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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Godzilla vs. Steven Spielberg!, 24 enero 2005

Author: Brandt Sponseller de New York City

The film opens with the Japanese Indiana Jones pillaging some archaeological ruins. Just as he makes his way out of a perilously collapsing old temple, he's stopped by rifles pointed at his head. The armed men are from the government, and they're accompanied by his ex-wife. It seems that a strange meteor has crashed near a remote island, and he's been pegged to lead an expedition on the island. They encounter a strange egg, then they run into the Cosmos, two tiny fairy-like beings, who tell them that it's the egg of Mothra, who protects the earth. While taking the egg back to Japan, suddenly, Battra, another monster, shows up, as does Godzilla, in his first appearance of the film, and all hell begins to break loose, as is wont to happen in Godzilla films.

That's a bit more detailed than I usually try to present premises (although that's just the first fifteen minutes or so of the film), but I want to give you of how exquisitely bizarre Godzilla vs. Mothra is and at the same time, give some clues as to why I've titled this review "Godzilla vs. Steven Spielberg!" There are all kinds of Spielberg references (occasionally rip-offs) and Spielberg-like touches to this film. But imagine Spielberg on acid, making a live-action adaptation of some wacky kid-oriented anime, with the addition of monsters that are going to rip each other to shreds with death rays emanating from their eyes and mouths and biting each others' necks off while alien-colored blood spews out. That might sound like an atrocious concatenation to some people, but it's heavenly to me, which is why this particular Godzilla film is a 10 out of 10 for me.

It's worth noting that director Takao Okawara managed quite a few "poetic" touches in this film, including some beautiful cinematography, the wonderfully weird cocoon-building sequence, and the scene of Mothra flying out into space, trailing sparkly dust. What really works best here, though, is the bizarre combination of kid-oriented fantasy and the more adult-oriented, menacing tone of the typical Godzilla film. The design of Mothra in this film is the perfect example. It looks like somewhat of a cross between a butterfly, a Muppet, a teddy bear, an Ewok, and a Gremlin at their "cute" stage. Only it is a giant fighting monster capable of killing other giant fighting monsters, destroying downtown, or maybe even destroying the Earth. The effect isn't that far removed from the Sta-Puft Marshmallow man at the end of Ghostbusters. It's all wonderfully surreal.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Worthy addition!, 18 junio 1999
Author: Flick-18 de Harrisburg, Pa

"Godzilla Vs. Mothra" benefits from a few added surprises, things I didn't expect but welcomed with open arms. Chalk one up for the makers of this film. I thought I knew what I was getting into, but I was wrong.

The storyline (as best as I could remember, so be patient) was simple stuff. A comet hits the ocean, uncovering a Mothra egg and awakening Battra, Mothra's enemy.

An expedition on the island tries taking the egg back to Japan via large rafts pulled by a freighter. But Godzilla shows up to spoil the party. The egg hatches, and Godzilla and the Mothra larvae go at it.

Godzilla shows up in Tokyo, as does the Mothra larvae. The larvae cocoons itself to the capital building, then comes bursting out. Battra shows up. Turns out Battra wants to protect earth and Mothra wants to protect earth's people, so what the hey -- why don't they join forces to fight Godzilla, who's destroying EVERYTHING???

They do so. Battra is killed, but Godzilla is down for the count. Mothra flies into space to destroy a comet headed for earth.

A few things stick out, however. First is the positively Indiana Jones-esque scene at the beginning, a sure sign of western influence. Second is the scene where the larvae cocoons itself. The score sets the right mood, that of something natural and beautiful. This is probably the only scene in a Godzilla movie I could watch over and over again and really appreciate.

Lastly, I've grown bored of Godzilla battle sequences, but the final one here involves a fight near an amusement park. This is the first time I've seen a ferris wheel used as a weapon in a Godzilla movie. I hope we see similar things in the future.

There's a lot of things I'm leaving out here, but you get the point. This movie is entertaining, which is what I look forward to seeing in any Godzilla movie. And with those added touches, this one gets an extra thumbs up.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
another chapter in the mothra franchise, 23 diciembre 2005

