Godzilla vs. Mothra - Not Quite

Despite being on a roll starting with Godzilla vs. Biollante, and producing some of the best movies of the series, Toho still was not seeing the financial returns out of the revival of Godzilla that they were expecting. So the only solution from here seemed to be to keep bringing back monsters from the first series that were well loved. Believing they weren't tapping into the female market enough, Toho brought back Mothra for a rematch against Godzilla in hopes of selling more tickets. A revival of Mothra had been thought about and planned actually since about 1990, so when it was discovered fans wanted a return of Mothra, it only seemed perfect to bring her back in a rematch against Godzilla. And so, Godzilla vs. Mothra was born! While not a direct remake of Mothra vs. Godzilla, they are similar movies, to be sure. So what do we get with this "reimagining" shall we say, of Mothra vs. Godzilla? Honestly, not much. We definitely do get a movie that's fun to watch once or twice, but it's not a movie you're going to come back to like Godzilla, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, or even the original Mothra vs. Godzilla. It's nothing too extraordinary and it's not a bad entry. It's one of those ones that just kind of sits in a really in between space that makes it a little hard to recommend to everyone.

After Godzilla went into hibernation after his battle with King Ghidorah, he was awoken from his nap after a meteor hits the Earth. While Godzilla is awakened, so reemerge two divine moths, guardians of an ancient world: Mothra and Battra. But reawakened and angry at the humans who he views as a threat, Battra begins causing too much harm to the people of the world. Now it is up to Mothra to defeat Godzilla, return Battra to a proper conscience, and begin her journey to stop another asteroid on its way to Earth that will surely bring utter devastation. With the stakes being higher than ever, it truly is a battle for the Earth in Godzilla vs. Mothra.

Starting with some positives, Mothra and Battra form a really interesting and fun sort of sibling dynamic that really holds the film together. I mentioned during my War of the Gargantuas review that sibling monster relationships are largely unexplored with one exception. This is the exception. Mothra and Battra form a really solid dynamic with Mothra being just as Mothra as ever: being focused on saving the Earth and all of its inhabitants and willing to sacrifice herself by any means to make sure everyone is saved. Meanwhile we get Battra on the exact opposite hand. Battra REALLY does not like humans. In ancient times, he believed them to be a poison and a danger to the Earth, and so he did his best to destroy them all, and as a result, Mothra sealed him away. She believed he was in the wrong as humans are alive and deserve every chance to live. Their dynamic really holds the film together, and it's nice seeing a dynamic like theirs. Essentially two similarly powered monsters ramming heads back and forth to determine who is more in the right. HOWEVER, this starts to cause an issue already in when you look at the title of the movie: Godzilla vs. Mothra. The movie is supposed to be about Mothra and Godzilla, and unfortunately Godzilla kind of gets put on the back burner in this movie. With Battra having to be fully established and Mothra being the good guy monster of the movie, Godzilla gets kind of lost in the movie. He still is important of course, proving so powerful that the yin and yang of Mothra and Battra have to work together in order to stop him, if temporarily. But in the movie that is a sequel to Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and the fourth installment of his second series, it is imperative that he gets the focus, but he doesn't and that really kind of blows.

There's not a lot to dig into with the Mothra and Battra dynamic out of the way. Except I guess tone and the humans. After a great human plot in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, this movie is definitely a significant step down. Like in the last movie, more American movies get ripped off. This time it's the opening sequence basically ripped straight from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Like in Mothra and Mothra vs. Godzilla, the movie brings back light comedy into the mix, and moves away from the tone and feeling of the second series being much more serious. This time it feels even more obvious and harmful to the series as a whole, because while the time travel plot of the last movie was pushing it, it was still with in the realm of science fiction. Mothra and the cosmos and Battra are a bit too fantasy for my liking, and it definitely doesn't help that there aren't really a ton of human performances that stick out. It just kind of exists.

However, this movie definitely does not fail its music department. With the return of Akira Ifukube starting in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, classic themes would continue to reappear and be used in this movie. Sacred Springs, the Mothra Song and of course the famous Godzilla theme song all make reappearances and really add to the sense of awe and inspiration of the monsters. This movie doesn't get a lot of compliments form me, but in the sound and music department, I can't praise it enough. On the sound, Godzilla's roar is practically perfected in this movie. I see some folks have mixed opinions about the roar change, but I don't mind. It still sounds really good, and it still sounds like Godzilla's a monster, just not as ferocious. Mothra reuses roars from the original series, but those are practically perfect, so there's no need to change them. And Battra sees a great roar, just being an edited version of Rodan's. And while I would have liked a completely new, never before heard roar before, it's whatever. It doesn't take away from the cool look of Battra and it fits him pretty well, I think.

Honestly, writing a review for this one is hard. Nothing about Godzilla vs. Mothra is particularly that memorable, and I do think it is by far the weakest link of the second series. It isn't bad or embarrassing or anything. But the second series really thrives off of how grounded it usually is, and especially how consistent it is. Godzilla vs. Mothra is largely consistent in how forgettable it is. I know since everyone has an opinion that there is someone who loves this one, and that's fine. It's just not my favorite and I do think that the rest of the series is a major improvement in quality from here. It's not insulting or anything, it's just not a movie I'd recommend.

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Wrapping up the Rematch Trilogy, we have a really good one coming right up. A movie that perfectly reintroduces not only Rodan, and not only Babygodzilla, but also one of the best enemies and concepts that the series ever introduced. That's right, tomorrow we'll be going over Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2! And before the great debate starts, I'll give my opinion right now: Mechagodzilla 2 looks great, but is my second least favorite version of the character. I'll let you know more and more how I feel going on. As of now, look forward to tomorrow as we watch a really great one.