SuperMegaMonkey
John Averick: ChronosCat: ChronosCat: ChronosCat: ChronosCat: |
1992-12-12 19:02:28 Godzilla vs. MothraAlternate Titles: Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth
We get start getting into confusing titles here. This is Godzilla vs. Mothra, not to be confused with 1964's Mothra vs. Godzilla. To make it a little more distinct, the American release calls this Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth, and that's actually the version we have, in all its dubbed and pan & scan glory. After the long gaps between Terror of Mechagodzilla and Return of Godzilla, and Return and Biollante, Toho seems to have rushed out this movie based on the success of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Continuity-wise, i've seen it said that this movie takes place after Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, which will come out next year, and i wonder if that was at all related to this movie coming out quickly, without thought to tying it in to the previous films. In the end i don't agree with placing this out of sequence, since there doesn't seem to be any reason to (see the next entry for more). This movie doesn't reference the previous movies, although it does feature Miki the psychic and seems to develop her growing empathy for Godzilla. Pfft. In some ways this movie is a remake of the original Mothra vs. Godzilla, or at least there are a lot of homages to it, but it's also got a strong environmental message. It does retain the sequence of Godzilla waking up and looking for breakfast. That is one of my favorite sequences - Godzilla stumbling around after a rough night, completely oblivious to the fact that the army is shooting at him, and coming across the biggest egg he's ever seen. We begin with a meteor falling to Earth. The meteor causes massive typhoons and other seismic disruptions that wake somebody up, making him mad... ...and also uncovers a familiar looking egg. I'm always impressed by how every Mothra egg is painted nearly identical to all the other Mothra eggs no matter how many years there are between movies. Or mebbe they look nothing alike and i don't know any better. We're then introduced to our human cast, beginning with the Indiana Jones clone (Last Crusade came out in 1989) Takuya Fujita (played by Tetsuya Bessho). It's the worst of all worlds. A mullet, a bandana, an Indiana Jones ripoff, and bad comedy grunting. He's arrested for stealing that artifact, and is bailed out by a government agent Yuzo Tsuchiashi that works with Takuya's ex-wife. In return for bailing him out, he has to agree to go on an expedition. The expedition is a joint venture between the government and the Marutomo company. Marutomo owns the island that was hit by the typhoon, and they've seen the egg on satellite photos, but the island is still unsettled and they want someone to go and get it. It's said very bluntly that "We plan to exploit the island". You'd think a government that regularly deals with Godzilla and recently paid the price of letting a mad scientist work unsupervised with Godzilla cells would not be quite so eager to let a corporation take possession of a giant egg. Tsuchiashi is not going on the expedition, but Takuya's ex-wife Masako Tezuka (played by Satomi Kobayashi) and Marutomo company man Kenji Ando (played by Takehiro Murata) are. Kenji will play the comic relief character, going on this expedition to the tropical jungle in a business suit. I think they're all playing the comic relief character. In the backdrop of this movie is a lot of talk of climate change and rising sea levels. This sometimes takes the form of sweaty people talking directly to the camera. It almost feels like it was all caused by the meteorite, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The theme of this movie is how humans are ruining the planet, as we'll see. Toho's a scold. They're right, but they're still a scold. The island turns out to be named Infant Island, which should be familiar to long-term Toho fans. But this time it doesn't seem to have been the victim of nuclear testing like in the Showa films. Instead it seems to be an uninhabited island. Takuya (rather inexpertly) leads them through the jungle. Along the way, Takuya and Masako start to re-bond. She shares a note from their daughter, who thinks that Takuya is a crimefighter instead of a tomb raider. If it were Min, any attempts at re-bonding would be ruined when Takuya runs into the camp shouting to wake her early the next morning because he found a cave behind the waterfall. Min, like Godzilla, does not appreciate being woken up suddenly. Masako doesn't seem to mind so much. Is the cave running away? Is the camp being invaded? Why the hell did he need to yell her awake? In the cavern they find cave drawings that are said to be several thousand years old. And on the other side they find the egg. And then the faeries. Actually, they are called the Cosmos this time. The response is, "What cosmos? ...and... can you explain?" The two Cosmos then deliver a huge info dump. Ok, here's the lowdown. The Cosmos "keep the natural order of things in balance". 