Author: h-a-m de Italy

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

this is a good movie. There are various trademarks, which make the plot a second edition of earlier plots, namely greedy businessmen trying to abduct the miniature girls and the Mothra egg for profit, thus summoning Mothra. Nothing new under the sun in general, besides many Indiana Jones-Rambo moments, which replace the Bond movie spoofs used elsewhere. Equally, they throw in some character development, namely an archaeologist turned cheap thief & his family crisis as a "misguided but well meaning" character. That is not essential, although not overdone. Godzilla resurfaces following the impact of a huge meteor, and all things right seem to go wrong. From the old King Caesar movie, there is a prophecy about a third monster in this movie, Bathra, sort of nemesis for Mothra. This movie reveals the origin of the miniature girls as well: they're the last from a long lost atlantean society destroyed during a natural disaster caused by men's abuse of earth resources. In the end, Mothra & Bathra must join forces against Godzilla, even if they're per se enemies. Another prophecy seals the movie: a huge meteor will collide with earth soon (then 1999) and Mothra has to handle the matter. Although from 1992, it's still typically 80ish. SFX are good. some entertaining 120 minutes.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Now here's a good Godzilla flick, 16 octubre 2005

Author: galfridus73 de United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Not excellent, but good, solid, and it works while providing a nice lead-in to "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla" (which we won't discuss here because it isn't as strong).

While this movie is, as a few other reviewers have noticed, primarily a Mothra movie, I found that this returned Godzilla back to his stomping grounds of the 60s and the 70s when the movies did introduce the other monster first, followed by Godzilla showing up in the second half of the movie.

This is the more aggressive and larger Godzilla introduced in the silly "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" in 1991, but he is used very well here. The emergence of Mothra and Battra (and an asteroid touching-down near his resting spot) awaken the grumpy Godzilla, making him want to go and destroy everything once again...

The only weak spot here is that the end is very close to that of "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah," as Mothra and Battra take Godzilla out to sea and Battra dies and falls with Godzilla into the water.

In all, it's a lot of fun, has very little to do with that silly ESP institute, and can be easily suggested for any casual Godzilla or Mothra fan.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A very enjoyable slice of kaiju fun, 11 marzo 2001

Author: vkn de Amsterdam

A very solid entry into the giant monster genre. What makes this stand out compared to most other kaiju flicks is the way that the human characters are actually likeable and entertaining to watch. Unlike many other kaiju films, the "plot-explaining" scenes here are not a nuisance that clutter the film and delay the giant monster fight scenes we're all waiting for. Instead they blend into the film well and feature characters that one can grow to like (Masako and Takuya's affectionate bickering was very amusing, for instance). It says a lot about the strength of the human characters when you consider that even the little girl featured in the cast is not a nuisance (though she does utter the hilarious line "I'll make my daddy get a -real- job!").

The actual city-stomping and monster-on-monster battle scenes are a delight as well, and there are plenty of them. While they're beginning to show their age, they still look polished and convincing enough to be entertaining, and are done with lots of style. Special mention must go to the beautiful music, which adds to the film greatly.

Of course, the main storyline is pretty daft, though stomachable. As usual with Mothra around, there's a rather thick environmentalist message to blurb out, but the subject's treated in a not too clunky fashion this time. There are the odd moments of cheesy special effects or clumsy dubbing, but nothing too serious. All in all this is a very entertaining film. It makes a good introduction to the genre for kaiju newbies and kaiju fanatics will lap it up. In fact, anyone with an interest whatsoever in modern Japanese culture shouldn't hesitate about checking this out.

That, and the chanting of "Mossura ya, Mossura..." tends to stick with one ^^.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Epic feeling makes for a solid Heisei entry, 27 febrero 2001

Author: Blake Matthews (drngor@yahoo.com) de Stockton, England

The fourth movie in the Heisei series, this Godzilla movie is a fairly solid entry in the long-running Godzilla series. This was the most successful Godzilla movie of the Heisei series although critically, it's seen as one of the lesser films in the second Godzilla series.

The plot deals with a meteor crashing on earth, awakening Godzilla, Battra, and uncovering Mothra's egg. Battra attacks mankind for poisoning the environment, Godzilla attacks EVERYTHING, and Mothra tries to protect mankind from both menaces. There's a sub-plot thrown in dealing with a treasure-hunter and his ex-wife, as well as some not-so-subtle themes about the environment and Megumi Odaka as the psychic Mike Saegusa (sadly, her role is thin in this one).

The special FX are great for the most part. The kaiju battles are fierce, although a bit too flashy (due to the nature of the monsters). There are some memorable scenes: Godzilla rising out of the volcano, Godzilla destroying Yokohama, Mothra coming out of its cocoon, and some others. The main liabilities in the special FX is Godzilla's return to his old roar (as opposed to the one he used in the previous 3) and Mothra's attack on Tokyo doesn't look too convincing.

