Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008)
aka Girara no gyakushu: Toya-ko Samitto kikiippatsu
Article 5936 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-3-2021
Directed by Minoru Kawasaki
Featuring Natsuki Kato, Kazuki Alex Kato, Kei Akazawa
What it is: Kaiju parody

While the G8 Summit is being held in Tokyo, Guilala arrives from outer space and goes on a rampage. Rather than scurry back to their respective countries, the leaders of the world nations at the summit offer their help to rid Japan of this menace.

While the political and military leaders discuss the giant monster situation, an eight-year old boy shows up to give his advice and names the monster. The group reacts by telling him civilians aren’t allowed at the meeting, and guards escort him out. For having the scene pan out this way, this movie manages to stake its own special place in the kaiju genre as the only intentional parody of the form from within Japan. It’s a good thing it finds its own voice; otherwise, I would have kept wondering (as I did when I purchased it years ago) why they bothered reviving one of the most pathetic kaiju in history, Guilala. The fact that it’s a parody helps me forgive the cultural stereotypes embodied by the leaders of the various nations (such as the fact that the French member is more interested in seducing his interpreter than doing anything about the matter at hand) As a whole, the movie is scattershot, but it has its moments; I like the interviews in the street where Japanese citizens react to the monster by thinking about the money they’ll make by merchandising, the pathetic attempts by the various world leaders, and the final battle scene which references both KING KONG VS. GODZILLA and the ‘Ultraman’ series. Though far from perfect, this sequel is superior to the original.