Godzilla

This film's legacy is that it was a gigantic misfire that was trashed by critics and hated by the fans it was trying to impress. I think a lot of people hate this movie because they think they are supposed to hate it. If you look at this movie for what it is, not what people wish it was, you will find that is one of the most expertly constructed monster movies ever made. Roland Emmerich is a master action filmmaker. The action scenes in this movie are clear, coherent, breathlessly suspenseful and exciting. Comparing Godzilla to the action films of today makes you realize the extent to which the filmmaking craft has deteriorated. So many action scenes now are a dull, sludgy CGI mess, with quick cuts and sloppy editing that render the action incoherent and weightless. This movie feels so grandly cinematic and epic in a way that movies just don't feel anymore. The lines between film and television have been blurred now, and that cinematic language has been lost.

The main criticism of this movie is that this Godzilla does not have the characteristics of his Japanese counterpart, which is true and valid. This Godzilla is not impervious to traditional weaponry, he runs and hides and uses stealth attacks instead of being a slow, lumbering wall of destruction, and his mighty atomic breath beam attack has been reduced to more of an oral flamethrower. But it is important to realize that a Godzilla movie had not been theatrically released in America for 14 years, the only way most Americans knew of Godzilla was through TV reruns and VHS tapes. He was simply not a major cultural force in America at that time. What was a major cultural force was Jurassic Park, so it makes sense that in order to create the largest draw possible, the filmmakers would reference Jurassic Park more than traditional Japanese monster movies, because that's what most audiences would be familiar with. Indeed, Godzilla and his offspring are more akin to a mutated T. Rex and raptors than to the big G himself. Also, the conception of giant movie monsters is fundamentally different in America vs Japan. In America, giant monsters are mutated animals on the loose, that cause a lot of violence before they are inevitably destroyed by military might or scientific ingenuity. In Japan, giant monsters (called kaiju) are immortal, indestructible, god-like beings. Japanese monster films operate much more in the realm of fantasy than their American counterparts. If Godzilla 1998 had gone for more of a traditional Japanese approach, wide audiences might not have understood it in the same way as they would a giant T. Rex run amok in NYC.

Forget expectations and cultural baggage. Watch this movie for what it is, and you will have a good time.

(Flash Review)

Starting off relatively well, this turns into Jurassic Park as it felt like a dinosaur chase movie rather than focused on the mythical Godzilla. This new Godzilla also doesn't hold true to many of the original's traits such as what it eats and how it can be killed. Now on American soil of course Godzilla ravages Manhattan while the military try to take him down as they create a ton of (needless) damage. The media desperately looking for the inside scoop also create their own damage by stirring mass hysteria. One special scientist learns Godzilla is pregnant and warns that it's nest of eggs must be found to avoid hatching more of these beasts. As expected, this is full of explosions, destruction, roars, human ineptitude, light romance and heroics. Your typical Hollywood CGI fluff action monster movie with some notable plot holes.

This movie is far from amazing, but it doesn't entirely deserve the maligning it gets. Is the pace plodding sometimes? Yes it is, especially in the middle act. Is the script weak? Yes it is rather. Is the direction unfocused? I think so, but it is Roland Emmerich, a director I never found particularly good anyway, that said I actually think it is one of his better directing jobs here. Is the acting bad? Sort of and sort of not. Matthew Broderick is very bland, and his character is poor, same with the female lead whose acting style doesn't belong but Harry Shearer is fun and Jean Reno is surprisingly dignified.

I did love the idea of Godzilla though. There may be the odd hole here and there, but thanks to a quite riveting final half hour especially it remains interesting. The scenery is splendid, the editing is good enough, some sequences are entertaining and Godzilla while different is very well designed. The score is also memorable. And while there are flaws to Godzilla, I couldn't help being entertained. This film isn't Emmerich's best, but contrary to what others might say I don't think it is his worst either. Overall, it has a lot of problems, but I kind of liked it. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Godzilla" (1998) is definitely not a bad guilty pleasure movie. It has pretty good special effects, nice pacing and some good action sequences involving Godzilla himself. Well its not entirely a Godzilla everyone knows, its more of a dinosaur but still its a good looking creature, especially when it interacts with environment (city buildings in this case). The downsides of this movie were pretty lame script at the moments, zero chemistry between Matthew Broderick and Maria Pitillo (and her poor performance as well) and just the look of this movie - literally almost all movie time action takes place at night, sure because its much more easier (and cheaper) to make all the big special effects sequences in a bloody dark, but not so much fun to watch it.

Overall, "Godzilla" is a guilty pleasure. As a pure fun flick it does its job, nothing else and nothing more. A pure guilty pleasure.

Some corny parts and bad acting but still pretty entertaining overall. Fast-paced with lots of great action throughout. And Godzilla is a beast!

I can't argue it's good, but it's fun.

(about 4 viewings, 8/12/2025)