Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

MartinHafer Before I even started watching this film, I had a very, very strong impression that the film would suck--and boy, was I right! With such titles as "Frankenstein Versus the World" and "Frankenstein Verses Baragon", it was obvious it wasn't going to be Shakespeare. What surprised me, though, is that not only was this a cheesy Japanese Frankenstein story, but this time the monster was almost Godzilla-sized!! And this was never really fully explained in the longer international version (the DVD also had a shorter American version that I skipped)! The film begins with Nazi scientists sending something to Japan in the final says of World War II--though what exactly it happens to be is unknown. However, it must be important because the Germans risk a sub to get this secret to Japan. Well, it turns out the sub is carrying a box containing Frankenstein's indestructible heart and the idea is to research into how to make more so they Japanese can have an entire army of indestructible soldiers. However, just after they take the heart out of the box in Hiroshima, the city is nuked and 15 years pass. Now, for reasons completely unknown, this heart somehow got transferred into a feeble-minded teenager who looks like a cross between a caveman and a Japanese kid with an over-sized Frankenstein wig. Oddly, the scientist who examines him declares that the freaky boy "is a Caucasian", though he looks about as Causcasian as Gary Coleman! Oddly, this feral child is already pretty big but starts to quickly grow to gargantuan proportions. This leads the audience to wonder: 1. How the nuked heart survived Hiroshima and magically appeared in a caveboy's chest.2. Why the kid has been doing just fine eating pets and roadkill for years and only when he is rescued does he begin to grow.3. Is the scientist who examined him in his right mind? 4. When the Frankencritter escapes, the first person called is the comely Japanese lady scientist. However, while she is learning about it on the phone, Nick Adams (the token Western actor) announces he's going to find the boy and bring him back to the lab. But how did Adams know this BEFORE the lady? Did he have esp or did he just read the script? After all, SHE was on the phone and he was with her.Regardless of all these important unanswered questions, none are adequately answered and the script is a mess. Instead of trying to make a real horror film, it soon becomes a battle of giant monsters as two ugly brutes appear from nowhere to battle Frankie. It's the typical stupid Toho Studios fare--with tiny buildings and tanks being stomped. My favorite was the boar--that was so obviously fake it made me laugh. However, the first challenger to Frankenstein looked a lot like a dog in a rubber lizard costume! You have to see it to believe it.Despite the movie totally stinking, it is worth seeing if you are a "bad movie fan" who LIKES seeing inept and stupid films. Plus, thankfully, despite being really, really dumb, at least the film is better than the god-awful Gamera films--with that annoying brat who loves and believes in the monster. YECCCHH!!FYI--After writing this deservedly scathing review, I checked out the other reviews for this film and found three people who gave it a positive review AND a score of 10. Apparently, they must now be encouraging mental patients to post reviews.

Michael_Elliott Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) International version ** (out of 4) At the end of WW2 Germany finds it under major attack so Japanese solders rush to Dr. Frankenstein's house where they take a heart, which will never die. The heart is taken back to Hiroshima but on the morning of August 6, 1945, the city is leveled and the war ends. Fifteen years later an American scientist (Nick Adams) comes across a strange child, which soon turns into a huge Frankenstein monster and does battle with a couple other monsters. This film was originally written as a semi-remake of King Kong where the big ape was going to battle the Frankenstein monster but those plans fell through and we ended up with this thing. The movie, like a lot of the Toho monster films, features mostly talk until the end when the monsters finally do battle but the talking scenes here are pretty interesting for their different take on the Frankenstein story. The screenplay is rather weak and it could have done more with the legend but overall it's good enough for a semi-entertaining monster movie. The special effects are pretty bad even by the normal low standards of a film like this. This international version features an extra scene where the monster battles an octopus. This was cut out of most versions because Toho didn't think it looked good and I can't blame them as the effects are beyond bad here. The fight between the monster and octopus is rather lame but his fight against Baragon is pretty good and actually runs fairly long. Nick Adams proved himself as an actor in previous films but his performance here is clearly just him cashing a paycheck. In the end, this certainly isn't a good movie but it remains entertaining enough if you like "B" grade monster movies.

vtcavuoto I recently purchased the film and haven't seen it in years. It was entertaining if not a bit ridiculous in parts but that's what makes these type of films fun! The premise goes like this: the heart of the Frankenstein monster is kept alive in a protein solution(it is later revealed that the heart can never die). When the Nazis steal it, it is brought to Hiroshima immediately before the atomic bombing of that city. 15 years later, a wild boy is discovered and it is the Frankenstein monster. The heart was radiated from the atomic blast and the heart grew into human form. The boy is studied by American Doctor Nick Adams and Japanese Doctor Kumi Mizuno(the two paired up together in Godzilla vs. Monster Zero). The boy escapes while continuing to grow until he reaches typical monster height. Baragon arrives and the two battle it out to the end. The dubbing is quite good for an import film and the DVD audio/video is sharp. The Frankenstein make-up does look a bit silly but that adds to the charm of the movie. Acting and direction is what you would expect from Toho Studios(actually it is pretty decent here). If you are a fan of Toho Studios monster films, you will enjoy this.

Jay Harris My above summary does puzzle me. It could be that those that gave this bottom of barrel ratings saw the dubbed American International Release. the running time was also reduced.I saw this last night(rental from NETFLIX) in Japanese with sub-titles & a 93 minute running time.The correct title is FRANKENSTEIN vs. BARAGONGranted the story line is very hokey, BUT there again MOST films of this type are & make no sense what so ever.I liked the background story, it was at least interesting, I have seen more incredible plot twists than shown here.The American actor Nick Adams has a major role & not just cast for Box-Office reasons.The acting is OK for this type of film. One does not expect award winning performances, same for production values.The special effects are good & final scene is the fight between ThE Monster (a mutant boy )& a giant reptile. we have seen these scenes many times. Nothing new or different..My good thumbs up rating is mainly because I enjoyed it. & that is why we see movies, isn't it, to enjoy them.. So my fellow film buffs, be sure to see the Japanese Version & you will think like I do about this film.Ratings *** (out of 4) 82 points out or 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)