In a lot of ways, this is a kaiju film without the giant, rubber-suited monster. It's directed by the same guy who made The Mysterians, and the same special effects guy (Eiji Tsuburaya) worked on both. What works here is that there's a lot of the same, enjoyable special effects stuff on display with a story that sticks to its simple, straightforward charm while taking the action off of the Earth's surface.
True to its name, there is a great battle in outer space in the final act of the film. But to get to that point, the story begins with a space station under attack from aliens.
The world gets together and decides to send two teams into outer space to confront the aliens on their moon base/waystation. First though, the aliens show that they can mind control humans. Not on a mass scale, apparently, but one at a time. At first, they use this special power to get an Iranian ambassador to sabotage the special ray-gun that the scientists have invented to combat the aliens. When that plan doesn't work out so well, the aliens brainwash a member of the outer space team being sent to the moon to attack them.
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| Apparently, the mind control ray will also steer the car. |
The rest of the film plays out with a variety of fantastic special effects. From retro spacesuits and laser rays to model buildings being destroyed by the aliens, there's a lot to appreciate here.
I highly recommend the "Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection" DVD set. The optional audio commentary on this film by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski really offers some fantastic insight to fans of kaiju films and Japanese Sci-Fi.
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| Amazon link |
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