Note: The film review is based on the Japanese version, not the 10-minute shorter American edit also included on the DVD.
While Mothra opens with a disaster at sea — one of the hallmarks of giant monster movies in general — the rest of the film is anything but a disaster. Mothra is a monster with a purpose, not one destined to wreak havoc on a Japanese city simply because she exists.
She is fighting greed, determined to find two twin fairies that are shamelessly used for profits by a greedy businessman, Clark Nelson (Jerry Ito). The film barely disguises the fictional country of Rolisica as America, and New Kirk City as New York. This is one of the few Toho giant monster films to break out of Japan, and the results are spectacular.
Director Ishiro Honda inserts his usual nuclear parable as well, detailing the tragedy that nuclear testing has befallen the small Infant Island. This is Mothra’s home, yet the bomb is never linked to the cause of Mothra’s creation. She is home on the island where her legend began. Only the native twin fairies can call for her.
Mothra is quickly paced, establishing a key character played by comedian Frankie Sakai in his only kaiju film role. He fits well despite the goofy charm, playing a character who has fun, but who also is a hero. He rescues a baby from the path of destruction created by Mothra, and is part of the plan to save New Kirk City from being completely decimated.
Eiji Tsubaraya’s visual effects are stunning here, not to mention gutsy. Close-ups and high-angle shots are not only complex but risky. These are the shots typically avoided for fear the miniatures will appear obvious. That’s not the case here, though, as Mothra begins her rampage in larvae form and the camera pans over the top as she marches forward.
Tsubaraya was also a master of wind effects, and Mothra’s wings provide. Buildings tear, cars flip, and windows shatter as she flies overhead searching for the fairies. Nelson’s greed reaches a breaking point, the stress of what he has caused becomes too much to bear. It creates a tense finale as the camera cuts between Mothra’s attack and Nelson’s attempted escape.
Mothra is not killed in the end, a rarity in Japanese monster films which love to showcase the ingenuity of the Japanese scientists. In fact, the Japanese do not even develop a weapon to defeat her. The Roliscian’s provide heat rays, which only serve to cause the creature to exit her metamorphosis inside the cocoon.
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