Sorry, this movie sucks

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

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

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

In letterbox, in a near-pristine print, in the original Japanese (with subtitles) I have to say this is a much better film than the one most of us saw on TV, back in the day.For one thing, the line "Monsters have rights, too!" is never uttered. even in translation. (Although -- now that I think of it -- some people might prefer the dubbed version precisely because of its goofiness.) Of course, that's just the dialog, and even the most handsome presentation of this film can't obscure its marvelously wacky weirdness. The miniatures and effects are kind of a mixed bag. The space-related sets and models are actually fairly well executed, but the monster effects are often sub-Toho, sometimes hilariously so, like when an absurdly out-of-scale F-101 Starfighter crashes into the X and just sort of hangs there for a few seconds. I think that's more from a lack of experience with kaiju flicks on the part of the studio and its technicians than penny-pinching. In the Criterion edition, at least, it's obvious that Shochiku put a not inconsiderable amount of money into this production.Silly as it undeniably is, there are in fact some very creative moments in this movie, such as when the monster absorbs too much energy from a nuclear reactor and turns into a gigantic, red-hot sphere which bounces around Tokyo, wreaking fiery havoc until it plunges into a lake.When you look at the competition, stuff like "Gappa: The Triphibian Monster" and "Yongary", in its very odd and quite unique way this is clearly one of the most entertaining of the Toho-wannabe giant monster films of the 60s.

Shochiku's attempt at the kaiju genre is mostly forgettable. The first half of the film isn't half bad, a kind of mod space adventure. The best scene in the film has the group of astronaut protagonists bouncing around the moon to a little samba. On their trip to Mars, a UFO attaches an egg to their ship. They bring it back to Earth to study. Soon Girara (aka Guilala) spawns, a scaly chicken monster with bouncy antennae that seeks out and destroys energy sources. The monster portion of the film is very typical and, with a rather uninteresting monster (tellingly, no sequels were made, though Girara was resurrected for a 2008 kaiju flick), pretty dull. The samba-rific score of the first half of the film makes way for the two notes that denote Girara's rampage. Eiji Okada, the star of Hiroshima mon amour, appears in a small role. There are actually a lot of white stars in this movie, most notably Peggy Neal (who also starred in The Terror Beneath the Sea the year before). The Japanese gal, Itoko Harada, is pretty cute, too.

Words cannot adequately describe the genius of a film that is certain to becritically examined by afficionados of the genre for years to come. Look for the inevitable Hollywood remake with Cameron Diaz cast as the female lead.Spotlight on Guilala (pronounced GOO-LA-LA) and his agonizing struggle todetermine his/her/its own destiny, perceptible through the translucency of the classic "alien monster run amok" thematic device. Groundbreaking specialeffects underscore Guilala's haunting portrayal of a space monster who is both hunter and hunted, his fate resting in the hands of one solitary Americanheroine who places herself in harm's way for the greater good-the preservation of man-and more importantly-woman-kind. Peggy Neal's performance as Lisa isastonishing, crystalline in its sensitivity. Her coif remains perfect throughout. Fans of the novel are of course among the film's harshest critics-others applaud director Kazui Nihonmatsu's unique interpretation of the original tome, myself among them. The film is more than a visual feast-it reminds viewers that the key to the centuries-old mysteries of life on Planet Earth may lie somewhere beyond the stars.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Where to begin? This film has it all. First we have the crazy 60s era costumes and sets (far out). Then the crazy dubbing over the Japanese voices, which is hilarious. Just listen to when they identify the ship "AA B GAMMA... AA B GAMMA!" There's also the scenes on the moon with the nearly visible trampolines with people in space suits jumping merely up and down. Classic.But then, like an hour into the movie, the real treat. GUILALA arrives on the scene.When GUILALA (pronounce gee la la, with little emphasis on the g sound) arrives on Earth, all hell breaks lose. This space chicken from hell sure packs a punch. He lays waste to the whole Japanese air defense force (one plane smacks him square in the face and he keeps on going). His fire ball breath is a riot, especially when he hits the one plane *directly* above him perfectly. He does a lot of cool stuff including absorb nuclear energy and transform in a large energy ball that can set cities on fire (sparing a few neighborhoods however).GUILALA should have had his own series as GODZILLA and GAMERA have had. He's got power, charisma, and a certain cheesy charm with those glowing red eyes and silly antenna bobbing up and down. I love the little guy's roar too. (RRRrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaRR!!!)Along with my friend Stephanie, I felt really sad for poor GUILALA in the end....*** SPOILERS!!! *** DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER *** SPOILERS!!! ***...they defeat GUILALA using a rare material known as "Guilalium", which blocks GUILALA's main drive; it stops the flow of energy. Using some remaining jets, the Japanese Defense Air Force literally bukkakes the mighty monster into his small, harmless spore form. This movie marks the first bukkake scene in history.GUILALA is then launched into space as a spore. Sadly, when the end credits roll, you too will feel bad for the little guy. Hopefully we may see a remake or sequel down the road, but since this was made in 1967, the chances are slim.Note that GUILALA isn't the only "space chicken" seen in kaiju (giant monster) movies. GODZILLA's foe GIGAN is also a space chicken, although GIGAN came later and he had cybernetic enhancements such as a chest buzz saw.Pray for an American DVD release for "THE X FROM OUTER SPACE" because it is only available on DVD as an import.GUILALA, "THE X FROM OUTER SPACE" is truly a kaiju classic and it's a lot of fun to watch with a group of friends. Give it a whirl.GUILALA had earned the right to be recognized among Monster Island legends GODZILLA, RODAN, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH, GAMERA, and GYAOS! ALL HAIL GUILALA!