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Ishiro
Honda's science fiction masterpiece, Mothra
vs. Godzilla is easily one of the better Godzilla
sequels and arguably the best entry in the series
other than the 1954 film. Honda combines some
of the comic overtone used in his previous Godzilla
film, King
Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), with a more
serious plot. The result is one of the best Toho
science fiction films to date. It was this film
that would catapult Mothra to one of Toho's top
earners, and would guarantee her spot as one of
the most recognized kaiju the world over. Despite
the film's well deserved praise, it isn't flawless.
The story here is pretty middle of the road, although
it does make way for a good perspective at both
of the title monsters, while character development
is a mixed bag. Otherwise, the film handles itselfvery
well, with solid performances from the principal
actors, great special effect work by Eiji
Tsuburaya and an excellent score from Akira
Ifukube.
Mothra vs. Godzilla begins
with the revealing of a giant egg, during a heavy
storm, that washes close to Japanese shores. The
local village deploys its fishing fleets, and
retrieves the egg. Before it can be studied, though,
the giant egg is purchased by Kumayama, an entrepreneur,
on behalf of Banzo Torahata. Together, they plan
to exploit the egg as a tourist attraction. However,
Mothra and the Shobijin arrive and recruit Ichiro
Sakai, Junko Nakanishi, and Professor Miura to
try and persuade the two business men to release
the egg before the Mothra larva inside causes
un-foretold damage to the surrounding population.
The plea falls on deaf ears, though, as the two
entrepreneurs ignore the request and instead offer
to purchase the Shobijin. Their offer is turned
down, as the Shobijin and Mothra return to their
home at Infant Island without the egg.
Torahata and Kumayama's
plan for the egg is realized, but matters are
complicated as Godzilla appears on the Japanese
mainland. Convinced that the military will be
useless in the fight against the nuclear leviathan,
Sakai, Nakanishi, and Miura travel to Infant Island
to seek the aid of Mothra to defend their country.
The natives are understandably annoyed by the
request, as Mothra's egg was not returned to them
as instructed. The trio seek the Shobijin and
try and convince them that they desperately need
Mothra's assistance. Finally, Nakanishi explains
the needs of their country, of the people dying
at the hands of Godzilla as he rampages through
their nation. The islanders take heart and agree
to send Mothra.
Meanwhile, Godzilla continues his
murderous trek across Japan, as Torahata
and Kumayama have turned on one another
after Kumayama demands back the money he invested.
Kumayama is killed in the struggle, as Torahata
dies shortly after as Godzilla slams his tail
into their hotel, reducing the structure to rubble.
Godzilla eventually arrives at the gigantic incubator,
but before he can crush the egg inside Mothra
arrives. The two giants do battle, but Mothra
ends up being overmatched and, in her dying moments,
collapses on top of the egg. Godzilla continues
his rampage across Japan, following a series of
failed military strikes, as Mothra's egg eventually
hatches. The two Mothra larva swim out to meet
Godzilla on a remote island and do battle with
the monster.
The story of Mothra vs. Godzilla
is rather simple, and slightly reminiscent of
the one in Mothra
(1961), with the egg in place of the Shobijin.
The simplicity of the story aside, the film manages
to overcome this with the handling of the monsters,
and the unusual amount of depth that goes into
them. Ignoring Mothra's roles in the films that
followed, the giant moth seems like a weak opponent
for the King of the Monsters. Well, as seen in
the first battle, she is. However, this is what
makes the fight between Mothra's Imago form and
Godzilla so great. She's hopelessly outmatched,
but still continues to fight with Godzilla, despite
the fact that death is imminent. It's her sheer
determination that keeps the fight going as long
as it does, as Mothra tries everything in her
arsenal to try and keep the monster away from
her egg. It's interesting to watch, and a shame
that this aspect of the character was, more or
less, lost in the sequels that followed.
