Godzilla - A Batalha do Século

This movie starts out pretty good, with realistic looking meteor falling to earth, but that's the end of good special effects for this film. Special effects director Koichi Kawakita must have been absent the day they shot this movie (although he is credited), because his previous film (Godzilla vs King Gidorah) was lot better than this one.

The only reason I could think of for this movie's special effect being so bad was that it was rushed for summer season when kids are off school. These movies are primarily targeted I believe for elementary school kids which I think is grave mistake on Toho's part, because many children enjoyed Gamera 3 which was not catering to younger audiences.

Asides from the above, this movie has more than few things in common with the original Mothra vs Godzilla (1964).

1. There's a corrupt real estate developer as the main protagonist.

2. A typhoon exposes Mothra's egg.

3. Two man and a woman goes on an expedition to Infant (Mothra) island.

4. It's two monsters against one Godzilla.

5. Actor Akira Takarada stars in both movies.

This DVD comes together with Godzilla vs King Gidorah which Toho created as their 60th anniversary project, which is one of the best Godzilla movie of the '90s.

The fourth movie in the Heisei series, this Godzilla movie is a fairly solid entry in the long-running Godzilla series. This was the most successful Godzilla movie of the Heisei series although critically, it's seen as one of the lesser films in the second Godzilla series.

The plot deals with a meteor crashing on earth, awakening Godzilla, Battra, and uncovering Mothra's egg. Battra attacks mankind for poisoning the environment, Godzilla attacks EVERYTHING, and Mothra tries to protect mankind from both menaces. There's a sub-plot thrown in dealing with a treasure-hunter and his ex-wife, as well as some not-so-subtle themes about the environment and Megumi Odaka as the psychic Mike Saegusa (sadly, her role is thin in this one).

The special FX are great for the most part. The kaiju battles are fierce, although a bit too flashy (due to the nature of the monsters). There are some memorable scenes: Godzilla rising out of the volcano, Godzilla destroying Yokohama, Mothra coming out of its cocoon, and some others. The main liabilities in the special FX is Godzilla's return to his old roar (as opposed to the one he used in the previous 3) and Mothra's attack on Tokyo doesn't look too convincing.

Overall, a good monster movie. The pace moves reasonably well. The monsters are fun and exciting as always. The preachy manner of our need to protect the environment isn't handled well, but it's not like it matters too much. After all, I watch these movies to see monsters fighting.

The 90's series makes way for Mothra. This time she's from the cosmos, as are her mini-twin lady friends. We're also introduced to Battra. One of the best things about this film is way each monster teeters between hero and villain. Each has a mission of their own, but they aren't exactly evil. It makes for much more interesting fights, and even a little depth to monster smash ups. The film begins as a strange Indiana Jones adventure film. Crumbling temples, rickety bridges etc. It adds for a little bit of unexpected fun before entering the world we are familiar with. Almost like if a Bond film started with a monster attack. Sure it's cheap and unoriginal, but for a film that has some boxes to tick, it's nice to have some variety. There is a heavy feminine touch to this movie. Toho trying to bring in the ladies to push up the box office receipts. The monsters have a lot more love and care, and we see a broken family at the heart of all this. This film really made me sit up during the destruction scenes. In broad daylight, it still looked real. The filmmakers now confident to compose images of monsters in the background and people in the foreground. It allows for some tremendous shots of absolute chaos, and stops the streets from seeming too empty.

A very solid entry into the giant monster genre. What makes this stand out compared to most other kaiju flicks is the way that the human characters are actually likeable and entertaining to watch. Unlike many other kaiju films, the "plot-explaining" scenes here are not a nuisance that clutter the film and delay the giant monster fight scenes we're all waiting for. Instead they blend into the film well and feature characters that one can grow to like (Masako and Takuya's affectionate bickering was very amusing, for instance). It says a lot about the strength of the human characters when you consider that even the little girl featured in the cast is not a nuisance (though she does utter the hilarious line "I'll make my daddy get a -real- job!").

The actual city-stomping and monster-on-monster battle scenes are a delight as well, and there are plenty of them. While they're beginning to show their age, they still look polished and convincing enough to be entertaining, and are done with lots of style. Special mention must go to the beautiful music, which adds to the film greatly.

Of course, the main storyline is pretty daft, though stomachable. As usual with Mothra around, there's a rather thick environmentalist message to blurb out, but the subject's treated in a not too clunky fashion this time. There are the odd moments of cheesy special effects or clumsy dubbing, but nothing too serious. All in all this is a very entertaining film. It makes a good introduction to the genre for kaiju newbies and kaiju fanatics will lap it up. In fact, anyone with an interest whatsoever in modern Japanese culture shouldn't hesitate about checking this out.

That, and the chanting of "Mossura ya, Mossura..." tends to stick with one ^^.

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: THE BATTLE FOR EARTH is a follow-up to GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH and a remake of sorts of the '60s kaiju GODZILLA VS MOTHRA. This is hugely entertaining kid's movie, filled to the brim with colourful special effects, spectacular scenes of destruction, and an engaging human storyline to boot.

The film's influences are many and varied, as you'll soon guess with the opening sequence featuring an Indiana Jones-style character raiding the ancient ruins at Angkor Wat. Before long we're knee-deep in a storyline involving a crashed meteorite, a reawakened Godzilla, the eruption of Mount Fuji, the emergence of a world-destroying creature called Battra, and of course Mothra himself.

Special emphasis is given to the character of Mothra, who is as hilarious as ever. As much as I love the giant furry moth, there's something undeniably hilarious about the creature in caterpillar form too, especially when hanging on to Godzilla's tail. I like the way the writers hark back to the '60s movies with the presence of the tiny twins and Infant Island; all good stuff. Plus, there's more giant monster action here than in the last film, although there's still time for plenty of human characters to get involved in a wider-reaching plot than usual. The message here is of the usual "save the environment" variety but it doesn't get in the way of what is a hugely enjoyable piece of entertainment.