12,000 years ago, Mothra was the guardian of the Earth and there was an advanced civilization and the cosmos (small c?) was in balance, but then the civilization built a machine to control the climate. The Earth was greatly offended. It's a living being. So it created the Black Mothra: Battra. Mothra killed Battra, who was buried in the North sea. The resulting fight destroyed the climate machine and caused a great flood. In real life, the Cosmos were a singing duo called... The Cosmos. They are not twins; they are Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa. We have all sorts of questions about their story. Like they are the Cosmos but there's also the cosmos? And also the Earth itself is a living creature? And the Earth was mad so it created Battra to punish the humans that were abusing it, but Mothra is also a guardian of the Earth and it fought Battra? There is a point in every Godzilla film where you find yourself saying, "Less talking! More giant monsters!", and we have reached it. The good news is that we're getting there. Back at whatever government agency is running this operation, they've detected something large moving towards Japan. Oh my god! What could it be??? In this photo, we've got several people of note. First is Miki the psychic. Next, from left to right, we've got Saburô Shinoda in his first of two appearances as Professor Fukazawa; longtime Toho actor Akira Takarada, who to Min will always be known as the "homewrecker" for his role in the first Godzilla film; and finally, Akiji Kobayashi reprising his role from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as Yuzo Tsuchiashi. We like to call him "Heart Attack Guy" because everything that happens causes him to exclaim in terror. Shinoda's hilarious in this movie. He's constantly walking out of the scene and coming back with a report that tells us exactly what's going on. Like somehow he already knows that the creature is called Battra, thanks to a report from Osaka (even though the expedition folks aren't even off the island yet). Before Saburô Shinoda's report comes in, the agency isn't sure what they're dealing with. "Is it a giant creature?" Well, you're in a Godzilla movie, aren't you? They then think it's Godzilla himself. So, lucky for the report. Miki, your ESP sucks. And now our first monster. Here comes Battra, in larva form. Here's our last human, Takeshi Tomokane (played by Makoto Ôtake), the head of the Marutomo corporation. He's arranging for the Mothra egg to be taken to Japan. On a raft. Yes! Now we're talkin'! Masako also has the Cosmos in a little box that she must have brought along just for the occasion. The Cosmos agree to go along after the boat has already set sail. The JSDF's navy is unable to stop Battra's approach (nobody's surprised, right?). When he gets to land he starts burrowing, generating a cloud of debris above him like a steam engine. But he soon surfaces... That is a face only a mother could love. ...and starts going on a rampage. The good news is that the debris he causes seems to exist in an extradimensional space, completely harmless to bystanders. Battra has all kinds of powers, including a horn laser... ...and eye lasers... ...and his larva form is a lot bigger and more menacing than Mothra's. We don't know how Mothra ever defeated Battra in the past. The JSDF have developed some new laser tanks... ...but they remain unable to stop Battra. Meanwhile, the idiots with the Mothra egg keep coming... ...and they've attracted the attention of Godzilla. Godzilla actually comes out of the water flame-breath first, which is awesome. "I don't care who's up there, but they better get out of my way." Godzilla's arrival triggers a Godzilla Detection alert. They're gonna lose him again in a minute. Heart Attack Guy says, "Ah! It was just one meteor! How can it cause so much disaster! Ah!". Takuya tries to cut the raft line so the boat can escape, but he's delayed by Kenji, who doesn't want to disappoint his boss. As they're scuffling, Mothra hatches. Godzilla seems a little grossed out to see what was