***HERE THERE BE SPOILERS***

This version of Godzilla is a difficult one to give a simple overall rating. Honestly, if Hollywood had just made this into a generic monster movie, kind of the way they did with Cloverfield, it would have easily been an above average movie, possibly even breaking into 4 star territory. The acting is above average (including the must-have flavor of the month, Jean Reno), the F/X are excellent for 1998 and the plot actually makes sense.

Nevertheless, the failure for this movie is that it was made by people not familiar with the franchise and/or what Godzilla means to his fanbase. Godzilla is to the people of Japan what Batman and Superman are to Americans, what Dr. Who and James Bond are to the British and what Shaft and the Black Panther are to the Black Community.

The demotion of Godzilla to that of nothing more than an over-sized animal working wholly upon instinct instead of the more humanistic level of intelligence that we in the fandom have come to know and expect was a slap in the face. Furthermore, the final scene where Godzilla is killed (a blasphemy only seen two other times in his 60 year history (Gojira (1954) and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), the later being the planned end to the franchise in its entirety) by only three F/18s and a total of 6 missiles when entire armies have done nothing more than irritate the King of Monsters was beyond belief. For those not familiar with Godzilla's accomplishments and reputation, imagine the outrage that would come from the respective communities if James Bond was taken out by a mall cop or Superman was killed by 3 six-year-old brats with baseball bats. Now you understand why Japanese movie-goers were storming the box-offices DEMANDING a full refund for this insult and why Toho quickly resurrected their dearly departed Kaiju less than one year later for probably one of the best movies in the entire franchise, Godzilla 1999 (Godzilla 2000 here in the United States).

All in all, as a monster movie, Godzilla gets 3.75 stars. However, for a Godzilla movie, it gets a 1 star rating. I'll cut the difference and meet them somewhere around the middle with a 2.5 star final score.

***HERE THERE BE SPOILERS***

This version of Godzilla is a difficult one to give a simple overall rating. Honestly, if Hollywood had just made this into a generic monster movie, kind of the way they did with Cloverfield, it would have easily been an above average movie, possibly even breaking into 4 star territory. The acting is above average (including the must-have flavor of the month, Jean Reno), the F/X are excellent for 1998 and the plot actually makes sense.

Nevertheless, the failure for this movie is that it was made by people not familiar with the franchise and/or what Godzilla means to his fanbase. Godzilla is to the people of Japan what Batman and Superman are to Americans, what Dr. Who and James Bond are to the British and what Shaft and the Black Panther are to the Black Community.

The demotion of Godzilla to that of nothing more than an over-sized animal working wholly upon instinct instead of the more humanistic level of intelligence that we in the fandom have come to know and expect was a slap in the face. Furthermore, the final scene where Godzilla is killed (a blasphemy only seen two other times in his 60 year history (Gojira (1954) and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), the later being the planned end to the franchise in its entirety) by only three F/18s and a total of 6 missiles when entire armies have done nothing more than irritate the King of Monsters was beyond belief. For those not familiar with Godzilla's accomplishments and reputation, imagine the outrage that would come from the respective communities if James Bond was taken out by a mall cop or Superman was killed by 3 six-year-old brats with baseball bats. Now you understand why Japanese movie-goers were storming the box-offices DEMANDING a full refund for this insult and why Toho quickly resurrected their dearly departed Kaiju less than one year later for probably one of the best movies in the entire franchise, Godzilla 1999 (Godzilla 2000 here in the United States).

All in all, as a monster movie, Godzilla gets 3.75 stars. However, for a Godzilla movie, it gets a 1 star rating. I'll cut the difference and meet them somewhere around the middle with a 2.5 star final score.

I found this to be quite a fun take on the Godzilla fable. Matthew Broderick as "the worm guy" and Jean Reno as the French Secret agent deliver quite watchable performances as they investigate some radioactive shipping incidents and some really big footprints. The special effects are decent enough too and help carry this admittedly over-long little movie. Roland Emmerich & Dean Devlin are quite good at churning out these adventure films - never great, but usually they move along nicely and keep you entertained and the last half hour of this is actually quite fun to watch and on a big screen if you get the chance.

As a kid, I was absolutely fascinated by dinosaurs, so you can imagine how Godzilla (1998) held a special place in my heart. Back then, I found the film to be a thrilling spectacle filled with awe-inspiring giant creatures and epic city-destroying action.

However, as an adult revisiting this childhood classic, I couldn't help but view it through a more critical lens. The standout disappointment, of course, was the design of Godzilla itself. It departed significantly from the beloved original, leaving a lot to be desired in terms of authenticity.

It's not a good movie, but it's fun to watch 6/10.

I recall seeing this in the theater on opening day. I was so fired up to see it. Over the weeks that followed, I tried to convince myself that I liked it. What a waste.

This movie is awful. The effects are dated. Everything is filmed in the dark and in a torrential downpour. It's tough to determine whether they were trying to hide the poor, early CGI effects or that Godzilla itself was nothing more than a giant lizard. No personality, no purpose. Just a beast wanting to lay eggs! Really...eggs?!?!

The characters are among the most annoying I have ever seen. The movie even goes so far as to try and recreate the raptors in "Jurassic Park" with its own version...baby Godzillas!!! Terrible does not begin to explain it. And to add even more insult to injury, this tries to be funny. Comedy entered into Toho's Godzilla series with 1964's "King Kong vs. Godzilla" and it carried it though to the mid-70s when the Showa Godzilla movie era ended. The Showa films were often juvenile and cornball, but if Emmerich's "Godzilla" is attempting to recreate that whimsy, it fails horrifically.

The only reason I rate this a tick higher is because I've always liked Jean Reno and the final chase scene is ridiculous but entertaining.