May 28, 1998...

Review #1:

"It seemed like the match made in heaven, right? D&E, the men behind ID4, take on the king of all monsters in a cage match where the cage is Manhattan, yes? What could possibly go wrong? You name it. What need is there for a synopsis, really--I mean it is a Godzilla flick, right? Well, I won’t spoil anything that the newspapers and other reviewers haven’t by telling you that the G-Man is a G-It and can lay eggs and proceeds to do so. So you got Godzilla Babies coming to the Saturday Morning Lineup (TM) anyday now.

"Let’s talk about the cast, all great talent--at least in other films they’ve done. Broderick must have figured he was in cash cow, um, cash lizard heaven, because his performance lacked any redeeming qualities. Instead he seemed to revert to Ferris, forgetting that he’s proven his worth with films like Glory. Jean Reno is the only one to leave this flick without egg on his face, doing such a great tough guy (complete with Elvis impersonation) that Warner Bros. has him in the Batsuit for the next chapter of that particular franchise. Maria Pitillo’s character is so pitifully helpless and annoying that I was praying for her to die ten minutes after meeting her. Hank Azaria does fairly well with his New York cameraman bit, but it’s almost a one-note for this guy. Harry Shearer’s sleazy newsman is delightfully bad, but hey, he wants to sleep with Pitillo’s character so I wanted him to die too. With this kind of cast, what happened to create such lousy performances? Try a complete lack of character direction on the part of Emmerich and also try terrible predictable soap opera dialogue by D&E. And then there’s the plotholes the G-Man himself could nest in. You get: Helicopters that can’t fly above building level; The Amazing Godzilla-Proof Car!; And my favorite--immortal fish. You also suddenly are in the middle of Jurassic Park 3 when for forty-five minutes, the raptorzillas get loose and you find yourself praying for Jeff Goldbum and that damn Winnebago sequence again because that way you would know God was merciful.

"Worst of all, in a unabashedly juvenile attempt to get back at the critics who panned ID4, the bumbling Mayor’s name is Ebert and his inept assistant’s name is Gene. Slamming Jurassic Park with a T-Rex getting trashed is one thing, guys, but mature filmmakers shrug off critics. Especially critics like me.

"But hey, we’ve got a sequel coming, right? I think for the next one D&E should produce and leave directing and writing to those who can do it. And before someone slams me for being too hard on the film, I thought Gojira looked pretty damn cool, both above ground and underwater, it’s just his supporting cast and crew let him down. I wasn’t expecting much of anything from this film, but as Hollywood is teaching me--my hopes are still way too high."

[Review by Dreamcaster 'Widgett'.]

Review #2:

"I only want to add a comments about the movie Godzilla. Of course the script was awful: the fish with regeneration capability, the stupid helicopter pilot, etc. But I didnt go to this movie for a good play and scenario to be remember. I go to this movie for the BIG G. I mean all godzilla movie got a stupid storyline. Wake up!! I got a run for my money with this movie: mindless destruction. And for critics that said that Gozilla is a copy of the T.Rex in Jurassic Park, I will said 2words: remember Gorgo!!!"

[Sent in by 'Pango.']

Review #3:

"After reading your review (acck! it wasn't suppose to be a review) of Godzilla, I have a few comments. First off, the immortal fish never dawned on me. Actually, you could call them reincarnated fish because those fish piled up in the middle of the street did not look alive. Secondly, I thought the characters for the mayor and his sidekick were Ebert and Siskel, respectively, or at least the film producers were trying to portray them as act-a-likes/look-a-likes. I thought they were dumb and did not provide anything to the movie whether it be humorous or dramatic. Overall, I liked the movie but there many things bad about this movie. It could have been so much better! The plausibility of getting out of the nest area with hungry zillas all around you is about 80 million to 1. Oops. I'd better not use that number. One couple beat those odds but that's another story. Anyway, it had some big time disappointments. And the biggest is there probably won't be a sequel in which the producers could correct what they did wrong."

[From the keyboard of Rick.]

Review #4:

"I, too, have some VERY mixed feelings about Godzilla. On one hand, i enjoyed it for what it was: a movie about a friggin' HUGE lizard destroying monuments and stuff in New York. I must disagree with you on the 'immortal fish' straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back thing. Even after reading your comments on 'Director's Cut,' I still think that if you are going to see a movie about a giant lizard, you need to check your brain at the door. Period. It just seems silly to me to nitpick over a bunch of unrealistic details when the whole film revolves around a gigantic monster.

"On the other hand, I couldn't stand the atrocious acting. Matt Broderick, who is normally pretty good, was so mediocre. And don't even get me started on Maria Pitillo. It is a crime that this woman has ever been let in front of a camera. Her melodramatic, forced delivery is, at best, suitable for nothing more than cheesy sitcoms.

