Talkback: Rebirth of Mothra (1996)

[eabaker]

Does anyone know if this trilogy is officially part of the same continuity as the Heisei Godzilla films, or their own?

They are their own continuity.

[LegendZilla]

Does anyone know if this trilogy is officially part of the same continuity as the Heisei Godzilla films, or their own?

They are their own continuity.

Source?

[eabaker]

Does anyone know if this trilogy is officially part of the same continuity as the Heisei Godzilla films, or their own?

They are their own continuity.

Source?

The movies themselves are explicit in providing a Mothra mythology with no connection to what was established in the Heisei Godzilla movies.

[Terasawa]

Yeah, no offense to anyone here, but there's no way you can watch the RoM movies and think they're compatible with any Godzilla chronology unless you weren't paying attention...

...which, granted, is a real possibility with these three.

[edgaguirus]

Mothra's background is entirely new for the trilogy. It's not surprising as the films were designed to let Mothra shine without Godzilla.

[KingSkeetorah]

I love this movie/series. Like literally. I have to fight back man-tears every time I watch it. It’s just so pure and wholesome. I don’t care what the haters say. I don’t care about the “technical flaws”. I love all the colors and sparkles and fireworks. Leo is my favorite Mothra. And the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, one of the best of any Heisei era movie.

[Chaos Reincarnation]

I love this movie/series. Like literally. I have to fight back man-tears every time I watch it. It’s just so pure and wholesome. I don’t care what the haters say. I don’t care about the “technical flaws”. I love all the colors and sparkles and fireworks. Leo is my favorite Mothra. And the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, one of the best of any Heisei era movie.

We're on the same wavelength...can't help choke em back during Mothras death, its made especially sad in this one the way they linger on it.

On the subject of continuity I thought it was pretty well known that it isn't connected to the Godzilla series. Especially given how tight the continuity was in the Heisei Godzilla movies, youd think they would at least reference past events or monsters or Mothra going to space, King Ghidorah also has a different origin...You could watch them as a companion or something? The Alias and the Cosmos aren't the same either so thats alot of mental gymnastics you'd have to go through to tie them together.

[Legion1979]

The first one is not bad. It's the other two that are rough. Whenever they'd play on the Godzilla Channel I usually bailed.

[Spuro]

We're on the same wavelength...can't help choke em back during Mothras death, its made especially sad in this one the way they linger on it.

You know, I'm not a fan of this movie, but THAT scene is really fantastically well done. It's one of the most emotional kaiju-focused scenes in the entire genre. It's wild that such a great standout scene is sitting in the middle of this otherwise... less than average film.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I think the fight between Desghidorah and the adult Mothra+Larva is a highlight of the Heisei Era honestly. To give a brief summary, it's the only time we see a larva and adult actively work together on screen, and with them facing down such a major threat, it's pretty interesting and tense. It doesn't feel entirely one sided though, with the Leo larva getting some unique powers. There's a lot of color to the fight as well, with the dazzling effect of the larva's silk. It's hard to explain, but there's interesting "physical leveling" to the fight. You've got the larva on the ground, Desghidorah in the middle/standing, and Mothra in the sky/above.

The sequels desperately try to replicate this but can't. The issue with the rest of the film is it can't really live up to that moment. I hate to say this, but Desghidorah goes from being an interesting quadrapedal take on Ghidorah (before Keizer Ghidorah) to a stiff flying prop. When I think of Desghidorah I don't think of the flying form. I think of it lumbering over the landscape spraying fire and spreading destruction. I wish Desghidorah, as a quadruped, would make a comeback in some Godzilla medium.

[edgaguirus]

Desghidorah was a nice redesign of the three headed dragon.

Isn't Desghidorah in Godzilla video and card games? I know he's in some Godzilla video game.

[JAGzilla]

Lotta good posts in here today. RoM 1 might have shortcomings, but it's a ton of goofy, kiddy, garish fun with a high-caliber kaiju battle in the middle and a rock solid soundtrack. I love it. The sequels are, y'know... they're there. They're pieces of the puzzle.

[KingSkeetorah]

I love the sequels, too. I'll save my detailed thoughts for the proper threads but they get way too much shit. These are movies that demand to be viewed with the eyes of a child.

[Legion1979]

I love the sequels, too. I'll save my detailed thoughts for the proper threads but they get way too much shit. These are movies that demand to be viewed with the eyes of a child.

My kid loves Mothra 3 so I can see some appeal in it. She absolutely does not like the second one. I don't blame her. Even as kids entertainment it's easily Toho's worst monster film.

[Chaos Reincarnation]

I used to say I enjoyed the 2nd one as a while but I've realized My enjoyment of 2 is based solely on the fact that i like Dagarah and think the fights with Mothra are at least different and offer variety instead of another Ghidorah and I enjoy the idea of Mothra dominating in air but then struggling trying to fight a sea creature in its natural element. But that doesn't really mean I like the movie if thats the case, it's one of those ones I only watch for the monsters and not much else. There aren't alot of movies I feel that way towards so thats saying alot.

[Arbok]

Isn't Desghidorah in Godzilla video and card games? I know he's in some Godzilla video game.

Yeah he appears in Godzilla Trading Battle for the PSX and in the mobile games Godzilla Defense Force and Godzilla Battle Line. In the latter you can use him as a unit or select him as your leader.

[edgaguirus]

I used to say I enjoyed the 2nd one as a while but I've realized My enjoyment of 2 is based solely on the fact that i like Dagarah and think the fights with Mothra are at least different and offer variety instead of another Ghidorah and I enjoy the idea of Mothra dominating in air but then struggling trying to fight a sea creature in its natural element.

Same for me.

[KingSkeetorah]

Unless I missed it seems there’s never been a thread of ROM2. Is it really hated that much? I have an entire apologia written out in defense of it, should I just post it here or start a thread? Or, there are some general ROM trilogy threads, I could bump one of those. Any thoughts?

[LSD Jellyfish]

Unless I missed it seems there’s never been a thread of ROM2. Is it really hated that much? I have an entire apologia written out in defense of it, should I just post it here or start a thread? Or, there are some general ROM trilogy threads, I could bump one of those. Any thoughts?

Go for it! If there’s a pre-existing thread I’ll just merge it after. Bumping old threads is okay, as long as you have something interesting to say. Curious what you have to say on it.

[JAGzilla]

There is an old thread, probably buried pretty far back. "ROM 2: What The Heck?!?!" or something along those lines.