in his breakfast. So Mothra gets out of there before Godzilla can express his displeasure. Godzilla then starts going for the boat with the humans, but Mothra grabs his tail to stop him. Never a good idea to grab Godzilla's tail. How deep is the ocean? Is Godzilla treading water the whole time? Mothra then begins spraying Godzilla with silk. And then actually leaps at Godzilla, ramming his chest, for all the good it does. The arrival of these two monsters, meanwhile, has attracted Battra. The idiots on the boat, by the way, despite all the effort to cut the raft line and Mothra's sacrifice, are still just sitting around watching the fight instead of hightailing it out of there. Which, to be fair, is what i'd be doing too. That's why you're not in charge of driving the boat. Battra initially attacks Mothra, as they are supposed to be mortal enemies, but then Battra shoots Godzilla. It's unclear if he just missed Mothra or chose a different target. Uh oh. The battle between Godzilla and Battra then goes undersea (and is a little hard to see)... ...and Mothra wisely gets out of there and goes home (Dude! You forgot the Cosmos!). There's a large volcanic eruption, and both Godzilla and Battra are trapped inside the magma. Not that Godzilla hasn't been in volcanoes before. Having failed to bring back the egg, Kenji steals the Cosmos and brings them to his boss. The CEO is very happy with this "They'll cause a fantastic sensation. We'll feature them in advertisements and stunts!" Obviously the Cosmos aren't very pleased about this. I don't think they're wearing enough adornments. So they start singing the Mothra song. The real Mothra song. This calls Mothra from Infant Island to Japan. The army is back to seriously missing their targets. They are literally shooting sideways across the screen instead of at the monster. Interestingly, Miki's ESP was not at all introduced in this film (at least in the English dub). So you're just supposed to know her abilities from previous movies. But in any event, she detects the Cosmos' singing. Or she's got a headache. The effect it will have on the story will be the same either way. And Mothra keeps coming. Heart Attack Guy: "Look at this! It's on a MAIN street!" Meanwhile, the Cosmos have been stolen by Takuya from the Marutomo corporation, but not to free them; only to make some money so that he can seem responsible to his daughter. But Miki traces the Cosmos to Takuya's place, and with her comes Takuya's ex-wife and their daughter. The girl appeals to the Cosmos: "If you tell Mothra to stop, I'll make my daddy stop stealing and get a real job." First off, kid, you haven't been able to get him to stop before now. Second, how exactly do we benefit from him getting a job? We could just wait for Mothra to come get us. They agree, and the Cosmos are raised to a window to tell Mothra to stop. But instead of going home, Mothra crashes through the capitol building... ...and begins to make a cocoon for herself. It's no Tokyo Tower, that's for sure. Meanwhile, Godzilla emerges from Mount Fuji having burrowed there through the Earth's magma. That's such a weird power. The Marutomo CEO had been developing on Mt. Fuji, so he takes this personally. "First the island, now Mt. Fuji. Why should i suffer more than anyone else? It's not fair." Whiner. But now i want to show off the latest anti-Godzilla technology. All the government agents are sitting around a table. And when it's time for them to look at something on the monitor, get this: the table rotates 45 degrees. You wouldn't want them wasting valuable time walking around a table or risking injury by twisting their necks, would you? Speaking of anti-Godzilla measures, where is Super-X? And why aren't they trying the bird magnet noise? Cause luring him to a volcano and dropping him in just made him invulnerable to lava! And the entire Super-X budget went to making that table. Godzilla is actually just walking, totally oblivious to his surroundings. Of course he still causes devastating damage as he walks through the city. Yeah, i cut corners short sometimes too. Finally, Mothra wakes up. Battra emerges as well. He doesn't bother with all that cocoon business. He just transforms. Unlike regular Mothra, "Black Mothra" is all hard corners and spindly insect legs. Mothra and Battra meet up and have a big aerial battle. The army, meanwhile, is trying to fight Godzilla with a new kind of laser helicopter, but having the usual amount of luck. Pretty cool though. But the Mothra/Battra battle makes it to Godzilla and Battra switches targets again. As a building collapses on