Director: Ishiro Honda
Year: 1964
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Mosura tai Gojira; Godzilla vs. The Thing
Genre: Kaiju
Plot:
Following a devastating typhoon, a reporter hears that a local entrepreneur has bought a gigantic egg that washed ashore for his company. Along with his partner they plan to exhibit the egg for profit, but are visited by two tiny twin women, the Cosmos, who reveal the egg belongs to Mothra. Seeking shelter with friends, they promise the egg's return. Godzilla appears, drawn by the egg, and Mothra appears to drive him off until it's struck a fatal blow. While the military deals with Godzilla's advances, the women and their friends pray for the egg to hatch, and the larval caterpillars swim off to deal with Godzilla once and for all.
Review:
This is easily the second-best effort of the entire series. Despite the inability to come close to the storyline of the original, this one comes off nicely enough with a more controlled substory about the nature of greed with the entrepreneurs holding the egg for a potential exhibit to the public. Capturing the egg from locals who had it appear off their shore, the plan to display it as a special attraction for people to watch it hatch is a biting indictment on everything that’s only enhanced by the callous actions they display elsewhere. The treatment of the Fairies when they appear trying to negotiate the release of the egg back to them and Mothra only to have the tables turn as the whole experience is to be used as another capitalist attraction in their eyes gives this a solid grounding point to look at how greed and corruption tempts humanity with how they’re treated. The human subplots are tolerable, get the movie going, and are actually integral to the events rather than progressing through the monsters and then disappearing.
On top of that, there isn't one area where this suffers including the monster work. Godzilla is quite impressive as this was one of the best costumes in the series, with a larger, more rounded face, less of a serpentine quality to it, and a muzzle-like look to the upper jaw. The eyes are set high into the eyelids, making him look quite cold and malevolent and often glaring out, and with a slimmed-down, bell-shaped lower body, pronounced breastbone and knees and with curled, spread-apart claws, there's an overall menace that is wonderfully captured. As good as Godzilla looks, Mothra fares the better of the two with graceful flying motions, elegant flapping of the wings, subtle movement in the legs and antennae, and a lively quality to its face when reacting truly comes alive and is so realistic and believable it's unnatural.
The monsters steal the show with Godzilla in particular getting some of the film's scenes. Through a series of exciting and convincing battles with the military, there are more confrontations here that last much longer than before, giving the middle section of the film a nonstop series of spectacular images. The plans are both ingenious in their intention and execution and are thrilling to see, especially the second attack which for once goes to the military's side until a miraculous escape. Using a combination of napalm, electricity, and metal nets in conjunction with Godzilla's weakness against electricity, these are awe-inspiring and perfectly executed, providing plenty of spectacle on hand. To see the military giving a good fight and nearly succeeding is a joy to watch and much more exciting to see. Another sequence where the Navy launches a missile attack, is one of the best scenes ever shot in the series, as the constant bombardment seems like a tactic that could work, and the execution results in a flawless scene as explosions go off in all directions, blowing up everything in sight and actually bringing him to his knees. Starting off on one of the most dramatic entrances ever, Godzilla steals the spotlight here and becomes a series highlight.
As well, getting in a scene of city destruction, along with the highlight destruction of Nagoya Castle, is simply breathtaking adding a special dimension to the film getting to add a great action scene to the rest of the other scenes here where he becomes a real agent of destruction. Even the two fights in the film are utterly spectacular and is nearly impossible to determine which one is better. The first one against the flying Mothra is just spectacular with the hurricane winds blowing Godzilla off his feet and the poison cloud effectively choking him. With a rationale for the fight that's actually convincing, perfect continuity, and a variety of interesting and credible tactics that are perfectly realized, this is one of the greatest fights ever. The second one taking on legless, wingless, and practically powerless caterpillars is grand and nicely flows together on the only terrain where the caterpillars have a chance. From the blasting with the ray to the maddened assaults on them, this is a great spectacle to behold and is all done with perfect pacing and photography. The rescue mission intrudes enough and the gradual formation of the cocoon builds suspense perfectly. As with everything here features a powerful, awe-inspiring, and even catchy score and near-perfect execution of all areas, this one is a flawless and enjoyable entry.
Overview: *****/5
Quite simply, this is the best entry in the series after the original. It's got everything operating at a top-notch effort, being entertaining, mechanically well-done, and without any flaws at all. This is recommended viewing for all kaiju and monster movie fans at its most urgent with only a few out there not interested in the genre to heed caution.
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