Overall, a good monster movie. The pace moves reasonably well. The monsters are fun and exciting as always. The preachy manner of our need to protect the environment isn't handled well, but it's not like it matters too much. After all, I watch these movies to see monsters fighting.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Cheers for Godzilla!, 26 noviembre 2000

Author: OllieSuave-007 de Sacramento, California USA

With this movie of the Heisei (1980s-1990s) series, I think Toho studios is on a role. With cool special effects and beautiful music, this became one of the top 10 grossing Godzilla movies. Who wouldn't like to see a rematch between Godzilla and Mothra.This movie is an update of the 1964 version of "Godzilla vs. Mothra." Mothra's egg is exposed after a storm (or meteorite) hits it. A trio of explorers try to bring the egg to Japan under the influence of a greedy entrepreneur (sound familiar?). Godzilla appears out of the ocean to attack the explorers' ship, which is hauling the egg. The egg hatches into Mothra and the two do battle. The Peanuts, who played Mothra's twin priestesses in the 1964 movie, were succeeded by the Cosmos. They talk in unison, as usual. Dressed in pink with braided hairs and wearing Mothra signs, they bring back the traditional "Mothra's Song." If you're interested on buying a Godzilla soundtrack, see if you can track down the record version of this song, performed by the Cosmos with music by Akira Ifukube. It rocks! The song is sing in Malaysian, as always. However, in the record version, the Cosmos sing a verse of the song in Japanese. With echoing concepts from the original film this movie introduced a new monster, Battra (Mothra's evil twin) out to destroy earth but ended up helping Mothra battle Godzilla. How depressing to see the main guy Takuya (Indiana Jones?) in the film rooting for Mothra and Battra while battling Godzilla at an amusement park with his annoying ex-wife Masako and his irritating (I mean irritating) daughter Midori. See how she says "nice!!!!!" when Mothra metamorphoses into its adult form. She talks to the Cosmos and Mothra like she was talking to any human being. Where's her astonishment? Somebody buy her a Godzilla toy and send her home. Most of the characters in this movie is a little off-the-wall, with the exception of Miki Saegusa. She delivers another solid performance, helping to enhance the mood of this film. She uses her psychic powers again, this time to track down the Cosmos for having been "kidnapped" by somebody.

This film also delivers a message about the importance of saving our forests. The monsters were a little funny too. Godzilla's radiation beam sounds like it needs tuning and the larvae stage of Mothra sounds like it is on roller skates. But hey, watch this movie for yourself. It is a fine source of entertainment on a boring, weary weekend.

Grade B-

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the weakest for me in the hensei series of Godzilla movies., 15 octubre 2005

Author: Aaron1375 de Alabama

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

It probably has something to do with the fact I have never been a big Mothra fan and hate it when they fight each other, because Mothra should not do as well as it always does. Lets face it, it is a giant moth and they should burn to a crisp when hit by fire. Still this one starts out promisingly enough with a nice little comical jungle adventure. Still when it is the scenes with the people that are the strongest and not the ones with Godzilla then you are probably in trouble. Godzilla is in this one a bit more than the previous movie, but this one just is kind of dull. To much singing for Mothra to come and such, and watching Mothra trample through the city is always boring cause Mothra just doesn't compare to other monsters doing the same. We also have another monster a tougher version of Mothra called Battra that wants to fight Mothra. Near the end they fight and Battra is beating Mothra and Godzilla literally saves Mothra so what does it do? It joins forces with Battra to attack Godzilla. Godzilla is to much of a secondary monster here, with to much focus on the stupid moth. Still it has its entertaining moments such as Godzilla's first appearance and his resurrection on the volcano. More Godzilla less Mothra would have helped however.

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Godzilla with an environmental message..excuse me, an environmental message, with Godzilla briefly in it., 9 septiembre 2008

Author: Tommy Nelson de Long Beach, California

What do you get when you mix a "save the environment" flick with a Godzilla? You get this movie, and whatever this was, it was not good at all. It felt like two or three different movies, and it Godzilla didn't seem to be the main attraction considering the creature only had ten minutes of screen time or so. The environmental message was understood quickly, and though realistically important, was not needed in this movie.

When on an expedition, an explorer and his crew meet two tiny women called the Cosmos, and they tell them how the world is retaliating against humans for misusing it. The Earth sent out Battra to get revenge, and the Cosmos help by calling on Motthra to save the day. Unfortunately, Godzilla is also around, so Mothra must battle Godzilla also. Meanwhile, the Cosmos sing several songs and stupidity ensues.

I've seen movies take material from other movies, but this is ridiculous. The opening scene is almost exactly taken from opening of Raiders of the Lost Arc, from the archaeologist with a hat, to the crumbling cave, to Indy (or in this case the Japanese equivalent) leaving the cave only to have guns (or in Raiders, arrows) pointed at him. The character is such a rip-off, and other scenes copy Indiana Jones. Other than the stolen character, this movie is unfortunately all too original.