"I agree with your advice that for the still-inevitable Godzilla 2, Sony spend more time showing Godzilla and Mothra (or whoever he brawls down with) leveling large buildings, and stop distracting the audience with pathetic subplots, forgettable characters, and horrendous acting. We just want to see the damn monsters."

['Bdawgg78'.]

May 23, 1998... Review #1:

"Ya know, the first 15 minutes of this film started out strong, and it went all downhill from there. An absolute mess. Siskel and Ebert will probably give it two thumbs down because of the childish attacks on them by the director, and they have every right to, because this film is TERRIBLE! It's all eye candy -- which wears thin fast. This film is a cross between ID4, Jurassic Park, and total crap. The script is TERRIBLE! This film relys totally on special effects which wear thin very quickly. What a waste of money that could of gone to make a good film. Godzilla looks strangely similar a T-rex. The parts of this film that tried to be funny -- weren't. This film kept going and going allowing the agony to continue. This film was about 2 hours too long. You'll only want to see this if you enjoy big blockbuster eye candy films... but don't say I didn't warn you. The creators left the film WIDE open for a sequel -- if you're listening-- please don't! It's a WASTE OF MONEY.

['GreenSky'.]

Review #2:

" I just got back from one of the advanced showings of Godzilla, and I must say that it is a gigantic disappointment. I went in expecting the film to have little story, and great FX, instead, the film has no story at all, and actors who are little more than scenery. At first is was great seeing the creature fill the screen, but this grew tiresome very quickly. Many of the scenes in the film seem to have been directly lifted from Alien Resurrection, and the previous Jurassic Park films. (spoilers) There was the creature chasing a car full of our heros, a group of snapping raptor like creatures chasing them down a series of halls and rooms, and a scene of Godzilla swimming much like the Alien in the last Alien film. The film had nothing fresh to offer, and the cast was very bland. The story and characters were so basic, it seemed like they were lifted from a screenwriting for beginners book.

"Godzilla seems to be continuing a disturbing trend of Hollywood thinking FX are all that is needed to carry a film. I expected much better from the creative team behind Stargate and ID4.

"The time between Godzilla scenes drag on, and are so boring that I found myself asking all of the questions that the film never answers, like why New York of all the cities to visit? In all, Godzilla rates no better than 2 stars out of five, and that is mainly for the FX work."

[Review submitted by Gareth J. Von Kallenbach.]

Review #3:

"This movie is a complete disaster and here's why: Someone, please give me ONE scene in this movie you HAVEN'T seen before? Let's go throught the quick list:

1. Attack of the Boat: Any of the major networks' movie of the week.
2. Chasing Godzilla through the streets of New York: Uh, maybe Star Wars? In fact, it's no longer a homage to great movies when you lift direct lines from others - eg. "I can't shake him!" Unbelievable!
3. Eggs in MSG: Aliens!
4. Running through MSG on way only to have to reverse directions: Han Solo running into 1,000 Stormtroopers.
5. Baby Godzillas: Raptors in Jurassic Park.
6. The Great Death and Heartbeat: Uh, has anyone see 1977's King Kong?

"I almost want to see this trash again to make a complete list. This has got to be one of the most ridiculous excuses for film making in a long time. I really expected better and at least some originality with only subtle references to movies gone by... all this without even touching the five sentence script and complete absence of acting... what gives?"

[Review submitted by Rob Kubasko.]

Review #4:

" I just saw the film and personaly, I thought it was fun. The CGI was extremly well done, especialy with the babyzillas. The entire audiance I was with also seemed to enjoy the film.

"By the way, did anyone catch the inside joke that someone on the set slipped in? In the shot in the news booth at Madison Square Garden, take a look at what is sitting on the computer monitor; an alien figure from ID4. Roland Emmerich did both Godzilla and ID4."

['The Ragabash'.]

Review #5:

"Insert seven dollars, detach brain, enjoy movie. These are the best instructions I can give anyone who is willing to partake in giving Godzilla the most successful opening weekend for a piece of film in cinema history. Keep in mind the title, which is of course 'Godzilla', a Japanese word meaning 'absolutely not one shred of plot or intelligence'. If you know this going in you'll enjoy the show as did I...for the most part anyhow.

"Every reviewer from coast to coast has shared one consistent complaint about this new Godzilla movie and it goes like this -- 'the plot is about as evident as Matthew Broderick's left bicep, and not nearly as well defined'. Folks, it's a Godzilla movie, what did you expect? Here's a brief synopsis of this and any future or past Godzilla movies: Big lizard wreaks havoc in city. End of story. What's left are the special effects that we, the stereotypical viewing audience, are supposed to ooh and ahh about. And this my friends is where Godzilla falls flat as a cab underfoot at too many times.