Mothra isn't the only monster handled
well here, though, as Godzilla is also at his
best in this entry. Once again, the creature is
returned to an unstoppable force as he withstands
the grand SDF strikes, the scale of which have
increased over those seen in King
Kong vs. Godzilla
(1962), up until the military is forced to to
use Plan C: simply evacuate those areas in the
path of Godzilla.
The monster cast aside, the character
development in the film as a whole is in need
of some work. The trio of protagonists here are
pretty underdeveloped by the time the film reaches
closure. Surprisingly, the film's two villains
are the most developed characters, despite the
fact that they die half way through. The pairs
motive, greed, is made clear from the get-go,
and their political influence works well in tying
up any lose ends the plot might have had with
Happy Enterprises' plan to show off the giant
egg. Of the two, Kumayama is the more memorable,
as we slowly learn the amount of power Torahata
has over his partner and the economic situation
he is forcing him into. Their final scene, where
Torahata kills his partner to secure his money,
is excellent for showing how consumed by greed
the two were. Truly one of the more interesting
human relationships seen in a Toho science fiction
film, and their death works as a nice closure
to the sub plot as Godzilla presents the film
with a far more serious dilemma.
In regards to the acting, all of
the principal actors turn in solid performances.
None of the acting really stands out, but, for
the most part, the characters are enjoyable to
watch while they are onscreen, which, given their
lack of development is a testament to the actors.
Akira Takarada, as news reporter Ichiro Sakai,
does a nice job as the film's lead, in particular
how he interacts with his photographer, Junko
Nakanishi played by Yuriko Hoshi. However, when
all is said and done, Yoshifumi Tajima as Kumayama
really steals the show. He turns out a performance
which is slightly over the top, making his character
enjoyable to watch, while not overdoing it to
the point that his performance loses credibility.
He also handles his final scene extremely well,
playing the character very seriously as the two
antagonists turn against one another.
Being a science fiction film, special
effects are always an aspect to consider, and
Tsuburaya doesn't disappoint in Mothra vs.
Godzilla. The special effects are spectacular
for their time, and represent some of the best
work of Tsuburaya's career. The Mothra Imago from
this film remains one of Tsuburaya's best done
props, and manages to look more convincing then
its 1992 counterpart. Tsuburaya was able to do
amazing things to the prop to add credibility
to the character, such as Mothra's labored breathing
as it rests next to its egg waiting to die. The
Godzilla costume used here is a slight improvement
over the one used in King
Kong vs. Godzilla
(1962), although perhaps not quite as impressive
in terms of actual mass. The jaw appears to be
a little more wobbly than it should, but rarely
distracts from the viewing experience. The Mothra
Larva, while impressive, are responsible for the
biggest special effects blemish in the movie.
This occurs as the two Larva leave the water onto
the beach, at which point the wheels of both of
the props are clearly visible. This not only distracts
from that scene, but may also cause the viewer
to watch for them for the remainder of the film,
which can lessen the overall viewing experience.
However, the scene of these two emerging from
the egg, even to this day, looks wonderful and
is one of the more memorable scenes from the film.
Finally, the blue Godzilla scale could have been
done better. It's very hard to make out, and is
never explained during the course of the movie,
but its role is limited and forgivable.
As for the score
for the film, done by Akira
Ifukube, it's nothing short of outstanding.
The Mothra song, from the 1961 film, returns here,
and is used more effectively than the song in
the film's follow up: Ghidorah,
the Three-Headed Monster (1964). The Godzilla
theme also returns to the fold for this outing,
although Ifukub'se scoring of the theme has definitely
improved, and seems far more imposing then it
had two years prior. However, the score, like
many of Ifukube's, is rather repetitious as a
stand-alone listening experience, but works well
in the film itself.
Overall, Mothra vs. Godzilla
is a highly entertaining Godzilla entry, which
deserves every ounce of praise it receives. Definitely
one of Honda's best.
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(4/5)