How the hell did the Xiliens manage to get King Ghidorah, the Terror of the Galaxy, Destroyer of Worlds and Monster of Monsters under their control? That must have been ''quite'' the task. There's a throwaway line implying it is a constant effort--Ghidorah's rampage in the first act of the film damages something that keeps him under their control.
56	* OhCrap: Fuji and Glenn's collective reaction to seeing the revealed "Monster Zero".
57	* RearrangeTheSong: This film marks another change in Ifukube's Godzilla's theme. It has been slightly expanded, with a new intro piece, while the rest of the theme begins on a much flatter note than usual. Fitting, as Godzilla's role in the story is somewhat downplayed by the Xilien drama.
58	* SciFiBobHaircut: Miss Namikawa and the other women of Planet X.
59	* ShoutOut: The "happy moment" dance was in reference to Iyami's pose from the then-popular ''Manga/OsomatsuKun''. A joke poster was also created depicting the human leads, including Nick Adams, joining Godzilla in doing the pose.
60	* SonicStunner: Tetsuo's Lady Guard Alarm, which was bought by a ''toy company''. It turns out to be instrumental to defeating the Xiliens.
61	* StarcrossedLovers: Glenn and Namikawa when the latter was executed by her own people.
62	* StockFootage: Some shots of Rodan's rampage are taken from his own eponymous movie.
63	* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: The Xiliens, who claim that the need the monsters to save their planet -- only to then use said monsters against the Earth people they were claiming to protect.
64	* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: After killing Namikawa, the Xiliens explain: "Our actions are controlled by electronic computers, not by human emotions. When that law is violated, the offender is eliminated."
65	* TheWorfBarrage: Godzilla's Atomic Breath doesn't do anything to King Ghidorah. As usual the human military is useless against all three monsters.
66	* {{Zeerust}}: The look of the space suits Fuji and Glenn wear, along with their rocket ship that is pure RaygunGothic.

Context Film / InvasionOfAstroMonster