MOTHRA FLIES AGAIN! But Was the Third Time the Charm?

Kenji Suzuki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I took in a screening of Rebirth of Mothra III (1998) in glorious 35mm. I don't think I'd seen the movie in close to 20 years, and I'd only seen it once before. I basically remembered only two things from the film -- that King Ghidorah captures children, and the less-than-convincing dinosaur puppets. 

Overall, I found the film a bit too slow for my liking. I'd rank it as my least favorite of the late '90s Mothra trilogy (with the first Rebirth of Mothra being my favorite). The only characters who stood out were the returning characters from the previous entries: Moll, Lora, and Belvera. The rest were instantly forgettable. It was nice to see the ubiquitous Koichi Ueda in a small role, but that's about all. It's not a bad film, but it is a something of a let-down.

The special guest of the screening was SFX director Kenji Suzuki. Before joining Toho, Suzuki-san was a freelance SFX director who did some work at Tsuburaya Productions, most notably Ultraman 80 (1980-81). At Toho, he served as an assistant SFX director on The Imperial Navy (1981) and Sayonara Jupiter (1984). On Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Rebirth of Mothra (1996), and Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), he served as the chief assistant SFX director under Koichi Kawakita. On Rebirth of Mothra III, Godzilla 2000 (1999), and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), he was the SFX director. In the 2000s, Suzuki-san returned to Tsuburaya Productions and lent his talents to various Ultra-projects.

And that's about all. I had an enjoyable afternoon. I'm glad I saw the film again, and despite my misgivings, I can recognize the film's positive aspects. It's been great to reevaluate the entire Mothra trilogy this year.