Mothra Vs. Godzilla

Mothra vs. Godzilla, a battle for the ages, is a short affair- and in many ways, Godzilla is a latecomer to the precedings. Still, in many ways, this film delivers on all levels as the title bout with Kong didn’t, giving us a story worth investing in and decent human characters among the monster action.

Despite all these photos, the film IS in color...

Which isn’t to say this is the most gripping of tales. In many ways, the story feels over-familiar; the reporter elements feel like a retread of Mothra, with the greedy business-people managing to strike both the goofiness of Vs. Kong and the dark violence of the original Mothra. Heck, they even dig the exact same big ‘ol pit from vs. King Kong; if it wasn’t reused footage, it was pretty darn similar. Thus, the story feels like a 'greatest hits' pastiche, and thus not the most original or compelling… but it is still watchable.

Ichiro and Yuriko at least feel like more of an equal footing than the pair from Mothra, and while Ichiro is no Tenn-Chan, the duo are both likable protagonists. The professor rounds out the trio nicely; a bit more nondescript than the protagonists of either Raids Again or the original Mothra, but still a step above the virtual-nonentities of vs. Kong.

The villains, meanwhile, are an odd pairing- a cartoonishly evil, Kong-style tycoon partnered with a cold-blooded creep in the Nelson mold. Their end is shockingly gratuitous, with a bloody beating, a visible gunshot wound through the head, and a building brought down on them; the over-the-top darkness of their demise is a bit jarring in context with the rest of the film’s tone.

The kaiju look pretty great, meanwhile- with Godzilla in excellent Showa shape and Mothra looking, perhaps, a bit (appropriately) haggard, but in great shape for a believable match-up. The use of undercranked, sped-up fight footage is even more distracting here than it was in Raids Again, unfortunately, but there is enough material outside of that for the fight to still be a great one, really top-notch. The caterpillars look pretty good, too, and while their approach to the island and cat-and-mouse with Godzilla probably goes on a bit long, it is still a satisfying climax to the ongoing storyline.

The film looks gorgeous- that seems to be a theme with Mothra movies- visually lush, and with impressive special effects. The choice to bluescreen Godzilla into real locations more than using miniatures, which made Godzilla Millennium so notable, is in proto-form here, and while the composited Godzilla is a bit blurry and indistinct, the effect is well-realized and striking, lending a believability to the Godzilla rampage that the Showa series had yet to achieve. It’s especially effective when intercut with matching miniatures; an excellent set of sequences.

In fact, most of the visuals are fantastic. The egg is mostly well-realized (there are a few dodgy compositing shots), the animated lightning has a striking (no pun intended) visual look, and the miniatures are generally strong, especially the planes. There are a few dodgy effects- melting rocks portrayed by what looks like a deflating beach ball was extremely laughable, for instance- but overall, this is a definite pinnacle for the vfx in the series.

The music is excellent, reusing familiar themes in a perfect matchup of the new and the familiar; a classic kaiju score as lush as the visuals.

I have to say, though, that this film may feature a Godzilla defeat strategy that looks even more ludicrous than creating a satellite to shoot black holes at the Earth; three waves of nets dropped in succession from a quartet of helicopters is really hard to take seriously. 

Overall, this film is a deserved classic; entertaining, a visual treat, sporting a high level of craftsmanship and execution, and both storyline and characters that- while not the best the series has to offer- are definitely more engaging than their direct predecessor, and the majority of the efforts to-date.