A short review of "Prince of Space"
Which brings us to Prince of Space (Yusei Oji in Japan). I don't care what any of you think: one does not have to be Japanese to accurately critique this movie. This movie SUCKS with a capital S - U - C - K - S regardless of what side of the International Date Line you're on. Words simply cannot describe how this film will scar you. In the 1950s there was Kurosawa's Japan (and Godzilla falls into that camp during this time period) and there was the Japan that demanded this film.
If I had to distill this movie I'd claim that what we're dealing with is a Buck Rodgers/Buzz Lightyear/Busta Rhymes something meets the Japanese UltraMan concept. In other words, pure goofiness. It appears Wally is a boot black whose self appointed good deeds include working with children and inventing unknown technology to possibly fight off alien invaders. Lucky for him alien invaders - arriving in their toy spaceship - show up so he can use that technology. Since he can't very well fight as Wally, he takes on a cover name to go with his super silly outfit. That name? The Prince of Space.
Thus begins our pattern for the next 90 minutes - 90 minutes that will feel like 90 years as this film does it's best to rob your soul of vitality. The aliens try something, the Prince confronts them, he pursues them, the action peters out and we start all over again. This exact pattern occurs close to ten times. It really does feel like someone tried to string all of the Gene Autry serial The Phantom Empire into one life-sucking movie.
But while the action is incredibly repetitive, that's not the problem. The problem is everything else about this movie! Where to start? How about the alien costumes? Basically they're humans with very fake nose beaks and ill-fitting cloth suits with head antennas. Not to mention the fact that they're VERY OBVIOUSLY NOT WEARING UNDERWEAR! Maybe that's the one part of this movie that really makes you wonder why Japan's auto industry is so much better than ours. How can it be if they won't wear undergarments onscreen?! While we are discussing pants and related clothes items, what is the Japanese obsession with little boys and tiny shorts? It continually crops up in 50s, 60s, and 70s Japanese science fiction - in this film, several Godzilla movies, and most horrifically in the Gamera series. This kid is worse than most, as he is dubbed with a Brooklyn accent. At least he doesn't make governmental policy as children so frequently do in Gamera.