6/10
Bad Ass Monsters, Annoying Kids
25 May 2009
This is the kick off of Mothra's very own series and I must say it wasn't a bad move by Toho. You see, Mothra, like Rodan, was originally a solo character who was introduced to the Godzilla franchise in the cross-over "Mothra vs. Godzilla"in 1964. Her first film had been back in 1961 and for whatever reason, audiences like Mothra a lot. Want to guess which monster co-star has been in the most Godzilla films? No, it's not King Ghidorah, no not MechaGodzilla and Christ no it is not Minilla. That's right, it's Mothra. She's starred in a total of nine Godzilla films. MehaGodzilla's been in five and Ghidorah has been in eight. Therefore the idea of her own series wasn't too shabby at all. However, I must say I was expecting more.

To begin this review I'll say the good points to this film. Oddly, this film's universe is that of the Heisei Godzilla series. It's the same Mothra from "Godzilla vs. Mothra" back in 1992 to be exact. The monsters are grade A in my book, Mothra and Mothra Leo both look awesome, as well as the larva form. Death Ghidorah looked incredible and his attacks were great. I didn't like his roar and the original shrieks would've been better though. While in flight, the quadruped dragon looked awesome as well. The real downside is that to save money Toho had Death Ghidorah rampage through a forest the entire movie without even touching a single building! Wack status! Isn't Tokyo supposed to get crushed in these films? The thing that truly ruins this flick are the annoying and overly childish characters. The dialogue and every scene involving any of them, especially the fairies, just leaves older viewers like me frustrated. The human characters are just plain crappy. On the opposite side we have good monster moments, as when the larva watches its mother drown right before its eyes, a somber moment where the tragic music really sets the mood. Toshiyuki Watanabe is a great composer, giving Mothra a heroic theme and everything.

Unfortunately, most will find the bad outweighs the good and find watching the film unbearable. All in all, I still find it a fun film to watch.
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