"Gorgo" (the name is derived from "Gorgon", those creatures of Greek mythology) is a fun British entry into the "giant monster" sweepstakes, functioning as an update of both "Godzilla" and "King Kong". Basically, it has profit-minded sailors Joe (Bill Travers) and Sam (William Sylvester) succeeding in capturing a giant, oceanic lizard who gets dubbed "Gorgo", and is sold to a London Circus. Then it's revealed that Gorgo is little more than an infant, and sure enough, soon its even more enormous parent shows up to cause much destruction and mayhem.
Whatever "Gorgo" lacks in originality is compensated for by its generally well-done special effects, its sense of pace (it only clocks in at a trim 77 minutes), fairly memorable monsters (who come complete with endearing flappy ears), and a genuinely exciting climax. English landmarks such as London Bridge and Big Ben are fair game for the destructive capabilities of the elder lizard. All of this chaos is comparable to anything one would see in a "Godzilla" feature.
The cast is good, doing their best with what are rather under-developed roles. Still, there's something to be said for the way that the writers and director Eugene Lourie (who had experience in this genre, having already helmed "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms") get straight to the "meat and potatoes" of the story. For one thing, there are no substantial female roles, and thus no romance to otherwise slow down the action. Travers and Sylvester are reasonably engaging, and child actor Vincent Winter is appealing as Sean, the lad who inevitably sometimes causes some trouble in his attempts to do what he thinks is "right".
While this flick may not be on the level of "Godzilla", it IS quite entertaining and is a solid example of this type of movie.
Seven out of 10.
Whatever "Gorgo" lacks in originality is compensated for by its generally well-done special effects, its sense of pace (it only clocks in at a trim 77 minutes), fairly memorable monsters (who come complete with endearing flappy ears), and a genuinely exciting climax. English landmarks such as London Bridge and Big Ben are fair game for the destructive capabilities of the elder lizard. All of this chaos is comparable to anything one would see in a "Godzilla" feature.
The cast is good, doing their best with what are rather under-developed roles. Still, there's something to be said for the way that the writers and director Eugene Lourie (who had experience in this genre, having already helmed "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms") get straight to the "meat and potatoes" of the story. For one thing, there are no substantial female roles, and thus no romance to otherwise slow down the action. Travers and Sylvester are reasonably engaging, and child actor Vincent Winter is appealing as Sean, the lad who inevitably sometimes causes some trouble in his attempts to do what he thinks is "right".
While this flick may not be on the level of "Godzilla", it IS quite entertaining and is a solid example of this type of movie.
Seven out of 10.