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| Eastern Eye (Australia). Region 4, PAL. 1.78:1 (16:9 enhanced). Japanese DD 5.1, Japanese DD 2.0 Mono, English DD 2.0 Mono. English subtitles. 99 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Takao Okawara
Starring: Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata, Saburo Shinoda
Screenplay: Kazuki Omori
Country: Japan |
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You can't talk about giant monsters without talking about Godzilla, the huge fire breathing lizard who has become as much a cultural icon as he has a movie star. From his debut in the Fifties through to modern day retellings and that woeful Hollywood excursion, the mention of Godzilla means just one thing; men in monster suits running around smashing intricate models of cities using special effects that bare more than a passing resemblance to television shows like Thunderbirds.
For all the monster mayhem the films promised, they also kept some glaring political and environmental messages up their scales sleeves. The first film paralleled Hollywood's obsession with the Atomic bomb and nuclear fallout in an adult and serious fashion but as the stories progressed they became more simplistic and childish. Anyone who has seen Son of Godzilla will know the juvenile depths that the series would plummet to. Godzilla vs. Mothra: Battle For Earth returns the series to serious environmental issues with this green recycled sermon preaching how badly we are treating the earth. Luckily, being a Godzilla film we have plenty of monsters abound to help pummel the point across.
After an archaeological team discovers two tiny woman during a dig on Infant Island they discover that the earth is not in a good way. After years and years of abuse from the human race the planet is fighting back by sending out an evil monster, Battra, to wipe the human race from the face of the planet. The Cosmos, represented by the two minuscule females, tries to help mankind by sending Mothra, a giant moth, down to battle Battra. As the two prepare to battle, no one counts on Godzilla appearing to try and destroy everything.
In the giant monster league table, Godzilla comes out on top but the other creatures give him a hard time. The battle between Godzilla and Mothra in pupae form is fantastic, especially the moment when Mothra bites down on the giant lizard's tale and is flung around as Godzilla gets angrier and angrier. We also have Mothra's arch enemy Battra thrown into the mix and the resulting fracas stretches every yen of the FX budget. |
| Video |
| The image is clear, sharp and colourful. If anything the clarity of the image shows up some of the films inadequacies in terms of special effects; especially when the monsters go on the final rampage through an amusement park. |
| Audio |
| Hear Godzilla roar! The 5.1 surround track is punchy, loud and clear. To be honest there is not much use made of the rear channels but during the scenes of mass monster mayhem the mix is highly effective. |
| Extra Features |
The extras include a stills gallery and a poster gallery which while not huge, do have some nice images.
Previews for Godzilla vs Mothra: Battle for Earth include the teaser trailer, theatrical trailer and the TV Spot and the disc also includes trailers for Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla, Godzilla: Invasion of the Astro Monster and Godzilla vs Hedorah. |
| The Verdict |
To be honest Mothra was never Godzilla's most exciting foe. Sure, the moth looked pretty flying through the air but its pupae form just didn't cut the mustard when it came to monster on monster fighting action. Still, the glorious thing about the series is the fact that the look and feel of the films has barely changed, despite advances in special effects technology and increased budgets. Add to this the often terrible performances and you have a classic bad movie on your hands.
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