Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

 ROAD TO MINUS ZERO - PART 4

After being very disappointed with the clash of two monster heavyweights, it was always going to be interested with what Toho could come up with. We are three films into this franchise and have had three very different types of films and they have varied in terms of quality. I thought that the film looked like it was going to continue getting worse then the story starts off with a giant blue and white coloured egg appearing in the middle of the sea.Within about half a second the humans are deciding how to make money out of it with even a showbiz agent saying it is his. Pretty quickly two very small twins appear pleading for the egg's return. 

Despite the fantastical aspect of the script (we are well past the seriousness of the first film), I thought that the film was much better pitched than the previous film. They seem to have accepted that the fantastical part of the story is part of their reality now. The special effects used to match up the twins with the regular sized people is done rather well for 1964.

Despite this being a Godzilla film, it's 33 minutes (in a 88 minute film before he appears).  We do get a good fight between the two which is something that the previous film was lacking. Mothra looks like a credible threat to Godzilla and the humans. Yes some of the effects looked a bit dodgy but overall I thought it was a good encounter between them. There is something deeply satisfying about watching Godzilla and Mothra destroy the model sets they are on. There is one slightly unfortunate scene where the larvae's emerge from the egg and start spraying Godzilla in something that could be taken as slightly inappropriate.

The biggest take from this film is that it is a huge improvement on King Kong vs. Godzilla. It's not perfect by any means but neither does it feel as terrible like the previous film. The story feels like it is taking things a bit more seriously despite the obviously silly vibe of the story. The humans story was interesting enough although their part in the story wasn't anything spectacular, the fights worked well and the effects were good for 1964. I think that this film shows the perfect balance for these type of films. It has just the right amount of silliness to show that it is not taking itself too seriously but not too silly that it comes across as though it's aimed at children.