- Directed by: Takao Okawara
- Written by: Wataru Mimura, Akira Murano, Kazuki Omori
- Stars: Tutsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHvrEdqYXHg
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The alternate title of this one could be “Raiders of the Lost Kaiju” because of the archeological adventures. Once again, something wakes up Godzilla. Mothra joins in the fun, as well as Battra – nemesis of Mothra. And the two teeny pixie women who know all about Mothra. The humans are spectators in this one more than some of the other films, with less active participation. As usual, there are lots of big creature battles. It’s a decent entry into the series.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on a big meteor headed toward Earth, and it’s going to land in the Pacific Ocean. Boom! It lands right on Godzilla. Credits roll.
We see a typhoon hitting an island, and there’s something there that looks like a big egg getting exposed as the soil washes away. We cut to Indiana Jones– no, that’s some other hat-wearing archaeologist trying to get a gold idol from a cave. As he barely makes it out alive from the booby traps, he’s arrested. He’s Takuya, and government people come to let him out of jail. They show him satellite photos of what fell from the sky. They want him to go to the island it’s on and collect the thing on the island. Masako is there, and she’s his ex-wife; if he doesn’t help, she’s going to make sure he’s in jail for a very long time.
Professor Fukazawa talks to the government scientists. Man is destroying the environment, and this meteor has made the sea levels rise. They also know that Godzilla has awakened. “Boy, what a day,” says the radar tech.
Kenjia Andoh, the company man, shows Takuya a map. They’re heading to Infant Island. The two men, along with Masako, land on the island to explore. They have some misadventures as they explore the place. They find a cave behind a waterfall and admire the wall paintings inside.
They get through the cave and find a big egg on the other side. They hear a voice from nowhere “It belongs to Mothra!” Then they see two tiny women just a few inches tall. “We are the Cosmos. Two of us keep the world’s natural order in balance.” They explain how humans were ruining the Earth long ago and controlled the weather. Earth didn’t like that and wiped almost everyone out. Black Mothra, Battra, took retribution on the climate controller. The good one, Mothra hibernates even today. The Cosmos girls say that Battra has awakened as well and is going to cause havoc soon. They pledge to help humans get through it this time.
The head of the Marutomo Company drives through a bunch of environmentalists on the way to his new golf course construction project. Takua contacts the government and reports what he knows; the company decides to move the egg to a safe location in Japan.
Battro hits Japan and travels underground. It soon surfaces and starts causing all the usual kaiju problems. Godzilla does the same shortly after. When Godzilla approaches the ship carrying the egg. Mothra hatches and is driven off by Godzilla. Battro shows up and battles with Godzilla underwater. They fight until an underwater volcano erupts and apparently kills them both.
Kenji kidnaps the two Cosmos girls and takes them to Marutomo Corporation. Masako thinks that maybe Mothra will be showing up to rescue the tiny girls. The girls sing the Mothra song, which will attract the big worm. The whole navy tries to kill it, but they don’t get anywhere.
Masako brings in Miki, the psychic from the previous two films, to locate the missing girls, just as Mothra hits the city. Turns out, the tiny girls have been kidnapped by Takuya, who wants to sell them to the Americans for a million dollars. Takuya’s daughter begs the Cosmos’ for help, and they explain what to do.
Mothra just about destroys the other half of the city on his way back out. The army really lets him have it this time, and Mothra may be dying. The Cosmos say he’s just at the end of his larval stage. Mothra parks himself in what’s left of the capitol building and makes a cocoon over the whole building.
The Mautomo Exec sees the Cosmos girls on the news and wants them back. Kenji warns that that’s a bad idea, but right then, Mount Fuji erupts. Kenji gets quit-fired as the executive swears to win at all costs.
Godzilla shows up and climbs right out of Mount Fuji’s lava pit. He’s making a beeline for Tokyo and the cocoon, which promptly hatches. Out of the cocoon comes a colorful mothlike creature with big wings. It then flies off to continue fighting Battra, who has also changed into a flying creature.
Japan shoots at Godzilla using high tech laser-equipped fighter planes that look really cool but do nothing. Meanwhile, Battra defeats Mothra easily, but Mothra calls to Godzilla for help. All three giant creatures soon go at it. Mothra sprays Battra with glowing spores that calm him, and then he does the same with Godzilla. Godzilla doesn’t want to be controlled and knocks out Mothra, but this time, Battra comes to his rescue– they’re friends now.
The two flying monsters pick up Godzilla and carry him off to sea. In the process, Godzilla bites and blasts Battra and the two fall into the ocean. Mothra then uses his magic on the spot where they fell. The Cosmos girls talk about a meteorite that’s going to destroy the Earth in 1999; Battra was here to destroy it, but he’s dead now. Mothra plans to go into space and change the course of the meteor and save the planet. Until they come back, we have to take care of the world ourselves…
Brian’s Commentary
It steals liberally from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” although both those films were more than ten years old when this was made.
Some of these films focus on the monsters, and some on the characters. This one was very monster-focused, with lots and lots of fight scenes between the three kaiju, leaving the characters to stand around and watch. The two flying monsters are obvious puppets, and Godzilla looks about like he always does. There are a lot of laser blasts and other digital-looking special effects this time around.
Kevin’s Commentary
This totally kept reminding me of Indiana Jones and his adventures. This time around, we don’t get to see Mothra’s people singing and dancing like the movies from the 1960s – a missed opportunity.
Having a creature balance underwater was a different touch this time, kind of interesting. It was still two guys in rubber suits knocking each other around, but the effects and visuals improved quite a bit in the 30 years since Mothra’s first appearance.
It was noticeable that the human characters were largely there to just witness and throw in comments, more so than some of the other movies.
All in all, it was another pretty good one.