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Baby godzillas are scarier than Godzilla himself.

Godzilla was a movie blockbuster. The special effects were great. How ever, for some reason, the baby godzillas were scarier than Godzilla himself. Godzilla was too large to fear. Just like how the raptors from "Jurassic Park" were scarier than the T-rex. But I am still quite fond of the movie because something about the plot really makes you think.

A blown opportunity to make a great movie

Let me start off by saying that I really did not like anything much at all about ID4. Give me the War of the Worlds anyday. Having said that I still really very badly wanted to like G 1998. I expected his look to be quite different that was understood but what were these guys thinking? Wasn't the point of the whole thing to see an updated Godzilla do what he has always done best? With state of the art effects? Where were the city trashing scenes? The fierce battles with the army? The mythological angle? The force of nature? Why did we have to watch Gino (godzilla in mane only) make flirty eye contact with Ferris Bueller? Where was the dread? Why was the humor so lousy and script so mediocre? Why do I get the feeling that the filmmakers were embarrassed by the subject matter in the first place? If you are embarrassed by the subject then don't make a movie about it!I won't cover the plot as you can easily find that in other reviews, but why couldn't he catch the taxi after outrunning army helicopters? Why couldn't he immediately crush the cab in his mouth? Why did they have him chase 4 people instead of laying waste to NYC in a fit of rage? OK the site of a giant reptile running down Park ave is impressive but so what? Some of the quotes coming from the filmmakers have revealed some of the whys.Devlin: We want to make everyone forget the old GodzillaEmmerich: For some reason people kept watching these movies.They just didn't get it and thought they could reinvent the wheel.Shusuke Kaneko the director of the excellent 90's Gamera trilogy said:It is interesting that the Americans have trouble excepting a creature that can not be put down by their arms.Ken Satsuma (the man in the G suit for 7 movies said: It is not Godzilla, It doesn;t have his spirit.Arrogance? Stubborness? Who can say for sure. All I know is that these were the wrong guys to make a movie about a (at that time) 44 year old icon. Some people argue that it is not a good Godzilla movie but it is a good monster movie. I can't see it that way either! It is dull, has no wit or humor, and I really don't care much about what happens to Gino for most of the movie. There are a thousand points to make but for a very unbiased, rationale review read Stevee Ryfle's "Favorite Monstar." Available on Amazon.

I don't understand people

I don't understand people!!! This is a godzilla movie!! It´s not The Last Emperor or The Godfather. What were people expecting? We all know the history: It´s a big lizard and it always destroys cities. The movie has great effects and it´s much better than The Lost World!!!

Has nothing to do with Godzilla

Its horribl

One of The First "Scary" Movies I Saw,So.....

I like Godzilla.I have been watching it for a long time now and I really enjoy it.The first time I watched it though was when I was like,4.It was one of the first,as I called it then,SCARY movies I watched.I actually will never be able to call this film horrible,even though my opinions on it have lowered a lot over time,because I watched it when I was so little and I thought it was the best movie ever.This film is still good,but it depresses me to know it has such a low rating.I might have lowered my opinions on this film,but it is still a pleasing film that does not deserve the rating it has.I didn't see much of anything wrong with it,and I just thought it was suspenseful,somewhat more suspenseful than a lot of other movies that have been made.Godzilla,yet horror\suspense,was actually a touching film and somewhat sad as well.I will never understand how someone could hate this film.Hooray for Godzilla!!!

This is the best Godzilla movie!!!!!!!

I think everyone that didn't like this movie, got hit on the head with a coconut. This movie rocks out loud!!!!!!!! What does this movie not have?!!! I know that this Gino is a giant iguana, but I still think if the old Godzilla went against Gino, Gino would kick his butt! There is nothing special about the old Godzilla. The old Godzilla's not worthy to fight Gino. I mean, Godzilla's been beaten before by King Kong, Mothra, Rodan, Biollante, Mecha King Ghidorah, Battra, Mechagodzilla, Destroyah, and Mothra for the hundreth time. Why is the old Godzilla called the king of the monsters?! He is definentelly nooooooooot!!!!!!

Major potential ignored by makers in favor of "typical" American event flick.

