With a title as grandiose as that, there are only so many ways to go wrong. War of the Gargantuas is one of the most entertaining B-movies ever made. The plot concerns two hairy giants which were spawned from the cells of a small sasquatch-thing who fight to the death. There are also some scientists, military and stuff in there, but this is clearly not nearly as entertaining.

This film is famous for its surprising amount of popularity. Not just among horror fans, but with celebrities as well. Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, and even Brad Pitt have sung praises of this movie. One of the reasons for its notoriety is due to being made by Toho, the same film studio who made the Godzilla movies, as well as the last movie House, oddly enough.

The title war starts because there are two Gargantuas, a green one, Gaira, and a tan one, Sanda. Gaira is a vicious, evil monster who eats people, while Sanda is peaceful and likes people. Naturally, they do not get along very well.

The scenes with the Gargantuas are the highlights of the movie. While they appear fake by today’s standards, they still look very well made, in no small part to the fact they the monster’s masks allow for the suit actor’s eyes to be seen, allowing them to show more emotion than normally allowed.

The movie itself is a loud and grand, as the title would suggest. The monster action is destructive and fast, and music is loud and brassy, making it seem larger. The plot itself is fantastical and nonsensical. According to the film, the monsters spawned from cells of a smaller monster creature, and one is hostile due to growing in the sea, and the other is benevolent due to being in the mountains. If you questioned any of that, you might just be thinking too hard.

The best part of the movie is the final battle between the monsters, taking place in the heart of Tokyo. It lives up to the title as a war. Buildings get smashed, the military fails to stop them, and the fight moves from land to sea. Watching them try to beat each other with ocean liners is like two little children fighting in a pool.

The effect, alhough dated, is very well done. The Gargantuas are smaller than most monsters of the time period from Japan, so the model buildings needed to be more detailed, but the newer buildings look great, even if their only purpose is to be smashed.

Aside from that, War of the Gargantuas is a fun movie. It’s stupid and objectively a bad movie, but only someone who is an utter killjoy can truly dislike it. It is one of the most entertaining movies I have ever seen, good or bad set aside.