There's a lot of nostalgia for this entry. It was one of the few films in the series that I owned on VHS before all the films became easily available. It's a new take on a old adversary.
Following Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, a meteor lands in the Ogasawara Trench where it awakens Godzilla. Meanwhile, the Japanese government sends an expedition to Infant Island. There they discover Mothra's egg, and meet the Cosmos( Mothra's tiny fairies).
They tell them of a rivalry between Mothra and a new monster Battra. A ship with a raft is sent to transport the egg to Japan. When in Transit, Godzilla and Battra show up. The egg hatches revealing Mothra's larva stage. Godzilla and Battra duke it out as Mothra escapes. Godzilla and Battra are seemingly engulfed by a underwater volcanic eruption. In Japan, the Cosmos are stolen by a greedy businessman who wants to profit off them. Mothra comes to Japan to save them. After ensuring their safety, she cocoons herself, and transform into her moth form. Meanwhile, Battra is discovered to still be alive, and transforms into its flying form.
Godzilla then are arrives out of Mt Fuji. Mothra and Battra battle it out until Godzilla arrives. They eventually join forces to take on Godzilla. They carry Godzilla out to sea, but Battra is killed in the process. Mothra then leaves Earth to stop a meteor which could destroy the planet.
This film carries a bit of a environmental message in it. The disasters that the meteor brings forth are retribution for the damage man has done to the planet. The Cosmos put it as the earth getting revenge. The overall point is the earth belongs to every living thing and it must be treated with care and respect. The Battra/ Mothra story is closely tied to the earth. Battra was created by the earth when a ancient civilization created a device to control the weather which angered the earth.
This film has what I call a badass Godzilla moment. Godzilla is swallowed by an underwater eruption and swims in molten lava to Mt Fuji. It's like Thor taking the full force of a star in Avengers Infinity War. The human characters are a explorer, his ex-wife, their daughter, and they seem to know Miki Saegusa( the psychic girl throughout the Heisei films). Their story is really about them reconnecting. They're the ones who rescue the Cosmos and the explorer and his wife were part of the island expedition. This film is also notable for being the few Mothra appearances in the Godzilla series where she doesn't die. This entry has loads of monster action, and the story is well written.
It doesn't have any aspects which are not explained well. Not quite as good as Godzilla vs Mothra( 1964), but a solid entry.
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