Ostensibly a sequel to 1965's "Frankenstein Conquers the World", the connection between "War of the Gargantuas" and that film is pretty tenuous (especially if watching an English-dubbed version* in which the name 'Frankenstein' is never used). Apparently, despite Frankenstein's supposed demise at the end of FCtW, some of his tissue developed into a savage green clone named 'Gaira' AND either the original Frankenstein survived to become the mellow brown giant 'Sanda' OR both 'Gargantuas/Frankensteins' are clones grown from the discarded tissue (this is far from clear). The evil Gaira dispatches a giant octopus, sinks a ship (where he demonstrates an appetite for humans), and then attacks an airport (an amazing miniature set considering its brief screen-time). As usual, the JDF's conventional weapons are useless against the marauding colossus but the new maser cannons carve him up pretty badly. At this point Sanda appears and the two monsters go into hiding. An American professor working in Japan (a non-dancing Russ Tamblyn) points out to the military that, if a fragment of the original Frankenstein's tissue begat the behemoths (one or both), then blowing Gaira to pieces would be ill advised. This complicates anti-Frankenstein strategies, but the gigantic pair begin to fight each other so the JDF is off the hook for saving Japan (yet again). The humanoid 'Gargantuas/Frankensteins' are a bit of a departure for Toho's monster factory but are surprisingly engaging. The miniature cityscapes that they destroy are as good as any in the Showa-era Godzilla films and in general, the optical effects (maser beams, back projections, mattes, etc) are quite effective. The presence of Russ Tamblyn (best known for his energetic choreography in "West Side Story" (1961) or "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)) adds little to the film (apparently he was a pain in the ass to work with) and the American professor character was likely included to make the film more marketable in the USA. His assistant (Akemi Togawa (Kumi Mizuno)) supposedly worked with a young Sanda (hence the inconsistency with Sanda being a clone of the original Frankenstein), which is all very confusing, as Kumi Mizuno was in FCtW and did interact with the young Frankenstein, but as a character named Dr. Sueko Togami. While definitely a kaiju film not to be thought about too carefully, "War of the Gargantuas" is fast-paced, well-executed, and quite entertaining in a silly sort of way. * there appear to be a number of versions in circulation, I am commenting on the Classic Media subtitled Japanese version on DVD.
Review of The War of the Gargantuas
