Gojira vs. Mosura (1992)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Takao Okawara

Writer:

Kazuki Omori (writer)

Release Date:

12 December 1992 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the midst of another rampage by Godzilla, Mothra emerges to save the human race from Battra.

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Creature | Monster Movie | Monster Terrorizes City | Moth

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Tetsuya Bessho	...	Takuya Fujita
Satomi Kobayashi	...	Masako Tezuka
Takehiro Murata	...	Kenji Andoh
Saburo Shinoda	...	Professor Fukazawa
Akiji Kobayashi	...	Yuzo Tsuchiashi
Akira Takarada	...	Environmental Planning Board Chief Jyoji Minamino
Makoto Ôtake	...	Marutomo Head Takeshi Tomokane
Keiko Imamura	...	Cosmos #1
Sayaka Osawa	...	Cosmos #2
Kenpachiro Satsuma	...	Gojira
'Hurricane Ryu' Hariken	...	Batora
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Megumi Odaka	...	Miki Saegusa
Yoshiko Tanaka	...	Asuka Okouchi
Kôichi Ueda	...	Marutomo Employee

Also Known As:

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (USA) (video title)
Godzilla vs. Mothra

Runtime:

102 min | USA:100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Germany:12 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

This film's origin went back to 1990 with the concept Mothra Vs. Bagan. The film would include battles all across Asia in places like Shanghai and Bangkok. However, when Gojira tai Biorante (1989) failed, Toho blamed the fact that an unfamiliar monster was used and this project was put on hold to give Godzilla another shot with Gojira tai Kingu Gidora (1991).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the larva Mothra bites Godzilla's tail in the ocean, look closely at the base of the tail as it's tossing Mothra upwards. You can clearly see the tail is a separate prop on some kind of support that has distorted it's shape - widening it unnaturally.

Quotes:

Yuzo Tsuchiashi: [witnessing Battra's arrival] What is all this? What's happening to our planet?

Movie Connections:

References Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Cheers for Godzilla!

With this movie of the Heisei (1980s-1990s) series, I think Toho studios is 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 "Godzilla vs. Mothra." 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) 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 (I mean irritating) daughter Midori. See how she says "nice!!!!!" when Mothra metamorphoses into its adult form. She talks to the Cosmos and Mothra like she was talking to any human being. Where's her astonishment? Somebody buy her a Godzilla toy and send her home. Most of the characters in this movie is a little off-the-wall, with the exception of Miki Saegusa. She delivers another solid performance, helping to enhance the mood of this film. She uses her psychic powers again, this time to track down the Cosmos for having been "kidnapped" by somebody.

This film also delivers a message about the importance of saving our forests. The monsters were a little funny too. Godzilla's radiation beam sounds like it needs tuning and the larvae stage of Mothra sounds like it is on roller skates. But hey, watch this movie for yourself. It is a fine source of entertainment on a boring, weary weekend.

Grade B-