Mothra vs. Godzilla (not rated)
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streaming sites: iTunes; Max

Caution: spoilers!

This 1964 film is the fourth in the Godzilla series, though it's only the second Godzilla movie I've seen. (It came in a box set of DVDs a friend gave me.) It's also the second film in which the monster Mothra appears (the first was not part of the Godzilla series), but I haven't seen the original Mothra movie yet. Um... the DVD I have actually calls the movie "Godzilla vs. Mothra," which kinda makes sense, since Godzilla is somewhat more famous than Mothra, I guess. And when the movie was originally released in the U.S., it was apparently called "Godzilla vs. The Thing." But since the original Japanese version of the movie gave Mothra first billing in the title, and most websites seem to do the same, I guess I'll go with "Mothra vs. Godzilla." Incidentally, there's a character whom my DVD case calls "Yoka," and I'm pretty sure that's what I heard her called at least once in the movie, but every website calls her Junko. I don't care, I'm calling her Yoka.

Anyway, the movie begins with a typhoon, which apparently delays some building project, I guess. A reporter named Sakai wrote a story about it, and he and his photographer, Yoka, were looking around at the aftermath of the storm (I'm pretty sure they'd already written a story about it at that point, though I'm really not sure how the timing makes sense). The developer wasn't happy about the story, though. And then an enormous egg appears in the ocean, and I guess fishermen dragged it to shore. (It looked like a giant Easter egg, IMO.) And then I guess they sold it to a guy named Kumayama, who was working with a guy named Torohata. They have plans to put the egg on display for the public, for a fee. But there's a scientist named Miura, who is opposed to this. He and Sakai and Yoka all believe the entrepreneurs don't have a right to keep the egg, that it should be studied by scientists. Meanwhile, two tiny women (like the size of fairies or something) appear to Kumayama and Torohata, begging them to return the egg to them. That doesn't go well for the tiny women, so a bit later they ask Miura, Sakai, and Yoka to help them get the egg back to their island. They say if it hatches, there could be major trouble, which they want to protect everyone from. And then a giant moth shows up, to which the egg belongs. It's all pretty bizarre. (It sounds to me like people call the moth "Mordra," but probably they're saying "Mothra.")

Well, the moth, whatever it's called, doesn't really do anything. But later our heroes appeal to the businessmen to return the egg, and of course they refuse. So the moth and the tiny girls return to their island. Sakai tries writing articles about all this, but the public doesn't seem interested, so he gets discouraged. Meanwhile, the land developer is about to get his project underway again, when suddenly Godzilla emerges from the earth. I'm not real clear on how this works, since he died at the end of the first movie, but probably it was explained in the second Godzilla movie, which as I mentioned, I haven't seen. Or the third. Presumably it's just a different member of the same species. I guess. Anyway, the authorities issue warnings, and people panic, but I think by now they at least don't need to question what Godzilla is; they just seem to take his existence for granted, and start fleeing the city (Nagoya). Later, some guy who works at the news office comes up with the idea of asking Mothra for help against Godzilla. (I don't know this guy's name, but he was probably my favorite character in the movie, from the moment he was eating an egg and heard about the giant monster egg. He's basically comic relief, and gets no respect even when he has a good idea. I feel bad for him, but it's still funny.)

So, Sakai, Yoka, and Miura go to the island, which is practically uninhabitable, due to nuclear testing during the war. And yet it is inhabited, and the natives don't want to help, because of the damage the testing had done to the island. Nevertheless, Yoka convinces the tiny girls to help. And they get Mothra to help, even though it was already just about ready to die. Though the military has its own plans to fight Godzilla. Both the military and Mothra have some success, but ultimately fail. But then two of the ugliest larvae you've ever seen hatch from the egg (after the tiny girls do a lot of singing). Meanwhile, Godzilla heads over to some island (I have no idea if it was the same one Mothra was from or a different one). For some reason there are children there, on a class field trip I guess. So everyone wants to save them, but that all just seemed so random to me. I have no idea why Godzilla was even going there, but whatever. Um... the larvae give chase, and fight Godzilla, ultimately defeating him... If I might make a Pokemon reference, it seemed to me like they were basically a couple of giant wurmple using string shot. String shot! It boggles the mind that such a weak move could defeat such a powerful creature, that had endured the strongest attacks both the Japanese and American military could throw at it, not to mention the attacks of a giant moth using a gust attack or whatever.

But meh, it was a decent movie. I liked the singing and I liked the utter absurdity of it all. Yep, this is definitely a 60s movie, all right....