Rebirth of Mothra III Review

What would it be like if you saw a Godzilla film with an King Ghidorah and Mothra but no Godzilla to lend a helping hand? You get this film. Rebirth of Mothra III is the final film in the 90's Mothra trilogy. It had been some time since Mothra got a solo flick, her most recent appearance before the first Rebirth in Mothra was in Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla. So two years later, and one year after Godzilla was destroyed in his series, Mothra would get a trilogy all to herself. The trilogy itself had gotten mixed reviews, I myself haven't seen the first two, so I was going into this not knowing what to expect.

The story begins with Belvera (apparently there's a third Cosmo) seeking the power to  the Cosmos' ancestors. The other two manage to stop her, shortly after that a meteorite shower hits Japan. However, a strange object comes along with it. A rather large meteorite. When the two sisters analyze the fallen meteor, they realize what was inside: none other than KING GHIDORAH himself. It is said that the beast had destroyed the dinosaurs millions of years ago, now he's back. The Cosmos call in Mothra, who is quickly defeated by the Three-Headed Terror. The defeated Mothra tells the Cosmos a plan: Journey millions of years into the past and destroy King Ghidorah before he becomes fully grown. Of course, even when he wasn't fully powered, the King of Terror is still a force to be reckoned with.....

This is one interesting movie. See, I went into this thinking it was going to be a Godzilla movie with no Godzilla. It was kinda like that, but it's different. A good way to put it is a combination of a Heisei Godzilla film, and a Showa Gamera film. Yes, so expect a lot of kids. Thankfully, it doesn't go the cheesy route. For the most part, it's a pretty engaging science fiction story with lots of monster action. It's not part of the Godzilla films, it's its own thing.

The Cosmos being a central focus was both cool and interesting. Instead of being identical and chanting at the same time, they have individual personalities. Some fans don't like the idea of that, I think it's a pretty good concept and it's handled wonderfully in the film. There's this third Cosmo apparently, Belvera. I'd probably have to watch the other two films to understand who she is. With that said, she's an interesting character. A complaint however, is that in the beginning, she seems to be more toward the evil side, then later in the film, she turns a new leaf. That's fine, but the transition isn't smooth and just felt odd. The other focus was on this teenage kid. My gosh, this guy just had no emotion. The kid from Godzilla's Revenge had more emotion. The most unbearable character in the whole thing. He's just plain dull. His lines felt forced, it isn't good stuff.

Regarding the monsters, I'd say this is more of King Ghidorah's film than Mothra's. The King of Terror completely stole the show. My gosh, he was just awesome. Truly the best part of the film. His look in this film is by far his best. He's never looked more fierce and evil. A lot overlook his appearance in this film, he had previously appeared in the 1991 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and many would count GMK as his next appearance. Speaking of that, I think his GMK look borrowed some ideas from his look in this film, they look a bit similar. Mothra gets a nice design, looking more powerful than ever. However, one of the best parts of the film was when she got a super-form: Mothra Leo. The futuristic look is just epic.

The soundtrack is nothing special, no tunes stood out. However, the Mothra song gets a disco remix, that was nice. The effects for the most part are very good. The buildings exploding from King Ghidorah was pretty amazing. The dinosaurs are stop-motion, but they do look a little fake, especially when Cretaceous King Ghidorah picked up a Tyrannosaurus. The pacing is very good, it doesn't get dull. (I'm looking at you Godzilla vs. Biollante.) Just when you think it's over, then pop, Grand King Ghidorah returns. Talk about unexpected, I love it when a film could surprise you. The fights are pretty good, I never was a big fan of aerial fights, but they were pretty good. The final fight with Mothra Leo and Grand King Ghidorah was climatic. (I love how Ghidorah returns in a fire form first, homage to when he first appeared back in 64.) One thing that wasn't fully explained was why King Ghidorah was capturing all the kids. It was never truly explained what was the purpose of that.

Overall, Rebirth of Mothra III is a fun little film. You will feel like shouting "Where's Godzilla?! Mothra's getting creamed out there!" But this is Mothra's film, her own world. King Ghidorah stole the show, it's worth watching it just to see him in action alone. I've always liked the Cosmos in the Godzilla films, and they are really cool in this film.

7/10.