After the success of King Kong vs. Godzilla, Toho wasted no time repeating the formula. They brought back Ishiro Honda again and tapped into their original creations for inspiration, one of the most popular being Mothra. The end result was Mothra vs. Godzilla, often considered a classic of the genre. The film deals with mankind's abuse of nature, as the main human antagonists want to exploit Mothra's egg for profit. The main characters are above average for a Godzilla film, making the monsterless scenes a breeze to get through. The special effects are cutting edge for the time period, and the fights come off as very natural and animalistic. Akira Ifukube returns once more to create some of the most memorable themes in the franchise; themes that would continue to be used in future films decades later. Godzilla is absolutely relentless in this film. He spends a great deal of screen time marching across the country and trampling over everything in his path. The military throws everything they got at him until eventually they have no choice but to concede and evacuate. Godzilla has gone on some fine rampages throughout his career, and this is definitely one of his finest. Godzilla and Mothra would go on to face each other numerous times throughout the series, but it will always be their first that inspires the most praise.