"Schedules are one thing, but when the artists aren't given the opportunity to finish the work correctly, you get what we call the Velveeta effect....cheesy fellas (see: Godzilla jr.s roaming the halls of Madison Square Gardens)

"You heard the plot elsewhere, or lack thereof, so let's pick this thing apart, in no particular order of course:

"Leading man. Topolopolus, Snuffalufugus, whatever the hell his name was. When your leading man is standing outside the gates of Chernobyl, famous for it's little nuclear meltdown and resulting three headed deer population, and his protective gear consists of tennis shoes and an old coat the conclusion is fairly obvious: worm boy not too bright. Except maybe when the lights go out.

"Stroll across Panama. Far be it for me to assume that anyone in this populated region of the world would have been awake when Godzilla took a walk across their land on his way to the colder waters of the Atlantic, maybe he wore soft shoes and tippy toed.

"New York. If ever there was a city that deserved to be destroyed, it's the big apple. Hence it gets devastated three times this year alone! It's their own fault this time around, maybe if they had a little gadget called sonar they could have predicted Godzilla's arrival. Phew, good thing the Russian subs never knew of this vulnerability.

"Dinosaur rule #125: When forced to show yourself between the hours of 6am and 6pm, make sure it's a gloomy, poorly lit, rainy day.

"So Godzilla eats fish, craves fish, so what better idea than to leave the ocean where they live and go to the fish market? He does and promptly eats a semi truck. Aside from the preview scene (Godzilla rising from the water and blowing a dock away board by board in the process) the opening introduction to our larger than Ms. Liberty friend is quite impressive. His feet create craters in the street, not to mention the auto body shops his sidestep will keep employed for years to come, and his tail wagging the windows off every high rise in sight was very well done. Roland Emmerich falls into the old monster movie trap...well, let's just say he wallows in uncreativity...as he does the old and tired routine of not giving us a clear shot of the beast. What, think we are going to leave our seats right then and there if we get a good look at our anti-hero too soon? Whatever.

"The Mayor. It's been done before, so of course it was done here, a very overly obvious play to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (cha-ching), this was downright embarrassing to witness. The mayor is an Ebert clone, his assistant a spawn of Gene Siskel. Yawn. Ya know, a twenty story beast attacks the city's pier district, you'd think the police would have gotten some calls about it. But no, Godzilla makes it all the way downtown to attend the Mayor's press conference unnanounced.

"Special Effects 'too cool not to use it' rule #12: Hey, you spent all Saturday creating that structurally impossible shot of the building with a hole in it, why not use it in the flick? Because it doesn't make sense? Screw it, the audience doesn't mind.

"Godzilla, a mere twenty stories tall, decides to pull a Hoffa and disappear for a spell. Somehow, in a city of 3 million plus, nobody sees which way he went. OK I can buy that.

"So the army comes in, looks confused, and then gets the most inept moron to ever holster a weapon to lead their team in finding the scaly beast. Good thing the French Secret Service is around to keep and eye on things. French Secret Service? Roll with it.

"As Godzilla goes out for popcorn we are subjected to what could possibly be the longest fifteen minute stretch in the history of film. It is here that we discover our deep rooted apathy towards the shallow characters now enveloping the screen. (Note to future Godzilla film creators: Show the monster, we came to see the monster, it's the lizard stupid!)

"Well he finally shows his face after quietly digging a series of 200 yard diameter tunnels under New York's skyscrapers. Some bright guy decides to use bait to lure him out. The stare down scene as Godzilla rises through the street and comes snout to face with Broderick was funny. How Broderick had ended up five blocks from his pile of bait was never explained...oh quit thinking already! The ensuing chase scene between Godzilla and the radar challenged helicopters is awesome. Exciting, visually well done, and hell if it ain't a kick to watch a city gettin' wrecked building by building. Heat seeking missiles on a reptile...who didn't see that one coming?

"Godzilla is chased back into the sea...this is the clearest the water off Manhattan has looked in years...where he is then fired upon by some pesky submarines. Again, cool effects (it's night on land, but daytime under water!), the swim motion being only slightly familiar to anyone who saw Alien 4..or was it 5? Anyhow, he outwits the first shots, as lizards are among the smartest of species, and then gets blown in the ass by the second wave of shots.

"Now, it's at this point that most people would want to see the body, ya know, the dead lizard? But no, all's well that ends. And everyone, save Broderick of course, figures it was all in a day's work.