I, to this day, want to like and enjoy this film. Alas, appreciation will never come since the film seems to have been made specifically NOT to homage the original films from Japan. Instead, it seems created to...hell, I don't know. It certainly didn't thrill. There is not an ounce of wit, charm nor are there any thrills to be had other than a car chase (where have you seen those before?) and a people chase (Raptor-like monsters that are fast, but not fast enough to catch slow-running actors! Spielberg's dinos AND approach have yet to be matched). This a damn shame considering this film cost enough to feed a small country or help re-build Iraq. We American's waited for this???? I think the film suffers from a bit of presumption on behalf of the Hollywood duo who made this. They seem to want to avoid anything that made the Japanese films charming. In this flick, there are no colorful sets, no complex plots mixing the monster action with the human action, no rival monsters...and that's just to name a few. This film offers a few explosions (Hollywood films live and die by their explosions - original, eh?), a car chase and some military fire (okay - I liked those). As for Emmerich/Roland's take on the lead character...boy this is one camera shy monster! This giant lizard (yeah that's all. Just an overgrown lizard with zero personality. It is so undefined and kept hidden most of time that he hardly seems a threatening presence! It doesn't cause too much damage, either - not in these faux politically correct times. NYC is "evacuated" in a matter of hours. Now that is the one truly funny moment in the movie. Overall, the film just has too many pretensions to be a really engaging thriller. Why bother if (as a filmmaker) you're not gonna thrill us besides showing us bits and pieces that we've already seen in better films? This "Godzilla" is supposedly as tall as a skyscraper but you'd never know it since this one changes size in every other shot and has an annoying habit of crouching really, really low to fit into the film frame...*sigh* so much potential flushed down the toilet for us fans of giant monster pictures-especially one as expensive as this one. Roger Corman made bad films (fun, charming and memorable ones at that!) for pocket change compared to the 100 million plus $$$ here. The Emmerich team STILL came up short ("Size matters" indeed). This film made money since the curious (including myself) bought into it...with regret. The film took a nosedive in popularity (and $$$) as time went on and lacked the legs to become a true blockbuster. Moviegoers wisened up with time. Glad to know I'm not the only one out there...

What were you expecting, TITANIC?

Alright, Matt Broderick looks like he's daydreaming throughout the film, Godzilla is ridiculously fast for his size, and the script could've been written by Mothra (i.e. why did Godzilla head to New York City anyway, at least King Kong came by boat), but in its essence Godzilla is still good summer escapist fare. Vastly superior to Independence Day anyways.

Jurassic effects . . . and disappointment

This movie starts off well enough, and I actually thought the premise for Godzilla's creation was fairly clever. I was beginning to think that the negative reviews I'd heard were a bit exaggerated. Unfortunately, the film makers decided special effects were more important than originality and story line. It's really too bad as this could have been a great movie instead of just another special effects tour de force lacking subtance.

The U.S. Army's attempts to stop Godzilla are reminiscent of the Keystone Cops; they have the most advanced weapons in the world but can't hit the broad side of a barn (just large skyscrapers). And just how do you loose a 60-story monster on Manhatten Island?

Several of the scenes appeared to have been lifted right out of Jurassic Park and leave you with a been-there-done-that feeling. What's worse, you're made to endure the mandatory tired romance formula so many movies think they can't live without. Godzilla is worth renting if you like special effects, but not one I'd shell out my hard-earned bucks to own.

Why do you all hate it so much?

...For you readers who have any common sense or dignity left in their bodies, I highly reccomend this movie. The characters are funny, and VERY WELL ESTABLISHED. The acting is very good, so is the animation. And there is plot- a fairly detailed one! If anyone doesn't like it, then I suggest you people stop watching movies and go get a life!! Sorry, but this is a great film. It features a very well written script and excellent character interaction. The music is also very, very well done. This beats the heck out of the old movies- although the old movies did introduce the concept. What I can't understand is why Godzilla 2000 came out. Ok, I know you like to stick to the classic stuff, but in today's day and age it looks like [stuff]!
By the way they are planning on a sequel, I don't know when filming is going to begin though.

OK, but too Hollywood

First of all, I don't consider this a Godzilla movie at all. No wonder Godzilla-fans call this Godzilla "GINO" ("Godzilla In Name Only"). This is because the Godzilla here doesn't look like the real Godzilla at all, but more like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I just don't get why Hollywood so often have to make own versions that tend to be worse than the originals. Anyway, if you forget all the Godzilla-stuff, then this is an OK disaster movie. Taking place mostly in Manhattan, New York, I guess everyone can figure out what happens. The movie is entertaining and has some good special effects, but I think they should have ended it much earlier. The last 20-25 minutes was really too much, as it had been more than enough action in the movie before that.

Worst Movie I ever Loved

No plot, poor to mediocre acting, BAD editing, (Godzilla was anywhere from 50 to 500 ft tall). But that said, It was an action packed joy ride from begining to end. I'm embarassed to say I loved it.

the very best

he is a god very cut

Better than what wanna be critics said it was

Anybody who criticizes this movie as horrible, or ridiculous.. is themselves ridiculous. What could you expect from a movie about a huge walking lizard that is bigger than buildings? Why on earth would you walk into the movie thinking you were going to get reality? I cant get over my frustration with morons who constantly criticize fantasy/fiction films. GODZILLA offered exactly what all the hype said it would offer. It was a big bang action flick with a huge walking lizard. Expect "Gone With The Wind" you are just an idiot. I suspect most of the people who criticized this film really liked it, but are too jealous of somebody elses cool idea and success that they have to cut them down. Either that or they are trying to hard to be a film critic.. which is just a worthless job so why be one?

