Mothra vs. Godzilla
Starring: Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Foreign
1964

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A giant egg washes up on Japan's shores, and people flock to it like a tourist attraction. However, Godzilla soon appears, determined to destroy everything in his path- including Japan and the egg! Now, the only hope rests with the giant Mothra, protecting her egg and the citizens of Japan from the terrible Godzilla.

Review:

Tim: After the first three films, there emerged a troubling pattern in the Godzilla franchise. Each film was subsequently worse than the one preceding it. Luckily, with Mothra vs. Godzilla, the fourth film in the series, that trend is reversed. This is the most enjoyable film since the original, and breathed some new life into the franchise. Whereas the last two movies felt all too similar to each other, this one marks a decisive change of pace, which injects life into this series. Now, this movie is still flawed and is not exactly a masterpiece- but, it is better than expected, and that is a good thing.

Much of this film takes strength from the fact that it is not exactly what we expect from a Godzilla movie. There are a number of new features and changes to this story. I like that, even if I am not completely sold on all of these. I have to mention the two tiny twins from Mothra Island. I am still shaking my head, trying to figure out if this was sheer brilliance or sheer stupidity. I haven't made my mind up yet, but I believe I am leaning slightly toward the latter. I can't for the life of me understand why there are these miniature twins who speak every word at the same time. This is beyond belief (even harder to believe than a giant lizard and a giant moth). At the same time, I was mesmerized and turned off by them. I can say that their presence is unique and definitely gave this movie a different flavor.

I also have to comment on Mothra. I know that Mothra had a few solo films prior to this meetup, but most audiences would be familiar with it because of this movie. I really like the trend of Godzilla villains- a giant ankylosaurus, a giant gorilla, and now, a giant moth. Again, is this complete brilliance or total lunacy? We may never know for sure, but I love Mothra because it is such an unlikely creature to be included. I mean, think about all the ferocious, terrifying creatures out there that the Japanese could have (and eventually did) use to fight Godzilla. And yet, here, in the fourth film, we have a giant moth. I love it.

This film also features one of the best Godzilla entrances in the franchise. It was so unlike all the other films. It was unexpected and exciting. I loved his entrance in this movie. I also like that there were a few scenes involving commentary on the danger of nuclear testing. The nuclear allegory was one of the greatest strengths of the original film, but sadly absent from the previous two films. I was glad to see it come back here. I also liked that in addition to this movie being about two giant monsters and the aforementioned nuclear warning, this is also a movie about corporate greed and mysticism. I think these movies work best when they are more than just monster movies.

Now, I am going on and on about the movie's strengths, because in relation to the previous films, this movie is an improvement. However, in the grand scheme of things, this is not a great movie. While the human characters are more interesting than the previous two films, they are still not up to par. I wish we had more compelling stories here. The fight scenes between Godzilla and Mothra are pretty decent, if incredibly unbelievable. I wish they would have been better. I like the idea of Godzilla's final battle with the two larvae, but this scene is prolonged far too long. It drags on and on and I wanted to scream for it to hurry up already. The film's conclusion is very weak as well, featuring a less than stellar conclusion to the battle, and feels all too similar to the ending of King Kong vs. Godzilla. This is one of the weakest aspects of the film.

Mothra vs. Godzilla is not a great movie, but it takes that all important step back towards respectability. It might have been asking too much for this to be a great movie, but I mostly enjoyed the experience and I was glad to see that this film took a slightly different approach, resulting in a better movie than I expected. Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gojira, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong vs. Godzilla