Godzilla

Name: Godzilla
Released: 1998-5-20
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Doug Savant

Godzilla

PG-13
2h 19m
1998

15%

age 11+

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Following the French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, an unknown creature is spotted passing westward through the Panama Canal. Scientist Niko Tatopolous is called in to investigate the matter, and he quickly arrives at the conclusion that a giant, irradiated lizard has been created by the explosions. Godzilla(r) then makes its way north, landing at Manhattan to begin wreaking havoc in the big city. Even with the combined forces of the U.S. military to fight the monster, will it be enough to save the people of New York?

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Producer:

Dean Devlin

Writer:

Roland Emmerich, Dean Devlin

Cast:

Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Doug Savant, Harry Shearer

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

15%

Critics Consensus: Without compelling characters or heart, Godzilla stomps on everything that made the original (or any monster movie worth its salt) a classic.

Reviews

Gone With The Twins

Mike Massie

There are far too many characters and they're all annoyingly bungling - which reflects the clumsy, unproficient hands of the filmmakers.

September 14, 2020

FULL REVIEW

Herald Sun (Australia)

Leigh Paatsch

The overall effect is about as scary as an out-of-control street parade float.

July 23, 2020

FULL REVIEW

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Kathi Maio

Hollywood's Godzilla was devoid of personality. We didn't care what happened to that mega-lizard. Heck, we didn't even get a good look at him until three quarters of the way through the film.

February 26, 2020

FULL REVIEW

Film Comment Magazine

Gregory Solman

The sole purpose of this product was to make more money than anything else before it, generate a reflexive response immune to critical and public opinion, then let it creep back to the mediocre-sea.

Yhe movie sorely misses the quirky charm of "Independence Day's" Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum and the story never captures the heart.

April 30, 2020

FULL REVIEW

Common Sense Media

age 11+

Common Sense Says

Violent updated classic could be too intense for young kids.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Godzilla is the bombastic 1998 Hollywood blockbuster update of the 1956 Japanese film. This time giant Godzilla -- a mutated lizard created as the result of a French nuclear test -- roams Manhattan looking to lay eggs, destroying buildings and crushing cars in its path. Four French soldiers are killed by little Godzillas spawned from the eggs giant Godzilla lays in a nest at Madison Square Garden. The combined U.S. military forces, aided by the French foreign intelligence agency, deploy powerful weapons to subdue Godzilla (including bombs, air strikes, and torpedoes in the Hudson River), and there are lots of suspenseful chase scenes that could be too much for younger viewers -- with angry Godzillas chasing panicked humanity throughout the streets of Manhattan. There area a few jump-out-at-you surprises and many tense moments, and some smoking, particularly by the Frenchmen. Everything and everyone is super loud, but main characters somehow find a way to escape the gaping, drooling maws of the CGI monsters.