"Then we have the nest. I always figured Patrick Ewing was spawned from an egg, and sure enough Godzilla picks the home of the bricks to lay a couple hundred eggs. Gosh, he wasn't even showing, how does he do it? How a twenty story tall lizard is able to lay eggs in the cheap seats without busting his noggin through the dome ceilng is beyond me...but size doesn't matter does it? The minute timer goes off, the eggs hatch, and the velociraptors....err....oops...the babyzillas (Godzookies?) begin to dance around. Isn't the 'copy object' button on graphical modeling interfaces great!

"Here's where you could see that the artists were not done. When the raptors took the halls, there was no feathering done, no reflection, hardly any shadow casting to speak of. In other words, they were incomplete shots, the kind you see in advanced trailers, not finished product...except this one. The baby scenes were fun if not overly familiar. The baby's themselves suffered from very poor eyesight as time and time again they couldn't even grab the slightest of bites from prey that was two inches from them. These guys catch fish?

"Word gets out, the Air Force responds, the Gardens go to hell and take everything with them...except anyone standing twenty feet from the front door. Then the big guy returns (off digging again?) and we see just how big he is in relation to the now smoldering stadium. Again, how's he lay those eggs? QUIT THINKING!!!

"And the chase begins. Yes, these last ten minutes alone were worth the price of admission. On foot Godzilla is just no match for the fleet footed humans, he just can't keep pace. And surprisingly, buildings that before fell with the swipe of a tail, now make convenient obstacles in his path. Must be different engineers.

"Our heroes hail/steal a cab and now Godzilla really has to stretch his pace. The cab, obviously owned by the Blues Brothers in a past life, jumps clawed feet (plenty of feet shots in this flick believe me), crashes through numerous other vehicles, is flame retardant, and seats four comfortably. It also whitens teeth. The scene where the car Evil Knevil's off of Godzilla's tongue was so poorly done I can't believe it got in the picture. But the rest of the chase (save the smart as an afternoon special cab ID crap) was way cool.

"Godzilla gets stuck on the bridge, gets bombed, end of lizard. Nice rip-off...err...salute to King Kong with the heart beat at the end. Why do they always have such a nice groan as they're dying? Awww, little killer dinosaur dead (sniffle).

"So, lizard comes to town, wreaks havoc, lays eggs, eggs hatch and wreak havoc then die, lizard wreaks havoc one last time and dies.

"A complete shot of this year's design of Godzilla, top to bottom, head to toe we're talkin, was as rare as a witty piece of dialogue in this paint by numbers and miss a few spots script. There was no scene of Godzilla coming across the tarmac of JFK, no palmsized twins singing for a giant moth, and really not one lick of common sense excercised in the entire two hours of digital creation. It was as dumb as it was entertaining, and really, isn't that what we expected?

"As much as I love the escapism of monster movies, the awesome destruction of filthy cities, and the eating of my fellow man by creatures of his own neglectful creation...I am sad that this may be the thoughtless direction of which the larger studios will start steering their summer dollars. It was clean fun, done to the extent of not screwing it up, was filled with bad actors hacking through terribly elementary dialogue, and it was about as sharp as a cue ball...size does matter, as long as it's a bank account and not an IQ I suppose."

['Mr. Tibbs' bought a popcorn and pop combo while at the theater.]

Review #6:

"I am thoroughly ticked off!!!

"Godzilla fans beware, the Godzilla movie from America does not even live up to any of the old Godzilla films.

"Sure it wasn't a man in a suit, but does America have to screw with a great idea, I guess so.

"Not only did Devlin and Emmerich decide not to put in what made Godzilla the fire breathing creature he is, they gave us Jurrasic Park 3!!!

"To all who want to see it, don't waste your money, don't even see it on video, It SUCKS!!!"

[An upset 'McIntyre001' sent us their review.]

Review #7:

"The new Godzilla movie is a very good monster movie. The effects and action are spectacular. Yet another interesting way to destroy New York City. Godzilla actually had to go out of his way to get to New York (he crossed the Panama Canal.) I do have to say that it is not a good Godzilla movie. This one was killed by a measly 12 missles, what a wimp. If the army's weapons are that much better, how come they couldn't hit it? Laser guided, wire guided? They don't just use heat seekers nowadays. Great monster movie, bad Godzilla movie."

['Dorant'.]

Review #8:

" Just got done reading the reviews for Godzilla. Thought you might like one without all the spoilers.

