by Pkmatrix » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:39 pm
Just rewatched this one again for the first time in a LONG time. It still holds up well, easily one of the best Godzilla sequels and among my favorites. However, I don't know, perhaps it's partly due to the long period since the last viewing or maybe just watching more films in general (especially some great classics), or maybe simply by watching this back-to-back with Mothra (1961) but... for the first time, I've noticed some oddities with this one. Nothing that hurts the fun or its standing, IMO, but weaknesses I never noticed before that just seem odd now that I've noticed them.
I should probably prelude the rest of this by mentioning that I watched US version on the recent Classic Media re-release DVD - I've only seen the original Japanese version once, and though I liked it (the expanded aspect ratio and cleaned up print are fantastic!) I like the Frontier missile sequence and wanted to watch that too. ^_^()
I love the opening premise of the film! It's such an ingenious idea, and the first half-hour of Mothra vs. Godzilla works fantastically as a sequel to Mothra. However, even here there's some strangeness, primarily from the relationship amongst our three heroes. Mainly, why exactly did these three form a trio? When Prof. Murai is introduced, he seems (at least in the dub) a bit cold and uninterested in talking with Sakai and Yoka. Then...POOF! Practically the next scene, the three are casually having drinks together like old friends discussing what to do about Kumayama and the Egg. It feels like a scene, or at least a bit of dialogue, is missing. ^_^()
After Godzilla arrives, there's a similarly odd plot jump: the heroes decide to go ask Mothra for help - then, next scene, they're off doing just that. Who flew them? Is that the Army? The military seems to be going along with this plan, but what reason does the military have for doing so? It's a bizarre disconnect.
Perhaps in some earlier version of the story, these were not new characters but instead the protagonists of Mothra (who, also, were a reporter, a photographer, and a scientist)? That would explain some of this, especially why the Army would fly them to Infant Island. But, as it stands, it just seems a little weird and unexplained. Hell, a quick scene of them convincing the Politician to let them do this would've been enough explanation.
Speaking of the Politician, am I the only who thought the school principal at the end was the same person as the Politician earlier? I'd always taken it for granted that they were the same person and always thought it an interesting redeeming moment for him, a sniveling lying-through-his-teeth politician who amid the destruction has a change of heart. I was really disappointed on this viewing to realize, for the first time, that they aren't the same person (I noticed because the actors have different mustaches). Nothing wrong with it, just something I'd always assumed and am a little disappointed to be wrong about.
The whole "Save the Children!" subplot really does come out of nowhere, though, and kinda comes across as "Well, we need our heroes to do something!" Had there been more foreshadowing, it maybe would work a little better - even something as simple as showing them leaving for the island earlier, though my choice would've been to make the Teacher or one of the kids a sibling of one of our heroes. That's actually a little bit of a problem, IMO: as much as I love how our villains are destroyed in MvG, it just happens so early! Seriously, that storyline - the main plot, really - is axed about 60 minutes into a ~90 minute film! It's no wonder the main trio are left with almost nothing to do and the writer had to invent a short new plot for them. Having read the MvG Draft 1 page on Toho Kingdom, I suspect the culprit here is changing the final fight from Adult Mothra v. Godzilla (based on that page, it sounds like there's only that one fight) to Godzilla v. the Larvae. If one assumes the film was originally meant to end with the first fight, it makes some sense - the remaining third of the film consists of the military fighting Godzilla again, the Larvae hatching, the rescue mission, and the final battle. I'm not sure how, if at all, this could've been fixed... they probably did the best that they could accommodating the change.
Overall, I still love Mothra vs. Godzilla. If they ever remake it (again), there's a few areas where the script could be ironed out further, but the basic premise is still brilliant and works very well as a sequel to the also fantastic Mothra. A wonderful, if slightly flawed, film. ^_^