Godzilla, we see Miki express concern. Some visible strings controlling Battra. Godzilla bursts out of the rubble and grabs Battra. Battra is tossed to the grounds and about to get blasted. At this point Mothra wakes up and rises to defend Battra against Godzilla. And here's how Mothra was able to survive in her previous ancient battle with Battra. She apparently has lasers in this continuity, too. That's just crazy. Everybody gets lasers! Battra! Tanks! Helicopters! Mothra! In this movie, even Godzilla's breath makes the FAHP noise. Mothra then flies down to have a conversation with Battra. They seem to be making friends. That's only cause Battra needs Mothra's help right now. You didn't see him try to talk it out when he first showed up in the ocean. Don't trust him, Mothra! He's just using you! Mothra then renews the fight against Godzilla. Mothra actually has all sorts of powers. In addition to the lasers, there's the glittery dust that was supposed to be her last gasp attack in the original film... ...and also the ability to rain down electricity. Stop it. You're being ridiculous. This is Mothra. She blows wind at you and covers you in silly string and glitter. But Godzilla repels Mothra with his radioactive chi power. Godzilla knocks a big ferris wheel at Mothra, but Battra swoops in to catch it. And delivers it back to Godzilla. I bet there are still people on that ferris wheel. The two giant bugs team-up against Godzilla. Heisei Godzilla is much less active than the Showa version. No fancy footwork, no tricks. He just kind of stands there while the moths attack him. Even with the Ferris wheel he just watched as Battra charged him with it. So eventually he goes down. His brain's been addled since they pointed that bird gun at him. Miki continues to seem concerned for Godzilla, but everyone else seems happy that Mothra and Battra have teamed-up against him. Nobody ever cares about Miki's feelings. The moths have another conversation... ...and then they fly down to pick Godzilla up. Battra seems to have drawn the short straw, so he gets the mouth side of Godzilla, which must be unpleasant. Considering the options, Mothra is better off with the tail this time. Up we go. Why can't Godzilla use his arms to fight Battra off? He's not a T-Rex, ferchrissakes. But Godzilla keeps chewing away, so eventually Battra falters and then falls. Mothra lets go of the tail, and both Godzilla and Battra fall into the ocean. Mothra then does something. To honor Battra? To lock Gorzilla in place? I think she peed on them. When it's over, we get a scene very familiar to old school Mothra fans. At least the fairies won't have to run all the way down the airfield this time. I really hate those outfits. Before leaving, the Cosmos say that there's a meteorite scheduled to crash into the Earth in 1999. Battra was going to stop it, but now Mothra is going to do it. Why? "A promise to Battra". The humans respond, "A promise? Of course, that's right!". Uh, ok. If he had a meteorite to go stop, why the hell was he putzing around picking fights with Godzilla on Earth? This is just a trick to get Mothra to fly out into space. Even in death, Battra wins! As they leave, the Cosmos say, "If the world lives to see another century, please remember what Mothra did for you and the planet you live on.". And then Mothra flies into space. Just a random note. Saburô Shinoda's character Professor Fukazawa doesn't do much in this film. I think for this film his appearance is really something of a cameo tribute, since the actor played a significant role as Ultraman Taro in (obviously) the Ultraman series. I've seen it said that this movie was "obviously" rushed. I guess it's a matter of perspective. The first two Heisei Godzilla films were huge leaps forward in special effects compared to the Showa films. But i wouldn't say this film looks considerably worse than Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, visible strings aside. Both have a campier feel to them, but they both have new variations of monsters and lots of explosives and laser effects, and they look really great. Of course we may be biased because the campier they are, the closer to the feel of the later Showa films and therefore the happier we are. And unlike vs. Ghidorah this movie's plot isn't sullied for Min by time travel. The plot in this movie is actually very straightforward, but "plot" in a Godzilla movie just means scenes of people talking instead of monsters fighting, and isn't the latter what we're all here for? Comments are now closed. |
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