"Bottom line: it's a fun and exciting movie. And it's well worth the eight bucks or so you're gonna spend on it. The effects are great, Godzilla is impressively done, and Devlin and Co. didn't waste any time trying to make Godzilla into an Oscar winner. I don't think that was the point and I think it was the right move. What was everyone expecting. It's a movie about an overgrown lizard attacking a city and how the people try to stop him. Sure, there are some pretty unrealistic sequences, but it's Godzilla, it was unrealistic to start with. Movies are supposed to be two hours of fun for people in a world of fantasy and that's exactly what this picture is.

"Anyway, off the soapbox and back to the film. Godzilla was damn scary, which is to say he was well created. Especially living in New York, where I can go into the city and say to myself, 'Wow, he's THAT big!' The acting was up and down (except for Jean Reno), the script was nothing special, but it didn't take enough away from the movie to get some of the reviews I've seen. The picture is well over two hours, but it felt more like twenty minutes. It's creative, it's exciting, and for my money, it was a better action/thriller than Jurassic Park. If you're going to take this movie extra seriously and treat it like an Academy Award voter, then you're going to find some flaws. But, if you're looking for a good time, and you're willing to pretend you're being chased around by a giant dinolizard thing for two and a half hours, Godzilla is a MUST see."

[Jude sent us his thoughts.]

Review #9:

"This was not a Godzilla movie. This was a sequel/tribute/bow/parody/mix of Independence Day and Jurassic Park. Mind you, a very very well-done one at that. I found myself experiencing the same sense of awe and amazement that I did when I watched the two movies the first, second and consequent times.

"As Independence Day focused on the people and not on the aliens, so did Godzilla where there was no love-lost (though a trememndous amount of cheering from the audience for it) for the creature. Well... there were some moments when the audience, and Broderick's character very definitely feels for the creature... but that lasts about a few seconds before the next big bang goes kablooey or something else testoseroney happens. And that's another thing, it was a creature, not Godzilla. It was a giant-ass T-Rex which just happens to choose to after New York... but only to breed. It's only an animal... a gigantic mutated sea iguana to be exact... after all. Oh yes, props to the filmmakers for putting in the 'Atomic Breath' in ingenious ways.

"The baby-zillas act so much like Jurassic's raptors, that that is all you will think of during the entire scene they are showcased in will be hauntingly familiar... though still surprising. That's the main thing about this movie -- all the scenes were (I hope... actually I don't really care cause I think they were) made so that you'd laugh at all the little things that reminded you of other things - which personally I believe places the movie on one amazing campy level all of its own.

"Things like: the pompous egotistical Mayor Ebert and his assistant Gene, the ID4 alien action figure on the computer-top, the 'raptor' growl, shadows, and pounce, the submarine captain who looks and acts amazingly like Denzel Washington's Crimson Tide XO, the ridiculous number of SImpsons regulars {Hank Azaria (Mr Burns, Smithers...) , Harry Shearer (a lot...) and Nancy Cartwright (Bart) }, and many other moments of pure campy fun.

"Another thing, Matthew Broderick does a TREMENDOUS job acting(?) as the quintessential campy geeky scientist who knows what the hell's going on but no one's listening to him... except a horribly make-upped Vicki Lewis (girl looked like Joan Rivers!!!). Jean Reno also does an amazing job... though the concept of the good guys being French really irked me... (I'm Canadian... sue me). Everyone else just kinda gives their not-incredibly memorable turns as people who are not-innocently caught up in the mess. Hank Azaria's camera-man Animal, the General, the dopey-but-semi-lovable-'Moose Mason-like' Captain, Broderick's ex-college sweetie, and Animal's wife (the fact that I can't remember their names should tell ya something) all give tremendously forgettable, even hated (a lot of people jeered and booed at Broderick's ex throughout the movie) 'performances.'

"And on the subject of names, a total shot (which hits the bulleye) is the producer and directors who wanted to have this inside joke about keeping things 'natural.' The French speak French, the Japanese speak Japanese (sometimes continually for minutes without subtitles!) and the ultimate joke with Broderick's lastname of Tatapoulos which everyone BUT Broderick pronounces the way it's suppsoed to be pronounced in Greece. Problem was, the joke all but disappeared 1/2 hour into the movie.

"But really - who goes to these movies for character development? After ID4... well quite a few people since that movie didn't do too bad a job... but basically, you get caught up in the big bangs, whizzes and all that funky pyrotechnic stuff... which I like very much thank you! CGI is BEAUTI-f'ing-FUL! The Lizard (I refuse to call it Godzilla) was rendered beautifully and smoothly. The baby-zillas were truly hideous and could scare the living sh*t out of anything Jurassic Park, Spielberg and Crichton could ever come up with. Since you see them, even after hatching, as 9-feet monsters with faces only their mother... er... father... Cartman's parent could love (and trust me, we get one of those moments... it made everyone go awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww literally moments after everyone was screaming for their blood - the babyzillas not the humans... well the majority anyways...)