The Cosmos are annoying as can be. Their name sounds like a bad Japanese band, and it's true to their characters. They sing this same obnoxious time so many times, the repetitiveness and awful sound of the song is likely to drive people crazy. The Cosmo's are all about the environment, and they are more prominent in the film than the title characters. The ending scene is one of the worst I've ever seen.

Overall, this is a BAD movie with the only redeeming quality being some amusement out of the incompetence.

My rating: 1/2 out of ****. 95 mins. PG.

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Weak entry, could've been better, 23 enero 2007
Author: Donald (gore_lord_84@yahoo.com) de United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Godzilla vs. Mothra" is easily the weakest of the Hensai series, but still watchable.

**SPOILERS**

Caught by the Taiwanese government, archaeologist Takuya, (Teysuya Bessho) is approached by his ex-wife Masako, (Satomi Kobayashi) and her environment firm, headed by Tomokane, (Makoto Otake) to bring back a mysterious object found on an isolated island during a recent hurricane. Landing on the island, the team finds a gigantic egg in the there and two tiny twin women, the Comos, (Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa) who claim the egg belongs to Mothra. Bringing it back to Japan, Godzilla appears and attacks the egg, causing the egg to hatch and fight it off, only to be joined by a second moth, Battra. Returning back to Japan with the stolen Cosmos, Tomokane plans on exploiting them for his company, only for them to disappear before Mothra breaks off it's attack on Japan to rescue them. Returning from within a volcano, Godzilla attacks the two moths and they fight one last time.

The Good News: This here is a weak film, but it does have some good points to it. The monster scenes are generally hard to beat. The destruction of Nagoya is a great highlight, as one landmark after another gets flattened in spectacular fashion. The TV Tower into the building looks incredible, as does the destruction of the castle. A pretty good military battle doesn't really disappoint, featuring lots of things blowing up and being shot at the creature. The best, though, is Godzilla's re-emergence from an erupting Mt. Fuji, as explosions and smoke go off in every direction and the monster is standing in the middle of it all, and the impact of it is nothing short of spectacle. The ensuing battle is quite nice, employing mazer jets and tanks in a really thrilling battle that is unfortunately over too short. Just about anything in the film, though, is forgiven in the final battle. A nice, long drawn-out affair with the tide turning for each side and getting in some really nice scenes. From the brief rampage before-hand, to the air battle between the two moths, and a really impressive set-piece involving a giant Ferris Wheel are all great scenes, although the undoubted highlight is the leveling of a building onto Godzilla. The amount of damage caused in the process and how it's realistically done makes it a real winner of a sequence that is quite breath-taking. The fight itself, which has both hand-to-hand and energy weapons being fired, there's a good flow to it and it really leaves the film with a high point. It also has a really impressive sequence with the transformation of Battra, being full of power and energy and coming off really impressively. This really wasn't that bad of an entry.

The Bad News: There is a surprisingly lot to dislike here. As mentioned, the special effects aren't that bad, but there is a lot of slip-shod work in here that's quite and easily noticeable. The fact that Mothra and Battra are just puppets in their flying forms, and Mothra as a larvae, is quite easily seen. During the Tokyo rampage, Mothra doesn't undulate like a real moth does, and as it's a major sequence that lasts for a long time, it's quite distracting and doesn't really come off as convincing. The flying model for both suffers from the lack of movement, as their legs look so stiff and rigid during flight since they don't move at all makes for more distractions. The film also has some real pacing problems. The opening really could've been trimmed down, since too much is spent with the expedition and the archaeological digs. The expedition on the island is too long, with a bunch of adventure-film scenes, such as the boating trip, the rickety bridge and the waterfall sequence being prime examples of the film going on far too long. The attack on the floating transport is just way too long. There's just scene after scene where it just shows different creatures approaching different ships time after time. It just gets old after a while. The film's biggest problem, though, is Mothra and the final battle. It gets tiring when, time after time, the powerless creature is able to hold it's own against the far larger monster when it does nothing extraordinary to do so. The fact that Godzilla can blow countless planes out of the sky with no problem in the movie yet can't score a direct hit on Mothra, who is much bigger a target and flies much slower, is pretty hard to believe and just seems to be inserted just because the film wants it to. These keep the film down from the upper echelons.

The Final Verdict: There is more towards the middle grounds in terms of the series, with a lot to lot and dislike. It's not a classic but it can still entertain with the best in the series, just don't be too surprised if there's moments that don't work as well as in other entries. A fan of either two monsters should give this a shot, while others may still check it out as well.

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