Godzilla - A Batalha do Século

With this movie of the Heisei (1980s-1990s) series, I think Toho studios was on a role. With cool special effects and beautiful music, this became one of the top 10 grossing Godzilla movies. Who wouldn't like to see a rematch between Godzilla and Mothra. This movie is an update of the 1964 version of "Mothra vs. Godzilla."

Mothra's egg is exposed after a storm (or meteorite) hits it. A trio of explorers try to bring the egg to Japan under the influence of a greedy entrepreneur (sound familiar?). Godzilla appears out of the ocean to attack the explorers' ship, which is hauling the egg. The egg hatches into Mothra and the two do battle. The Peanuts, who played Mothra's twin priestesses in the 1964 movie, were succeeded by the Cosmos. They talk in unison, as usual. Dressed in pink with braided hairs and wearing Mothra signs, they bring back the traditional "Mothra's Song." If you're interested on buying a Godzilla soundtrack, see if you can track down the record version of this song, performed by the Cosmos with music by Akira Ifukube. It rocks! The song is sing in Malaysian, as always. However, in the record version, the Cosmos sing a verse of the song in Japanese. With echoing concepts from the original film this movie introduced a new monster, Battra (Mothra's evil twin), who is out to destroy earth but ended up helping Mothra battle Godzilla. How depressing to see the main guy Takuya (Indiana Jones?) in the film rooting for Mothra and Battra while battling Godzilla at an amusement park with his annoying ex-wife Masako and his irritating daughter Midori. She talks to the Cosmos and Mothra like she was talking to any human being. Where's her astonishment? Somebody should buy her a Godzilla toy and send her home!

Plenty of monster action, but I would have like to see Godzilla stomp on the city more and Mothra and Battra take a few more beatings from Godzilla, to the shock of the humans watching. And, I would have liked to see the Cosmos and their purpose emphasized more positively. They care for the Earth and wanted to appeal to its leaders to save the environment, but then again call for Mothra to save them from the entrepreneur while destroying Tokyo in the process??

Many of the characters in this movie is a little off-the-wall, with the exception of Miki Saegusa. She delivered another solid performance, helping to enhance the suspense of this story. She uses her psychic powers again, this time to track down the Cosmos.

Some sounds effects were a little off, like Godzilla's radiation beam sounding like it needs tuning and the larvae stage of Mothra sounds like it is on roller skates. But hey, this Godzilla flick is an satisfactory source of entertainment on a boring, weary weekend.

Grade C+

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 ^^.

I sat down to watch the 1992 "Gojira vs. Mosura" (aka "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth") without much of any particular expectations, aside from it being your average traditional "Godzilla" movie.

And true enough, this is actually what "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth" turned out to be, but there was just something about the storyline that made it just a tad more outstanding than your average, generic mass-produced "Godzilla" flick. Perhaps it was because of Mothra and Battra? I enjoyed that aspect of the movie quite a lot actually.

The special effects in the movie were good, and they definitely helped to bring the movie to life in a more enjoyable fashion. Sure, the movie was made in 1992, and the effects are showing their age. But still, there is just something charming about them still using miniature models in 1992.

The more of these movies I watch, the more both Godzilla and Mothra grow on me. And believe you me, I have sat through a lot of the older "Godzilla" movies by now.

Storywise, then "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth" turned out to be just another run-of-the-mill storyline and script made from the 'how-to-make-a-Godzilla-movie-for-dummies". So don't go expecting a revolutionary chapter in the "Godzilla" franchise from writer Kazuki Ohmori and director Takao Okawara.

But all in all, an enjoyable and entertaining movie. I am rating "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth" a solid six out of ten stars.

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.

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.