"So to wrap things up -- I will definitely see this movie again. Why? Because I have never laughed, screamed, cheered, jeered and basically emoted on any level than I did watching this movie. If there is any movie that epitomizes camp and fun - this is it. I salute the producers for managing to COME CLOSE to topping ID4.

"Also, look for all the regular product-placements including Kodak and Lexus."

[Thanks to Russell Malapas Co for allowing us to reprint his review.]

May 24, 1998... Review #1:

"For the past few months I was certain that Godzilla would at least be a fun movie, and would make a killing at the B.O.. Well, I was wrong on one point and could be wrong on the second.

"One word I noticed in your reviews was, 'boring', well boring is just one b-word I can think of when it comes to Godzilla, another is 'bad'. I sat there for over 2 1/2 hours (yes, ridiculously long), and couldn't wait until I could go home and go to bed. I kept my mouth shut during and after the movie, but at times during the movie I did hear people say out loud how bad they felt this movie was.

"I don't really know how to describe what was wrong with it. WIth a movie like Godzilla you only have two ways to go, either really campy or serious, this movie did neither. Sure you have to suspend disbelief with something like this, but there were some things that were just so plainly stupid. The acting (and casting) was pretty much poor. Unlike ID4, you never really felt tied to these people, and never really felt the threat of Godzilla surviving. The effects were okay (some CGI shots were not need, could have been practical) but there were a few shots that were bad.

"On the good side? Sound. These guys are 100% correct to push for SDDS, the whole movie sounded great. And there were a few decent action scenes (though you REALLY had to suspend disbelief during them).

"I think this movie will make its $200 million, and open great this weekend, but when The Truman Show hits theaters say goodbye to Godzilla. It will not get much replay to older audiences, though kids may love it, and will probably have a +40% drop off over the first week (+7000 screens was a big mistake, cost way too much and won't have a great benefit to overall ticket sales)."

[Anonymous.]

Review #2:

"After reading most of the Godzilla reviews, I'm a bit confused. I thought the special effects were admirable, and I liked the new look of the lizard as much as the next person. But many reviewers seem to think this is where our admiration is expected to stop, that this film is a service to the special effect that is at its epicenter. Might I remind them of the oft referenced Jurassic Park: a movie in which the special effects are in service of the story. So it might not be the greatest story, and it might have several holes in it big enough to service the escape of Godzilla-sized creatures. So what? The major difference between Jurassic Park and Godzilla (aside from Speilberg's God-like status) is the quality of the writing. All the so-called references and homage paid in this movie to greater films is unintentional, born out of a lack of creativity. The ID4 duo just don't know how to write. And while ID4 was a superior movie, it still wasn't a GOOD movie. However these two got into the postion they are in should give hope to everyone with a dream of film making: you can be utterly talentless and still have the chance to make a 120 million dollar disaster. There was no wonder in the movie (this is where The Lost World went bad too). When coming upon a 30 story high monster, I would hope there would be some amazement mixed in with the blind fear.

"This is what I was hoping for: a 2hr + film about a monster coming to town. If you are going to have vague, brainless characters then at least have the sense to not attempt their development. It only ruins the movie. There should have been no eggs, so self induced reproduction, no utterly redundant hour in the film where there is no Godzilla. It should have dealt with the government's stagnancy when they first discover the creature, their attempts to capture it, and finally their attempts to kill it (after the capture goes horribly, horrible awry). People should have been eaten left and right. Godzilla should have first been sighted mauling the Statue of Liberty. The only scene in the movie that lived up to its potential was a mere thirty seconds when Godzilla walks in front of a window where Barney is playing on the tv.

"Instead of going to see this movie, write your own. And then maybe try to sell it the studio for the sequel. As a movie-lover, it should be your duty to save us all from the ID4 disaster team."

[Written by Brendon Frost.]

May 19, 1998... Review #1: "Got to see a secret screening at the mall. This movie is just plain FUN!!! Spoiler warnings abound. I kinda like the new godzilla look but he looks a bit like an Alien now.

