गॉडज़िला

(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.

What were some of you expecting? Shakespeare? Tennesee Williams? Its a movie about a giant lizard in New York - just accept it for what it is! Its entertainment and no more - and on that level (at least for me) it works just fine! Its's not "realistic" enough? Again, how realistic is a giant lizard supposed to be? It's a FANTASY movie! Besides, I thought the special effects were pretty impressive! And its not as if the ORIGINAL Godzilla movies were good, with their actors in rubber suits and laughable, ridiculous "monsters" (gamera, mechagodzilla, etc etc)- the Godzilla in THIS movie was an animal, not a monster driven by a need to destroy things! I didn't think Matthew Broderick was bad at all - although I DID find Animal's girlfriend extremely irritating with her shrill voice! Really, I didn't think this movie was bad at all - no, its not a profound meaningful work or art, but then who expected it to be? It's an enjoyable diversion - that's all anyone should expect!

Like many people, I wasn't fond of this when it was first released. Revisiting it now nearly twenty years later I can say my opinion has changed quite a bit. It's still not a great Godzilla movie, at least not how I quantify that, but it is an enjoyable "big monster movie" on its own merits. The special effects are great, the action is pretty well staged, and the music is surprisingly nice. The only real problems for me are that the cast is a little too goofy at times (I think they were going for some kind of Jurassic Park humorous/serious blend) and the movie does run a little long. Overall, though, I think it's an entertaining movie that deserves a second look.

"Godzilla" is a great example of a big budget summer movie that doesn't really work. It plays by the big summer movie rules but it misses the mark. The first half of "Godzilla" is very good. But after an hour or so, the story takes a wrong turn. It actually becomes pretty silly for a while. I don't want to say that "Godzilla" wore out its welcome but it is too long by at least twenty minutes. That said, I still enjoyed watching "Godzilla" tonight.

Well, being a longtime fan of the GODZILLA/GOJIRA films as a youngster, I remember seeing this with great anticipation. I, unlike a lot of people, was not at all disappointed. This film was exactly what I was hoping it would be at the time. Sure, it certainly wasn't as charming or as funny as the films I loved as a kid, but it was a lot of fun. I loved the action scenes, the look of the monster was crazy to me, and the plot was simple enough for a first time viewer to get right into. Seeing it again 10 years later, I had the same reaction. My opinion of this film hasn't changed one bit. I guess everybody's complaints stem from how this has no charm or any kind of attempt at being cute or original. I guess that's understandable, but I still don't see what everybody's problem is. This was supposed to be a fun, exciting, and action packed thrill ride. That's all it is, no more, no less. I personally think that it succeeds at what it achieved to be perfectly. Matthew Broderick may not exactly be an action hero, but his character sure was quirky and funny. Jean Reno was as good as usual.