Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"Godzilla vs. Mothra" is a somewhat preachy kaiju movie in which Mothra, a friend to mankind (despite, as we are constantly reminded, our selfish and stupid behavior) faces off against Battra, a guardian of Earth who was created millennia ago in response to an attempt by our distant ancestors to control the weather. Godzilla, having been awakened by a meteorite crashing into the ocean shows up and the two giant bugs have to decide whether to join forces against a common enemy of both man and the Earth. Other than some superfluous "Indiana Jones"-style archeological adventures, the movie is essentially a bug-fight with Godzilla thrown in as an after-thought. I liked the original adult Mothra (1961, 1964) but I'm not a fan of her colourful new appearance (she looks like she's made of fuzzy pipe-cleaners and covered with dyed poodle fur) or her new 'laser beam' (?) abilities. Both larval forms and the adult Battra look pretty good, and the scenes where Mothra passes through her cocoon stage (wrapped in silk, leaning against the Japanese parliament buildings) was great (I was disappointed when Battra's corresponding morphological change was instantaneous). The Heisei-era Godzilla suit is still looks great and the 'fight' scenes are pretty well staged (for a monster that can take tank shells in the chest at close range, Godzilla sure hates having the tip of his tail bitten). As always, Akira Ifukube's score is great and brings back both Godzilla's iconic march and Mothra's beautiful theme (IMO, the best music in the franchise). The acting is pretty typical for a 90's Kaiju outing: fine in non-demanding roles, but the 'Cosmos', Mothra's little fairy-familiars are neither as sweet nor as melodic as the Peanuts (who originated the roles in "Mothra" (1961)). The dubbing in the version I watched (a Tristar DVD) was OK (although the greedy CEO of Murutomo has a silly, cartoonish voice). The environmental self-flagellation in the film is about as subtle as one would expect from a Godzilla film (even when compared to G. vs Hedorah) and comes across a bit self-righteous for a country that uses over 20 billion disposable wooden chopsticks a year, mostly made from imported wood. All-in-all, number 19 in the series is an OK outing but a step down from its antecedent, the gloriously silly "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah". The Japanese seem to suffer from collective kaiju-amnesia (there is no reference to Mothra having visited the islands before) and show tremendous aplomb (no one seems particularly surprised when two gigantic moths show up).

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: THE BATTLE FOR EARTH is a follow-up to GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH and a remake of sorts of the '60s kaiju GODZILLA VS MOTHRA. This is hugely entertaining kid's movie, filled to the brim with colourful special effects, spectacular scenes of destruction, and an engaging human storyline to boot.The film's influences are many and varied, as you'll soon guess with the opening sequence featuring an Indiana Jones-style character raiding the ancient ruins at Angkor Wat. Before long we're knee-deep in a storyline involving a crashed meteorite, a reawakened Godzilla, the eruption of Mount Fuji, the emergence of a world-destroying creature called Battra, and of course Mothra himself.Special emphasis is given to the character of Mothra, who is as hilarious as ever. As much as I love the giant furry moth, there's something undeniably hilarious about the creature in caterpillar form too, especially when hanging on to Godzilla's tail. I like the way the writers hark back to the '60s movies with the presence of the tiny twins and Infant Island; all good stuff. Plus, there's more giant monster action here than in the last film, although there's still time for plenty of human characters to get involved in a wider-reaching plot than usual. The message here is of the usual "save the environment" variety but it doesn't get in the way of what is a hugely enjoyable piece of entertainment.

I had problems with this movie. For one thing, mothra looks like a plastic toy, both in larval and adult stages. The military artillery and miniature buildings look less convincing than before and like mothra, they often look like toys. The film is definitely inferior effects wise to the previous and subsequent Heisei films (with exception of Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla). The final battle, though enjoyable, is a little bit of a let down. Godzilla doesn't put up much of a challenge for the two moths and is bested with uncharacteristic ease.However, there are things I like as well. Despite the slightly shoddier effects work, it is still an enjoyable Godzilla movie. It retains the darker tone of the Heisei series. Battra looks fantastic in both larval and adult form, and of course, Godzilla looks awesome as always. Akira Ifukube provides a spectacular musical score, and hearing the numerous songs sung by the twin fairies is always an awesome auditory treat, and are very fitting for the deity-esque nature of mothra. Godzilla's emergence from Mt. Fuji is spectacular, and far surpasses his previous volcano escape in Godzilla vs Biollante, and is by far the most impressive special effects sequence in the film, and one of the best in the history of Godzilla movies.And of course, though I complained about the special effects, it is really only a minor gripe. Though I prefer the better effects of most of the other Heisei films, this one still manages to impress visually, and there are Godzilla films with far cheaper effects work that I love. So overall, not the best Godzilla film ever, and one of the weaker entries to the Heisei series, but still a good and enjoyable movie. I recommend that fans of Godzilla and just giant monster movies in general should see it, though it may not appeal to people who are not fans of the genre.

This movie starts out pretty good, with realistic looking meteor falling to earth, but that's the end of good special effects for this film. Special effects director Koichi Kawakita must have been absent the day they shot this movie (although he is credited), because his previous film (Godzilla vs King Gidorah) was lot better than this one. The only reason I could think of for this movie's special effect being so bad was that it was rushed for summer season when kids are off school. These movies are primarily targeted I believe for elementary school kids which I think is grave mistake on Toho's part, because many children enjoyed Gamera 3 which was not catering to younger audiences.Asides from the above, this movie has more than few things in common with the original Mothra vs Godzilla (1964).1. There's a corrupt real estate developer as the main protagonist. 2. A typhoon exposes Mothra's egg. 3. Two man and a woman goes on an expedition to Infant (Mothra) island. 4. It's two monsters against one Godzilla. 5. Actor Akira Takarada stars in both movies.This DVD comes together with Godzilla vs King Gidorah which Toho created as their 60th anniversary project, which is one of the best Godzilla movie of the '90s.