Invasion of the Neptune Men on AllMovie

Koji Ota's Invasion of the Neptune Men actually is as bad a movie as the Godzilla films are supposed to be -- which doesn't mean it isn't an enjoyable film in its delightfully dopey way. Invaders from the planet Neptune, who look like klutzy guys in helmets that resemble overturned garbage cans, attack Earth. Their first contact is witnessed by a group of children who manage to be both obnoxiously cute and aggressive at the same time, but they're rescued by the sudden arrival of a mysterious hero (Shinichi Chiba) from outer space. Referred to as Space Chief in the English-dubbed version, and Ironsharp in the original Japanese, he flies in a jet-powered car that sort of rattles around like an airborne hot-rod. We never find out anything about him -- the children identify him as a hero and are in the film to cheer him on whenever he appears, and he always arrives to pull our fat out of the fire. The movie is a confusing mess, at least in its English-language version, but that's part of the fun.