Customer Reviews

Godzilla

5 star:		(151)
4 star:		(118)
3 star:		(90)
2 star:		(90)
1 star:		(214)

 

 

Okay, I know this is going to be a highly disputed opinion, but I think this movie is very, very good. Great, I'd even daresay. And I am a Godzilla fan. I love the Big Guy from his early masterworks to his campy mid-period to his new thrilling outings.

Admittedly, this is not the same Godzilla. But Godzilla himself is a product of the 50s fascination with giant monsters, and this movie is really just an homage to all those old, great monster movies. Anyway, I don't see why the universe isn't big enough for two Godzillas.

A lot of fans hated this just for the idea. But Tristar had to make a new version. The old version would've flopped in America. In fact, Godzilla 2000 came out about a year later, and it did terrible. So where were those so-called fans when he really needed them? I submit that there really aren't that many Godzilla fans. There's plenty of people who claim to be, but do they really like him or these types of films? Doesn't seem like it.

Onto the movie. First there's Godzilla. He's a terrific special effect. Some people say he doesn't look real. He looks pretty darn impressive to me. Realism is a rather silly complaint when you're talking about a giant lizard running through New York.

The story is deceptively simple. You could boil it down to Army vs. Monster, but there's a creativity here that gets overlooked. The characters (all of whom are well-developed especially considering none are the real star) are all likable. Their motivations are believable. And their story arcs are solidly connected to the central conflict in a way that doesn't seem forced.

The action sequences are wonderful. I like to think of them as monstrous versions of great kung fu showdowns. Godzilla isn't invulnerable in this film, and so when he fights helicopters, rockets, and submarines, I actually felt suspense, even though I knew he wasn't going down until the end of the movie.

The plot of Godzilla's young gives a nice excuse for some human-scaled action. The pacing is expertly handled. At two hours, there's still a lot crammed in here. The acting is good. Jean Reno's French military agent is beautifully understated. And the final end of Godzilla is both tragic and satisfying.

I don't love the last little bit, but to me it's not so much an advertisement for a sequel as a wink to those "THE END?" titles at the end of those great old movies.

Boy, this is a long review. I guess I'm just trying to make a case for this underrated and much-maligned film. Personally, I think the original Big Guy would love it. Although I'm sure his version would end a little different.

Godzilla? Well, okay, your the boss! Alright, first I'd just like to say, this movie rocked! But, as I watched it for the first time at a special day-before screening, I thought of a movie I saw in summer of 1996. I didn't remember the (let's face it, complicated) title of the film. I did remember Ray Harryhausen's amazing effects, and the basic plot. Later that summer, I went to Suncoast and picked up a copy of this effects classic. I watched it and liked it. And it warmely reminded me of my favorite movie of that summer. Let's look at some similarities: 1. Both attack New York. 2. Both are very similar in physical apperence, and both are related to true dinosaur species. 3. Both the main characters are nuclear scientists. 4. And finally (only because I'm almost out of room), both main army attacks take place at night. The reason I liked Godzilla so much, was because all the good things about TBF20kF, were recreated with Jurassic Park style visual effects. Unlike TBF20kF, Godzilla's characters were waffer thin, though they were entertaining. All in all I give this film 4 stars. If you like creature features, check out the newer films Mimic, Starship Troopers, and Anaconda (none of which I thought were as good as Godzilla). Or, check out some classics and cult favorites that inspired these modern efforts: The Deadly Mantis, Them!, The Giant Behemoth, Gorgo, 20 Million Miles To Earth, and of corse, the movie Godzilla was SOPPOSED to be inspired by: Godzilla: King Of The Monsters!

The 1080p Video:


'Godzilla's 1080p MPEG-4 AVC transfer, in its original 2.39: 1 aspect ratio, is actually fairly solid. This isn't the knock-it-out-of-the-park home video presentation some might be expecting, but it's a perfectly fine transfer in its own right. (Especially of a movie I have no intention of ever, ever, EVER watching again.)

The movie is drenched in persistent rain, which adds a blurry, oppressive look to the entire film. While there is a fair amount of grain on the transfer (more than you'd expect for a relatively recent film), sometimes it became unclear whether or not the image was muddled or grainy or if it was just the added element of rain.

That said, other aspects of the transfer fare better. There are no wonky technical issues, skin tones look good, detail is heightened, and blacks are deep and dark.

The only other major problem has nothing to do with the crispness of the image, but rather the newly presented high definition presentation, in which the visual effects (of which there are many) look even lousier. Watch those baby Godzillas bouncing around Madison Square Garden and you'll wish Ray Harryhausen had slapped the filmmakers.


Now The Audio:


On the other hand, the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is truly impressive. Literally from the opening frame, when the dirigible in the logo for Emmerich and Devlin's Centropolis Films production shingle flies through your living room, you'll know you're in for a treat.

This is one of those kick-ass mixes where, if you turn it up all the way, you'll probably get complaints from the neighbors, while at the same time there's enough nuance, subtlety and directionality of the mix that you'll actually be impressed, and not just for its sofa-shaking prowess.

Literally, the action sequences spring violently to life. Rubble cascades from buildings, suspension bridges snap and sway, and Godzilla lets out his piercing roar with such lifelike force that you'll wonder if the dinosaur-ish creature is in your home. There's always so much going on, with an emphasis on bowel-rattling bass that you'll wonder if you can take it all. You do, because it's that good.

That said, every effect is crisp and clear, the atmospherics (like that persistent rain) remain admirable and in the few sequences with dialogue, that too is crisp, clear and also well prioritized, even when competing with the on-screen mayhem. David Arnold's fantastic score, which is often overlooked, also sounds spectacular.

