Talkback: Rebirth of Mothra (1996)

[Ookondru99]

All in all this is my favorite of the ROM Trilogy, though that isn't saying much. Leo's original design is probably the best of the ROM mothra redesigns, and Death Ghidorah is my favorite incarnation of the King of Terror. The film suffers from pacing issue, a generally unlikable/unmemorable cast, and special effects that are truly a mixed bag. It somewhat gets a pass in my book for being aimed towards kids (and it's not nearly as insulting as it's sequel, ROM II) but it still isn't a film I watch often.

[LSD Jellyfish]

What appears to be Rebirth of Mothra concept art of Desghidorah. Very interesting.

[Jory]

First two look like they were crossing Ghidorah with Destoroyah and Biollante.

[BooLugosi]

Am I the only one who now wants to see a full-on Mothra musical?

Omg. How has anyone not thought of this before? This is an excellent idea.

[LSD Jellyfish]

First two look like they were crossing Ghidorah with Destoroyah and Biollante.

Second one is Desghidorah emerging from its tomb if I'm not mistaken.

[Godzillian]

The film is pretty terrible but the kaiju designs are on point. I especially love the green Mothra Leo

[Anguirus]

Should I watch this before watching 3? I hear the first two aren’t too good so I want to skip to the third.

[GigaBowserG]

Should I watch this before watching 3? I hear the first two aren’t too good so I want to skip to the third.

imo, They're all really... not great Consensus seems to be 2nd being the weakest entry, but 1 and 3 there's more division over which is better. Still, I'd recommend checking the series from start to finish, as Mothra Leo and his form of the Shobijin go through changes in each movie. There really are some memorable moments in the 1st as well with the interactions between Mothra and Desghidorah.

[Anguirus]

Should I watch this before watching 3? I hear the first two aren’t too good so I want to skip to the third.

imo, They're all really... not great Consensus seems to be 2nd being the weakest entry, but 1 and 3 there's more division over which is better. Still, I'd recommend checking the series from start to finish, as Mothra Leo and his form of the Shobijin go through changes in each movie. There really are some memorable moments in the 1st as well with the interactions between Mothra and Desghidorah.

Ah, thanks for the info! I need more Kaiju films to watch and these seemed to be among the major ones I have yet to see. I’m excited to see the new versions of King Ghidorah in them.

[GojiDog]

If you are in it purely for monster action or if you are a big Mothra fan, I guess these movies are worth checking out.

But yeah, they are super skippable otherwise.

[edgaguirus]

However, the musical score is pretty good.

[Maritonic]

I've always loved the Desghidorah action in this. I'd say if you're a kaiju fan, they're worth at least ONE watch. I've seen them all twice, enjoyed them significantly more on the second viewing because they're actually pretty short.

[Anguirus]

So I watched Rebirth of Mothra 3, and I quite liked it. All actaully. I’m going to have to watch the first now.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Rewatched it, and I must say it's not at all terrible. It's fun, imaginative, and has a nice pace. Soundtrack is great, and the kids are likeable. I wish the subtle conflict with the parents was fleshed out more, as this could've been a nice little film about family as well with the environment message. I liked the "twins" and Belvera, I thought the bit with the twins acting as dolls was clever.
I wish the military actually did something, as it feels weird with them doing nothing. Death Ghidorah was a great villain, and I thought Koichi Kawakita was at his best in his effects work. Mothra herself and Leo felt more alive than how Mothra was portrayed in the 1992 film, so that's a major plus.

Overall, I'll give it a solid 6/10. The second one isn't as good, I haven't seen the third one yet.

[GojiDog]

Belvera is a super confusing character to me, which is a shame because I feel like she should be the one stealing the show in these movies.

What is her motivation exactly? Why did she break away from her sisters? And the water gets even muddier in Part 3 where she opposes King Ghidorah who is trying to destroy humanity, the very thing she spent two movies trying to do.

[Godzillian]

Belvera is a super confusing character to me, which is a shame because I feel like she should be the one stealing the show in these movies.

What is her motivation exactly? Why did she break away from her sisters? And the water gets even muddier in Part 3 where she opposes King Ghidorah who is trying to destroy humanity, the very thing she spent two movies trying to do.

She had the very original motivation that "humans are destroying the earth and need to be eliminated" while her sisters didn't feel the same way. They split up due to that.

Anyone else feel like the film would have benefited from a military battle against Death Ghidorah? Seems like a real missed opportunity.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Belvera is a super confusing character to me, which is a shame because I feel like she should be the one stealing the show in these movies.

What is her motivation exactly? Why did she break away from her sisters? And the water gets even muddier in Part 3 where she opposes King Ghidorah who is trying to destroy humanity, the very thing she spent two movies trying to do.

She had the very original motivation that "humans are destroying the earth and need to be eliminated" while her sisters didn't feel the same way. They split up due to that.

Anyone else feel like the film would have benefited from a military battle against Death Ghidorah? Seems like a real missed opportunity.

I believe so. I think one vital thing that the films are all missing is some involvement on the militaries end, or at least some more destruction scenes. Daghra has a brief attack scene in 2, as does Ghidorah in three, but they’re relatively short and none of the films really take place in cities.

If I had to guess though, the ROM series, is not the Heisei Godzilla-Series japan. They don’t have any super weapons, and if they’re the actual Japanese government they wouldn’t have close to any of the firepower that the Godzilla series has. It’s also probably due to budget and keeping the themes thematically related to also destroying the environment.

[Godzillian]

Belvera is a super confusing character to me, which is a shame because I feel like she should be the one stealing the show in these movies.

What is her motivation exactly? Why did she break away from her sisters? And the water gets even muddier in Part 3 where she opposes King Ghidorah who is trying to destroy humanity, the very thing she spent two movies trying to do.

She had the very original motivation that "humans are destroying the earth and need to be eliminated" while her sisters didn't feel the same way. They split up due to that.

Anyone else feel like the film would have benefited from a military battle against Death Ghidorah? Seems like a real missed opportunity.

I believe so. I think one vital thing that the films are all missing is some involvement on the militaries end, or at least some more destruction scenes. Daghra has a brief attack scene in 2, as does Ghidorah in three, but they’re relatively short and none of the films really take place in cities.

If I had to guess though, the ROM series, is not the Heisei Godzilla-Series japan. They don’t have any super weapons, and if they’re the actual Japanese government they wouldn’t have close to any of the firepower that the Godzilla series has. It’s also probably due to budget and keeping the themes thematically related to also destroying the environment.

Fair way to look at it but even then I feel like we are missing some environmental damage. We are told Death Ghidorah drains life from the Earth and will leave every barren but we never see it. Every time we see DG it's just marching through a lush green forest. An idea I had for a slight change was this:
The family we follow is rescued by the military shortly after Mothra dies and DG has left the area. As they are evaced we see that the forest has become a barren wasteland. The family is brought to an army base where the dad is held responsible for releasing DG and we can get some fun stuff like a military jet counter-attack on DG and the kids escaping the base to help Mothra Leo

[LSD Jellyfish]

Yeah I agree about that with DG^^^

The second film did a much better job with Daghra by showing it polluting and destroying the ocean. A lot of red tide and stuff.

[edgaguirus]

It made Dagahra a true double threat. An ocean full of barem would be terrifying.