"Quick synopsis.... Matthew Broderick is yanked from his research job to come work on this new project. Him and the team try and figure out what Godzilla is and what made it. Godzilla comes to visit New York.. thrashes about a bit and disappears.. gone. Manhattan gets evacuated and the military set up camp in Jersey. Broderick gets the idea to dump a huge pile of fish to lure Godzilla out. He shows up and the military starts shooting. Thier missles are flying by him cause as a reptile the buildings are warmer than him. Nice helicopter chase. Brodericks ex-girlfriend, who wants to be a reporter, sneaks into the military camp to see him. He talks to her about Godzilla being pregnant.. going to lay eggs and how they must find the nest. She takes a video of the damage Godzilla has caused elsewhere and turns this into her network. This gets shown and Broderick is thrown off the team, thinking he leaked the info. He is then kidnapped by a guy claiming to be from the French Secret Service. He says he needs to find the nest so Broderick agrees to help. The military try to lure Godzilla with more fish but in Central Park so they can have a clear shot. He smells the trap and rampages.. ultimately jumping in the ocean. The Navy tries torpedoes but Godzilla leads the torps to another sub.. as Godzilla is about to climb back out some more torpedos hit the mark. Meanwhile.. The nest turns out to be in Madison Square Garden, and there aren't 12 eggs as thought.. the eggs fill Madison Square Garden.. and they start hatching then and there. You thought the raptors were nasty?? heh heh.

' "Broderick's ex and her cameraman use the camera in the broadcast booth to get a message out. The military sees it and sends some fighters to blow up the Garden. Broderick, the ex, cameraman, and the French guy manage to escape... the missiles blow up the Garden. Happy ending?

"Nope.. Godzilla shows up for round three. In a cab which must have great shocks.. Broderick and the gang lure Godzilla to the Brooklyn Bridge where he gets caught up in the suspension wires.. the military comes in and missles Godzilla to death. Broderick and the ex are getting back together.. she has his exclusive story.. pan over the destruction.. back to the burning garden.. pan inside and we see one egg which had not hatched.. it splits and a baby Godzilla pokes it's head out and roars.. roll credits.

"All and all I had fun.. check your brain at the door and enjoy.."

[Review submitted by 'Flynn7'.]

Review #2: We've got to make a comment about this next "almost" review we received. The senders were passionate that we give them a forum to speak their thoughts on the picture and we're behind that so you'll see their entire message. The problem we have is with their basis for asking you not to see Godzilla: to make sure Star Wars, Episode One makes more money next year at this time!

Hey, guys! Records are one thing, but let's wait a bit first and see how the prelims for Lucas' new outing look in trailers first! Suppose, no matter no remote the possibility, the new SW sucks? Should we just hand over money to Lucasfilm and Fox? Fellas, in the words of William Shatner -- get a life!

Aside from that borderline-fanatic response to their borderline-fanatic diatribe...here's their comments regarding Godzilla:

"A PLEA FOR SANITY!

"AN OPEN LETTER FROM STAR WARS FANS, TO STAR WARS FANS, AND ALL OTHER MOVIE LOVERS:

"PLEASE DO NOT SEE GODZILLA! Two reasons: a) aside from effects, IT SUCKS and b) if enough people see it this weekend it will most likely break the $100 million opening weekend record, something we believe should be saved for a better movie.

"As die hard Star Wars fans, we would like to see Episode I break the $100 million mark, next year. It is a mark that should belong to Lucas, Star Wars, and Star Wars fans, especially since that damned boat movie broke all the other records.

"As for Godzilla, we were really looking forward to this one. All of the hype, the cool commercials, the cool roar, the secrets associated with it. We just couldn't wait. And we were really pulling for Devlin and Emmerich; Stargate and ID4, despite the cheese factor, were pretty cool movies, with lots of potential. How could they do any wrong?

"Well, if you're gonna make a $120 million dollar movie (or however much it cost), GET A F--KING SCRIPT. If size does matter, then maybe Sony should get the rights to James Cameron's next film. Don't get us wrong...you can tell where all the money went--into the effects. Excellent effects! Well kind of…what we really want to know is why the whole movie was set at night in the rain. This diminished many of the quite possibly great visual effects, and of course it was too dark to tell if they were great effects. A little sunlight never hurt anybody. All in all, Big Daddy--Godzilla, himself--was a pretty cool cat. We were in no way disappointed with the new design. And the first thirty minutes, we felt, was effective and dramatic. Really cool title sequence as well. But after G-man's big romp through the city, which left us a little unsatisfied (how'd the hole get in that building?), the thing just goes flat! Terrible script, terrible acting (aside from Jean Reno, and a couple of cracks from Broderick), and a suprisingly uninspiring soundtrack! And the part with the Babyzilla's....OK, but didn't we just get this in Jurassic Park and The Lost World (which we must say was a much more complete film than this one!)?

