It’s not a giant Ultron, but this robot is here to “avenge” Japan from a “beastly” threat! Do you know where it’s from?
It’s from The Beastie Boys’ 1998 hit “Intergalactic!”
We start out somewhere in space, where three scientists are freaking out, man!
Say “hello nasty!” to this giant space creature.
OK, so it’s not actually Laser Time honcho Chris Antista’s ass (though I do like to think the mustache in this shot is the Asian version equivalent of the “Sabotage” video.)
It’s the Beastie Boys and their giant robot!!!
When you slow down the video, you notice the little stuff — literally, in this case. Due to the forced perspective of the shot, the miniature RC car looks smaller than a motorcycle. I know Japan love its tiny cars, but this is ridiculous.
And now we meet our heroes, dressed as Japanese street construction workers. For a more Laser Timed-themed reference, imagine the police from Jet Grind Radio.
The structure of the video is the crew posing, popping, and locking throughout the funky nation of Japan. Here we see them posing so mightily that it could bring tears to the Dragon Ball Z Ginyu Force’s eyes.
Meanwhile the robot seems to be, well, doing the robot. No matter who does this move, giant robots included, your annoying friend will still claim he can do it better.
Suddenly, a wild Cthulhu appears! The town literally isn’t big enough for the two of them!
This footage is also featured in the temporarily banned Tentacool episode of Pokemon.
Back to the boys. Another third of the video involves them rapping into a fisheye lens. They are no strangers to this.
We return to the super-sized showdown, where the Cthulhu creature has the upper hand claw!
Is this the end of our heroic robot!?
While most of us would have killed to be in a Beastie Boys music video, no one on this train wants to be involved — especially this guy.
Here we see the insides of the massive Shinjuku and Shibuya train stations, as once detailed by Brett in a harrowing story from Laser Time’s “How to Japan” episode.
Somewhere apparently far away from the rest of the population of Japan, the fight continues. Our heroic robot is dancing and fighting for Earth like there’s no tomorrow!
He strikes with a few hard punches, and leaves a satisfying dent in his opponent.
He sends him right into the local power grid, turning him into takoyaki (try it sometime — it’s delicious!).
And our heroes take off to other dimensions and new galaxies!
This video was directed by Nathaniel Hornblower (aka MCA), and his passion for Toho kaiju films shows. The song “Intergalactic” won the Beastie Boys a Grammy in 1999, and the video beat out Busta Rhymes’ and Janet Jackson’s “What’s It Gonna Be” for an MTV music video award.
If you like this, be sure to check out the previously mentioned “Sabotage” music video, a tribute to their love of 70’s and early 80’s police dramas. And if you like giant, loud robots fights, watch Mystery Science Theater take on Godzilla vs Megalodon.
Article by contributor Kaleb Heil.