This mix really is reference-quality and was almost enough for me to watch the movie again. I said almost.

Also included are mixes in French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with subtitles in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

The Bottom Line is,
I might just only go see this movie for it's crisp audio track.

Video: 4/5
Audio: 5/5
Movie: 2/5

An overgrown gecko runs through the glass & steel canyons of New York with the U.S. military & cast of goofs in pursuit. The first 5 minutes including the opening credits deserve my one star rating. This movie is just a bad mix of Jurrassic Park, Aliens, I'm Singing In The Rain and whatever else could be ripped off. The U.S. military whose weapons can knock out a jet fighter travelling at mach 2, can't hit this giant sized clunker standing still. As far as Godzilla, where are the glowing dorsal fins, the radioactive fire breath? See the first Godzilla movie (1954) with the late Raymond Burr and you'll see a great movie (O.K. rubber monster suits aside) about a mankind coming to grips with an ancient terror who is impervious to modern weapons. This new Godzilla held so much promise and delivered nothing but a joke a minute..and bad jokes at that.

I am 29 years old and I have been watching Godzilla movies ever since I was a little boy. And I can tell you that despite the title of this 1998 Devlin-Emmerlich movie, Godzilla does not appear in this movie. Oh, there's a creature that we are supposed to believe is Godzilla, but trust me, it's not Godzilla. This is one of the five worst movies that I have ever seen in my life.

Fortunately, several of the real Godzilla movies are curetnly available on DVD, and you can purchase them from amazon.com. "Godzilla King of the Monsters" and "Godzilla vs. Mothra" are both currently on DVD and I recommend them both. And I am hoping that "Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster" will be issued on DVD soon. But whatever you do, please, out of respect for the real Godzilla, keep away from this horrible 1998 film!

Let's see, now. A giantic dinosaur travels from the Pacific to the Atlantic (via walking through Panama with no one noticing it) and goes to New York city for a secluded place to lay its eggs. It hides in Madison Square Garden and no one can find it. Yes, the movie makes that much sense throughout. I feel that I've been personally slapped in the face by the movie's makers. I hope Toho studios made a ton of money by selling the rights to Godzilla. Their creation has been shamed. Now send him back to Japan and Toho where he belongs! That's where we love him!

... I don't know what to say. I must not be the only one around noticing that America takes everything and makes it their own, am I? And now they've taken Godzilla. ....

Okay, first of all, putting the debate over whether or not the movie is Godzilla aside, this movie sucks. Period. An unthrilling, boring monster movie, about a stupid looking monster that attacks New York to lay its eggs. Boring to the end, it even rips off Jurassic Park with its bland ending involving tons of little Godzillas.

Now, another thing, this movie is definately NOT Godzilla. It has absolutely nothing to do with Godzilla. For some reason, all of a sudden Japan is totally weeded out of the thing, and Godzilla this time around attacks (surprise) America. He doesn't look like Godzilla, or act like Godzilla (he lays eggs?), and he is computer animated, not a big guy in a suit. The guy-in-the-suit thing looks more real (no, I'm serious!), plus it was funner. The charm of Godzilla is gone with this lame movie. I own every Godzilla movie, some dubbed, some subtitled, and some in pure Japanese, but I don't own this. It is not a Godzilla movie. Period.

P.S. I was outraged to discover that Dean Devline (who wrote Independence Day too, proving how horrible he is) and his gang asked Toho to not make Godzilla movies anymore. Is that the stupidest thing ever or what? And even worse: They might be making a sequel to this, ruining the Godzilla trend even more. Come on people, it's going to be more of the same. This is pathetic

The Big G becomes The Big Sissy in this mindless, annoying, and totally unredeemable pile of celluloid trash. After years of bashing the Japanese Godzilla, America responds with a big iguana(Despite popular opinion, Godzilla is NOT a lizard! ) that runs from the awesome military might of the U.S. Army's elite BoneHead Corps. To pad out the 936 hour running time, Devlin and Emmerich throw out every crass one-liner known to man and then some. Mankind threatened by annhilation? Of course we have time for a tepid romance subplot and goofy jokes that children would scoff at. Why not just send the Three Stooges out after the creature? The results would certainly be a lot funnier. Here's a hint Hollywood; If you can't find a brain down in those deep pockets of yours, then just shut down and go home!

This is by no means a "Godzilla" movie per say. The film portrays itself as a Jurrasic Park Goes To New York. Has none of the flair that made those Cheesy Godzilla films so great. I was disappointed to see that Godzilla didn't have his radioactive fire breath. At no point did the creature go on the offensive, he/she just hid in the city. There wasn't even those 6 inch high japanese women from that Mothra movie. Some element of fantasy was missing from this film. Instead Devilin gave us a 'What if a giant iguana decided to nest in NY story.' The film I thought was very pretentious. The bit with the Roger Ebert look-a-like mayor was un-needed in the movie, and struck me as the director was saying, "This film is so great that no film critic will be able to say anything negative about it." Well you guys couldn't have been so wrong. Instead of portraying if Godzilla existed in the real world, it would have been better if we the movie go'er were taken to a world that world that doesn't exist. If Devilin and Co where to make a sequel (which I've heard is in the works), then I'd suggest beefing up on a plot, and perhaps watching all those Godzilla films that have come before it.

I hated this so much I can hardly find words to express my utter contempt for all involved in this monstrous abortion.I hesitate to grace it with the word 'film'. Truly wretched.