"This has to be the biggest movie disappointment we've experienced in our 25 years of movie-watching. After all of the build-up, this thing really stinks! It's a shame that Hollywood thinks it can get crap like this to fly with audiences...sure the kiddies will love it, but we hope the older and wiser audience will point their middle fingers at this trash. And once the real critics get their hands on this, hopefully this thing will be dead in the water, literally....meaning no thanks guys; we don't need no stinking sequels! If you really want to see this movie (for the effects), wait until next summer sometime, when you can scoff in the privacy and comfort of your own home. And next Memorial Day, let's all save that record for Episode I. We are positive that it will be much more deserving of our attention.

"Respectfully, " 'Dark Helmet' and 'Long Duck Dong'

Review #3: "Saw Godzilla tonight. Got free stuff for the first seeing. Reading other reviews. What the hell is going on here? I see 'bad movie', etc, etc. Let's look at the facts:

"The Effects:

"Does Lost World beat this? No. A 300 foot creature destroying New York. I don't understand what is wrong with that. It was dark, yes, but that help make him look better. In The Lost World, the T.rex attacked during the night. No one complained. When the T.rex's attacked the trailers, it was at night and it was raining. No one complained. Why is everyone complaining now? The creature was always clearing visible, even when running away and coming out of the ground. When the baby Godzilla's were attacking and chasing, they walked and ran in such a realistic way I couldn't believe it. The movie had the best effects I have ever seen. Beats Lost World. Beats Starship Troopers. Beats Titanic.

"Acting:

"OK, only Jean Reno did a decent job, although the rest did well with what they could do. Animal was funny, too. The common New Yorker. Let's look at the Godzilla movies we have all seen. (I have 6 of them). Bad dubbing, which made the acting bad. Come on! The acting was a step up from what we are used to seeing.

"Music & Sound Effects:

"Godzilla's scream was awesome. The sound of gun fire, crushing buildings, bullets, helicopters; everything sounded right. What did you people want? The sound effects couldn't get better, there is no possible way for that to happen. The music? Dramatic, it really set the tone for the beast crushing everything.

"Action:

"You know how you played with cars, making them skip and jump off things as they raced down the floor, smacking into action figures? Well, the cab chase was this. It did what you expected when chased by a beast 20 stories high. When the baby Godzilla's chased the team, it was like the Raptor chase on steriods. These things were strong and fast, wanting food. There were HUNDREDS of them, the sheer number, and how fluid they moved, blew me away. The helicopter chase was the best chase I have ever seen, next to the one later in the film.

"His Look:

"I think it is a MAJOR improvement. Would a lumbering, fat dinosaur walking completely upright and smashing buildings like a man would be better? No, Godzilla taking them out was a lot better. I hear people say 'he is too man like', no my friends, that was the old Godzilla. The old Godzilla WAS a man in a suit. This thing walked like a T.rex, and destroyed buildings like it should: an animal.

"Screen Time:

"This new Godzilla was on the screen at least 45 minutes, I am thinking over an hour of him on the screen. His babies are on the screen for at least 20 minutes. That adds up to over half the movie. More than Jurrasic Park, more than Starship Troopers. 'He was there too much!' No, the old Godzilla was around for most of the movie, and so is this one.

"Story:

"What better way to set up 3 movies then with babies? It made the movie last longer, made Godzilla more of threat and added a hell of a lot of action. Tell me what is wrong with that. Oh, the movie looked like it ended in 3 spots, but they kept adding more and more; it was so cool to have Godzilla come back after he seemed dead!

"Stolen Ideas:

"Jurrasic Park had a 1 minute car chase. Godzilla's chase lasted for the end of the movie. Jurrasic Park had a raptor chase with 3 raptors. Godzilla had a Godzilla Baby Chase with hundreds of Godzillas. Would you rather have Devlin steal ideas from a crappy movie? No, I don't think so.

"Reaction:

"Everyone seeing the movie laughed at Jean Reno's coffee gags, heck they laughed at all the jokes. They cheered when Godzilla did the real cool stuff. They clapped A LOT at the end. They cheered. Everyone loved it.

"Closing:

"I loved this movie. I liked it better then the old movies, it just felt better. He was cooler, and better, and overall cooler. Everything added up to make this thing the bomb. Miss the Atomic Breath? Not really, they had it there, in a way. We used to fear nuclear weapons and their effect, that is why the old Godzilla had that power. With that fear not so great, what takes it place? The fear of the unknown, that we can not control everything: and Godzilla shows that.

[Review submitted by Patrick Meyers.]



Have a Scoop/Information about a New Film Project? Copyrights and trademarks for the film and related entertainment properties mentioned herein are held by their respective owners and are used with permission or solely for the promotional purposes of said properties.
All other text and images copyright © 1995-98 Corona Productions.
Last updated: Sunday, 12-Jul-1998 17:35:58 PDT.
webmaster@corona.bc.ca