Mosura

With Godzilla dead and gone (yah, right), Toho concentrated on their other major star, Mothra.

In this first of a trilogy (more, more!) Mothra (the 1992 Mothra) battles a creature called Death Ghidorah (a cousin of King Ghidorah?). Thrown into the mix is the new Mothra, called MothraLeo. With time running out for Earth, can MothraLeo survive to carry on the long line of Mothras that have defended the planet?

Of course he can! If he couldn't, why did "Mosura 2" follow it?

The effects are outstanding in this movie. How can one moth have so many beam weapons?

I have to say that Megumi Kobayashi and Sayoko Yamaguchi, who play the priestesses of Mothra, now called the Elias, are excellent in this movie, as well as Aki Hano, who plays Belvera, one of the new elements to the Mothra saga. Of the two Elais, Moll is more determined than Lora, especially on calling the "old" Mothra into battle.

On the whole, a very good movie! Roll on Mosura 2!

This movie was the first of three solo Mothra adventures following the Heisei Godzilla series. This movie was pretty good. It has some great points to it: fast pace, great looking monsters, great optical effects, lots of monster fights, as well as a cute looking actress as Lora. However, I thought the movie was too kid-oriented and that the final battle was too short. The monster battles lacked the ferocity of Godzilla battles and Mothra's powers seemed overkill. However, it is a fun movie for fans of the genre.

This is the kick off of Mothra's very own series and I must say it wasn't a bad move by Toho. You see, Mothra, like Rodan, was originally a solo character who was introduced to the Godzilla franchise in the cross-over "Mothra vs. Godzilla"in 1964. Her first film had been back in 1961 and for whatever reason, audiences like Mothra a lot. Want to guess which monster co-star has been in the most Godzilla films? No, it's not King Ghidorah, no not MechaGodzilla and Christ no it is not Minilla. That's right, it's Mothra. She's starred in a total of nine Godzilla films. MehaGodzilla's been in five and Ghidorah has been in eight. Therefore the idea of her own series wasn't too shabby at all. However, I must say I was expecting more.

To begin this review I'll say the good points to this film. Oddly, this film's universe is that of the Heisei Godzilla series. It's the same Mothra from "Godzilla vs. Mothra" back in 1992 to be exact. The monsters are grade A in my book, Mothra and Mothra Leo both look awesome, as well as the larva form. Death Ghidorah looked incredible and his attacks were great. I didn't like his roar and the original shrieks would've been better though. While in flight, the quadruped dragon looked awesome as well. The real downside is that to save money Toho had Death Ghidorah rampage through a forest the entire movie without even touching a single building! Wack status! Isn't Tokyo supposed to get crushed in these films? The thing that truly ruins this flick are the annoying and overly childish characters. The dialogue and every scene involving any of them, especially the fairies, just leaves older viewers like me frustrated. The human characters are just plain crappy. On the opposite side we have good monster moments, as when the larva watches its mother drown right before its eyes, a somber moment where the tragic music really sets the mood. Toshiyuki Watanabe is a great composer, giving Mothra a heroic theme and everything.

Unfortunately, most will find the bad outweighs the good and find watching the film unbearable. All in all, I still find it a fun film to watch.

Death Ghidora is a terrible three-headed monster that is released when a seal is removed from his tomb. Little fairies Lora and Moll must call upon the aged Mothra. This Mothra won a previous battle with Death Ghidora many, many years ago but that was when she was still a young Moth. Now, the years of battle and time have taken its toll on her body. She has an egg waiting to be hatched but when the battle begins it is not ready. Off to save the world once more is Mothra. Like a battle weary fighter, Mothra tries to pull off a "Rocky" ending. Inside the egg her youngster senses that "Momma" is in trouble and hatches early. Can baby save Momma? Can Momma and baby Mothra team together and defeat the evil. Can the little fairies defeat the evil fairy "Belvera?" This film is a good story of "evil vs good" and also of "family!" A must for all those fans of Japanese monster films.

This film has many colorful and beautiful sceneries, especially the forest scenes. Mothra begins a new solo adventure, battling Desghidorah to save Earth's green landscape. She hatches an egg and out comes her son MothraLeo. To pick up where his mother left off, MothraLeo battles Desghidorah to the finish.

There are amusing battle scenes and great special effects by Koichi Kawakita. And, there is a fine score by Toshiyuki Watanabe.

This movie is a big change from the concepts of the original Mothra of the 1960s. The two tiny priestesses are not twins like the original one who were portrayed by The Peanuts, and each one in this movie is actually given a name: Mona and Lora (the "Elias"). They have an evil sister named Belvera who favors Desghidorah's mission to turn Earth into a barren landscape. The central character in this movie is a kid who helps Mona and Lora battle their evil sister. The scene where the Elias and Belvera riding on their "Mothra" pets and shooting rays at each other at the kid's home is too childish and took away to much time in the movie. The scene is more associated with kids' shows or cartoons. And, MothraLeo's powers are very excessive. Its releasing of rays and beams make MothraLeo act more like a robotic creature. Though all the creatures in this movie are worked out well, there are limited emphasis to the human characters and overall, the movie is more kid-oriented. The Mothras in this movie are not treated like the Sacred Goddess in the Mothra films from the 1960s, but more like superheros ready to defend Earth. And, there are no natives worshiping Mothra in this film as in the 1960s Mothra films, making Mothra seem less sacred, as it was suppose to be according to the original concept. But, the ever-so-popular "Mothra's Song" (sung in Malaysian as always) returns and is performed by the Elias. Some new songs are introduced also. A serviceable movie, otherwise, to spend 106 minutes on a boring day.

Grade C