I saw this film in 1960 playing with "The Time Machine" as a double feature. Though not as rich in story line as "The Mysterians" this film really takes off when the two Speep earthships go to the moon to battle a base set up by the planet Matal who also fly "Mysterian" style flying saucers. On the moon the action really starts with marvelous raygun battles between the enemy and earth forces. The earth forces possess a marvelous heat ray cannon as well as smaller but potent raygun rifles. Later in the film, the earth forces battle invading flying saucers and a mother ship with X-15 styled fighter craft equipped with heat ray guns. The finale with the mother ship's ray gun destroying Toyko is done quite well.

For the time this film was made, the special effects are quite good. Considering my nickname is ray-gun 3, this is a ten star IMDb vote scale film in that department. I think the best scene in the film is on the moon where one of the crew stays behind with his ray rifle destroying flying saucers so the earth force can get away in their Speep spaceship. This scene is one of the best piece of special effects I have scene in this type of movie. A thought to remember is the film was made 17 to 18 years before "Star Wars". An outstanding accomplishment by Toho studios.

"Battle in Outer Space" is another gem from Toho Studios. The film boasts some excellent (for 1959) special effects. The color print is stunning as well. The plot is similar to "The Mysterians" with aliens trying to take over mankind. In the end of course, earth triumphs over the aliens. The acting is decent, the dubbing is passable. The music score is done well. The real star of this film are the outer space scenes. I really enjoyed the spacecraft as well as the battle scenes. Toho Studios are more well known for their monster films (Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra)but these space films are just as good. If you get a chance, catch this as well as "The Mysterians".

The nations of the Earth unite in a common cause to fight off an invader from outer space.

The film is considered a loose or "nominal" sequel to "The Mysterians" (1957),jumping ahead several years to 1965, when Etsuko Shiraishi and Dr. Adachi, among others, are now heavily involved in the United Nations Space Research Center in Tokyo. The continuity is not important, though, and if someone did not see the earlier film they will not be confused in the least.

Although not the first time "Godzilla" director Honda takes on space, a topic on the forefront of everyone's minds in the late 1950s, this is probably one of his better explorations of the theme. It is always interesting to see what movie creators thought space travel and space suits. This film was able to correctly predict a fair number of things, and even takes a crack at what walking on the moon would look like.

Howard Thompson gave the film a generally positive review, stating, "The plot is absurd and is performed in dead earnest... the artwork is downright nifty, especially in the middle portion, when an earth rocket soars to the moon to destroy the palpitating missile base... the Japanese have opened a most amusing and beguiling bag of technical tricks, as death-dealing saucers whiz through the stratosphere... and the lunar landscape is just as pretty as it can be."

I have nothing to add to what Thompson has said, other than to note that critics today would likely be even more favorable in retrospect -- the film holds up well and displays a sense of fun and imagination rarely seen today.