nice monsters are stupid!!!

dUH!!!!!!!This film is not good!i just bought it so i can show my sons what a bad movie is.When i heard about this film,i tought it would be good,but nooooo,godzilla is just a nice lizard who doesnt fit in NY,but he really isnt bad,he eats fish,only fish!PLEASE!a nice monster?!?!?!was dracula nice?was the t rex nice?was the ORIGINAL GODZILLA NICE?NO!!!!ther cant be nice villains!!!especially monsters!!the babies are the only mean things at the film,besides the heroes,but the babies were lame and dumb,and only attacked the heroes because they stinked like fish(?!?!?)please!Even that lame japanese godzilla is better,spitting fire,destroying that paper mache tokyo!This one is just a waste of time!

Just like all the other recent big monster movies, this stinks.

Do producers really think that monster fans will watch any old twaddle just because it has a giant beast in it? And what's the point of watching something that's a virtual clone copy of thousands of other atomic-bred-monster-rampage films you've already seen? There are ideas lifted straight out of other films such as 'The Lost World' and the whole thing reeks of commercialization with its digs at Disney and other such companies. The wafer-thin plot is down there with the worst of the Japanese Godzilla films and the film is very over-length. The monsters here are computer-graphics, and it shows - they're just so bereft of character or realism. The big creature is barely visible through the grey skies and rain and its face, complete with Desperate Dan chin, makes it look comedic rather than frightening. The babies are just laughable and are quite obviously CGI graphics.A wasted opportunity. Even the badly-dubbed, atrociously-edited Godzilla '85 was better than this.

yes, it really was as bad as all that.

This movie is so unspeakably atrocious that I actually screamed "it's over!" as the closing credits began to roll, and rushed out of the theater with my arms flailing wildly. You might even say they had gone "akimbo."Anyway, I do regard Godzilla as the ultimate example of story and characters shamefully subjugated to money-making devices, such as explosions, big shiny weapons, and giant piles of fish. To all those that mock the likes of me for "expecting Shakespeare," I say this: clearly I was not expecting high art. The title alone should suggest, even to the most unsophisticated moviegoer, that one is in for two and a half hours of lizard warfare. Most of the time, I enjoy movies like that, escapist movies, simply because I find it fun to get caught up in the action. But isn't it a bad sign when, in the case of movies like Godzilla, you CAN'T get caught up in the action, because you are completely distracted by the flaws in the plot, the endless lifting of material from other films, the truly despicable "heroes" and the fact that the monster is BORING?!As if that weren't enough -- this is where the film jumps from "bad" to "indefensible" -- does everyone remember Mayor Ebert and his little nerd sidekick Gene? Well, that stupid act of bitter self-conscious critic-bashing is a good example of just how childish as filmmakers can behave. Siskel and Ebert gave a negative review to "Independence Day," so that bit was a little act of passive-aggressive revenge on the part of the filmmakers. By virtue of that act alone, the makers of this film have hereby been disqualified from the "artist" category forever. Amen."Godzilla" is the worst film of 1998, and the worst film I have ever seen.

Movie critics can kiss my ---

i hate movie critics, i honestly hate them. what a job to sit, watch a movie, and bad mouth it. and to think roger ebert's getting paid to be a pessamist! GODZILLA was an awesome movie. good acting, great music score, record breaking special effects...this movie has everything a giant-lizard-attacking-NYC movie should have. Hank Azaria and Jean Reno delivered mind boggling performances and i enjoyed all of the historic landmarks getting destroyed. GODZILLA was much better than the original japanese films. nothing against them or anything, i'm just saying that in Emmerich and Devlin's GODZILLA, you can't see the zipper.

entertaining, but nothing special

i was a bit disappointed when i saw this movie; i expected an exciting and scary movie (something like Jurassic Park), but this movie was all about explosions and running and it didn't have any interesting characters (and that's what made JP so appealing). But i guess i was wrong expecting something like Jurassic Park. Although this movie had some cool moments (like when we get to see Godzilla fully for the first time and when he jumps in the water), those few interesting bits can't make up for a lousy script and disturbingly BAD acting. This movie doesn't deserve more than a 5/10.

Overall good movie,stupid godzilla

This movie has an overgrown igauna rather than godzilla.The only reason I gave it 3 stars is bacause the action and stuff like that is good.But this Godzilla looks like drunk igauna than godzilla to me.The japinese godzilla is WAY better than this one.Also on the summary on the back of the movie says he bigger than ever.Yeah right!The original japenese version is 492 feet tall while this one 100 feet tall.Now lets get to the good side of this movie.The action is good and the movie thrilling.To make it simple what i think of this movie:Great movie,idioatic godzilla.