Well folks here are more reviews of GODZILLA. And... well the word I have been getting has mainly been positive, with the only complaints coming down to the plot. Though I think I would be in error if I didn't point out that the whole point of a Godzilla movie is for Godzilla to stomp things, destroy things and blow things away. I have watched films like GODZILLA VS MEGALON about a bazillion times because... well Godzilla is, by nature, inately cool. So far I have received 15 additional 3 to 4 sentence mentions of having seen GODZILLA. 7 liked it a lot. 4 thought that it was good, but not great. And finally the last 4 thought that it was 'as bad as Independence Day". Well, gosh, I liked that one. The most common complement is the SOUND. Apparently the aural experience is quite something, so make sure you see this in the best Digital sound possible.
The first reviewer here seemed to agree with the first reviewer, with one exception. So read on. NOTE THERE IS ONE MAJOR SPOILER IN THIS REVIEW. P.S. NOTE - this spoiler has also appeared on other sites!!! This spoiler is in the second major paragraph, so skip that one. The reviewer is the evil Fu Manchu...
shown to our local theater owners.
Like the review you posted I enjoyed the movie. It's a lot of fun and works as a good old fashioned monster movie. Even though I'm big fan of the "classic" Godzilla, I wasn't really bothered by any any of the changes even though I have to admit I missed The atomic breath and the original Godzilla theme. To me this movie gives you essential Godzilla, a big lizard laying waste to a city. Anybody looking for anything more may be dissapointed. The story is simple and straightforward with creative Godzilla vs. the army battles.
Before I gush too much let me tell you about the one problem I had with the film and it almost ruined it for me. I assume you know that Godzilla lays a nest in Madison Square Garden which leads to the hatching of the Godzilla "raptors". The resulting scenes in MSG to me are way to similar the end of Jurassic Park and frankly JP did it better. After Roland Emmierch does a original take on the Big G he almost blows it with an inferior ripoff. To be fair though he doesn't end on this note and the ending is exciting and effective.
This film is going to get the inevitable comparisons to JP and it probably has the same flaws. Being a Godzilla fan I can overlook those flaws, and even the Garden scenes, and recommend the film.
Thanks (and forgive my spelling mistakes)
Then we have, Martin Blank's review (which he states as being a 3 out of 4 star review) though he does say he'll see it 2 or 3 more times and will buy the DVD. So here ya have it...
ok now i kno i dont really sound all that excited, but that's because there really isnt any reason to be. The day that i found out i was(3 days ago) i was nearly pissing my pants but i saw it yesterday and well.... it's good. That raving lunatic was a bit off tho. I'll take it little by little trying not to give away the plot:
Plot ~ understandably it's not here. But hey it's Godzilla so I wasnt really expecting one. I must mention that i cant stand Independence Day, so that may have something to do with this. Lots of cheezy crappy subplots that i wont give away but ya know ID4esque stuff... something involving a certain exgirlfriend that just made me want to throw a big block of cheddar at the screen and certain other elements were just too cheezy for my liking. It doesn't take itself as seriously as ID4 so that helped make it more enjoyable. Check your brain at the door.
Cast ~ Well this one spares us the cheezy jokes. Well at least the warm fuzzy cheezy jokes. Godzilla's a little more edgier than ID4 which once again helped make Ferris Bueller awfully fun to watch. Broderick does do a good job as do some of the others. The other key players are Hank Azaria, who I last remember from Great Expectations and Jean Reno who I wasn't too familiar with before. There are a few little celebrity cameos which are fun but i dont want to give any of those away.
Visual Effects ~ Well he looks COOOL! but you dont get to see much of him. He actually looks a lot like the classic Godzilla, but more Jurassic Parkish. The problem is... well ya know how in Lost In Space some of the effects were just great but it was all just slopped around so it wasnt too visually appealing. Well Godzilla kinda does that. A lot of the shots are just explosions and crap that looks like a pyromaniac trying to strut his stuff. At certain points you are just craving to see an overhead view from way up above of the gigantic lizard crushing down the buildings. You hardly ever get any sights like that that make you drool. Although I will say again... that big green guy looks COOL!!!! So do some of the other.... oh i wont say.... some of you might know what im talking about but i wont give it away because when they first appear it's a surprise!
Dialogue~ let's say a kindergartener wrote ID4 well a first grader wrote this one.
Sound ~ AMAZING!!!!! Think Academy Award here!!!
Overall feel ~ I left Godzilla pleased. I mean im glad that they didnt fudge this one up. It works, it's really cheezy at times. Mr. Marketing that wrote you that first review was a little overexaggerative(although something tells me he was a Sony exec?). It's not near as effective as Jurassic Park on a visual scale. It's not a classic adenture like the Indys at all! It IS better than Twister, but ID4 was better than Twister! It's much better than ID4 in my opinion... i dunno 'bout Stargate tho. It's fun, the lizard's VERY VERY VERY cool, I'll buy it on DVD. I'll see it 2... maybe 3 more times, because it's definately a major cinematic experience... just a rather cheezy one. BTW, I also saw another movie, The Horse Whisperer, and that looked like boring adult crap to me but im 14 and I really enjoyed that one, more than Godzilla. So out of 4 stars, Godzilla gets 3. See it with your girlfriend.
So au revior till next time.
And alas comes the spy known as THE VOICE OF REASON. He hated the film with a passion. The words BATMAN & ROBIN come up. Well, I can tell ya it ain't that bad, cause we've seen no nipples or codpieces on Godzilla as of yet. But here is the desenting opinion. Read and if you agree with him, take heed.
Did I see the same movie as your first reviewer of Godzilla? There is no way that he can be telling you his honest feelings for the movie. To say that this movie is better than Jurassic Park or the Indiana Jones films is absurd, it barely measures up to Twister. I understand that as a movie theatre owner, you have to sell the movie, but this movie is going to do it's business regardless of what we write. So let's be honest about Godzilla and call it the piece of crap that it is.
As movie budget continue to spin out of control, moviemakers are becoming more and more creative with the effects in films, but are forgetting that the most important part of the movie is still the story. Godzilla is all effects, no story.
The Good
The SFX were great. Godzilla looked cool. His interaction with the landscape was well done. Very impressive, but it doesn't really break any new ground that Jurassic Park hadn't already done, except that he's on the screen longer. In fact, two sceens are stolen directly from Jurassic Park.
The Bad
The previous reviewer said no part was miscast. Please.
Jean Reno is wasted.
Mary Pitilo was horrible, either because she was miscast or because the role was poorly written. Probably both. She plays her character like a spoiled teenager. In fact, there's not one admirable female character in this movie.
Hank Azaria was OK as Animal and Matthew Broderick did what he could in his underwritten role. While ID4 would never be considered a classic, it at least had characters we either cared for or admired. In Godzilla, it wouldn't faze anyone if any of the characters was stomped on.
The Ugly
The writing is so bad that it wasn't laughable. Most big action movies at least have a couple of one liners that are memorable. This one has none. There are two characters that are obviously based on Siskel and Ebert. It might have been amusing to see them once, but they hang around the whole film. Bad joke overkill. Bottom line is Godzilla is every bit as bad as last summer's Batman and Robin and for the same reason. They forgot the story. The effects may be cool, enough to go see it once, but with no characters to get emotionally attached to and with dialogue that is hard enough to sit through once, repeat business is unlikely. Hollywood I'm begging you, start with the story first, then add the effects.
Sorry to break your heart Harry,
Voice of Reason
