KAIJU EIGA MEETS JURASSIC PARK

A Video Review of "Rebirth of Mothra III" also known as "Mosura 3" or "Mothra 3: King Ghidora Attacks"

Copyright 2003 Glenn Walker

Thanks to Steven Spielberg and his Jurassic Park movie series, dinosaurs are hot. This is a fact that Toho was very aware of when they were putting the third Mothra film together. So of course at one point Mothra must travel through time to battle King Ghidora in prehistoric times surrounded by dinosaurs.

The Elias sisters’ relationship is thrown into chaos by the coming of the king of terror - King Ghodora. Their arguing over a trio of swords that form the Elias Triangle which may be the weapon to stop the evil monster. Convoluted subplots like this abound, almost like the holes in the main plot. Don’t get me started on time travel theory and paradoxes.

There is still the kid content. Mothra has become the Gamera of the 1990s. King Ghidora kidnaps all the children (in the city? the country? the world? It is never made clear) and deposits them in an impenetrable bubble in the forest to kill them - exterminating the human race as he had the dinosaurs millions of years before.

We also get to see quite a few different versions of Mothra, probably ordered by the marketing and merchandising departments at Toho. There is the Time Travel Mothra, the Prehistoric Mothra Larvae and of course the final Armored Mothra.

While the monster battles are much too short in any case, the one in prehistoric times is definitely the best. The Toho rendering of Spielbergian dinosaurs is impressive. And this newest rendition of King Ghidora is the best I’ve seen in years.

Rebirth of Mothra III is easily the best of the trilogy despite the contrived plot. It is the least eco-preachy, has the best special effects and primo monster battles.