Godzilla (1998)

[Corky]

I thought this was a fantastic and underservely maglined flick! i don't know why people despises it so much, those people just want to be trendy and want to hop on the band-wagon, IT'S NOT THAT BAD FOLKS! i remembered seeing it at the movies when it first came out in 1998 at the age of 15 going on 16 i was outstanded and afterwords i loved the movie but too bad this movie got a bum-rap because people say the "acting sucked and so did the dialog blah-blah blah" but i didn't care for those things cause i thought this had great special effects, stunts and quality surround sound to it especially the cool creature design and that's what i got with my money back in theaters.

Don't be trying to squeeze blood from a stone, give this movie a chance. One of my favorite Sci-fi movies ever unashamedly.

[Chou Blaster]

DO not ge tme wrong, it was a decent monste rflick.

But that thing was not GOdzilla.

Godzilla:

1; Doe snot get destroyed by human weaponary.

2: Would have destroyed a hellva lot more stuff.

[The Batman]

Yup, the 1998 Godzilla film or the U.S. version of Godzilla wasn't necessarily a bad film. I mean it wasn't a good film either but it was entertaining enough I suppose and Matt Broderick is always fun and the idea of a creature being a threat because it's spawn will overrun the Earth is an interesting one.

And it had that cool trailer with the T-Rex in the museum getting crushed by Godzilla's foot.

The problem with the film is that it wasn't Godzilla. It didn't really look like Godzilla or act like Godzilla or have radioactive fire breath. This Godzilla was killed by weaponry the real Godzilla would've shrugged off and was a threat not necessarily because of it's size but because of its overactive ability to procreate. Real Godzilla movies aren't good either but they are good, cheesy fun.

[BoosterBronze]

They spent a third of the movie running from fake baby Godzilla/Velociraptors.

Godzilla spends half the movie "hiding."

Godzilla isn't particuarly indestructible, it's just that heat seaking missiles cant hit a cold blooded reptile.

Those reasons alone are enough to curse this film.

[Cyke]

I thought this was a fantastic and underservely maglined flick! i don't know why people despises it so much, those people just want to be trendy and want to hop on the band-wagon, IT'S NOT THAT BAD FOLKS! i remembered seeing it at the movies when it first came out in 1998 at the age of 15 going on 16 i was outstanded and afterwords i loved the movie but too bad this movie got a bum-rap because people say the "acting sucked and so did the dialog blah-blah blah" but i didn't care for those things cause i thought this had great special effects, stunts and quality surround sound to it especially the cool creature design and that's what i got with my money back in theaters.

Don't be trying to squeeze blood from a stone, give this movie a chance. One of my favorite Sci-fi movies ever unashamedly.

There's a band-wagon?

Seriously, there's a difference between a band-wagon and mass opinion. One is temporary.

But yeah, mainstream viewers and critics bashed it for its Jurassic Park rip-off scenes and for extremely dull acting during scenes that are supposed to be action packed. Also, the story is a bit contrived and something, with the kind of explanations that you'd find in a Sci-Fi MFTV c-movie. The only sense of tension was when Hank Azaria was about to be crushed, but you never really feel a rush like that for the rest of the movie. And that's an early scene.

Even casual Godzilla fans, on the other hand, bashed the movie not only for the above reasons, but also because it was doing things that completely contradict what the old Godzilla stood for. If anything, old Godzilla was a force of nature, akin to a hurricane; you can't really argue with a hurricane nor can you shoot it down with missiles. The original Godzilla was a deep metaphor for Japan entering the nuclear age, and what mere humans on the ground would do in order to survive. This Godzilla was a metaphor for raptors that were just a bit taller.

Granted, later Godzilla films were just cheesy fun and battles between guys in costumes, but even then they pointed out Godzilla's unstoppability. 1998 Godzilla was very much stopped.

[J. Robb]

It seemed more like "Jurassic Park" than "Godzilla" to me, with Matthew Broderick playing Jeff Goldblum.

[Cyke]

Something else hit me: the cartoon spin-off was much better received than the film was by the traditional Godzilla fanbase. I think it's pretty interesting.

[Scorpion13]

Heres why:

Emmerich and Devlin said that they hated the old style Godzilla movies, and that they would make a better movie than they were. You saw the results.

The people who did the Godzilla series loved the old-school Godzilla movies, and strove to make the cartoon more like the old movies. Godzilla had fire breath, there was lots of fights between Godzilla and other monsters, just a very Showa attitude. And alot of fans appreciated it. Thats why, for the most part, Godzilla: the Series is much more accepted amongst Godzilla fans than the movie upon which it was based.

[Stellar]

i've only seen one episode of the series, but it was interesting. surprised me that it was nothing like the movie, though.

as for the movie, the way i see it, it's kind of the same as Final Fantasy: Spirits within. on it's own, it wasn't a bad movie, but as a movie based on a series with a long and outstanding reputation, it did pretty bad. if this wasn't a godzilla movie, it probably would have done a lot better, although they probably still would have compared it to JP, especially with those little 'zillas running around like raptors.

but yeah, it was a fun movie. and since i'm not really an uber godzilla fan (except for this movie i've only see Godzilla 2000) i really enjoyed this movie

[Scorpion13]

Ive said it before, Ill say it again: If the movie wasnt called or associated with Godzilla, it would have been much more beloved.

Hell, it has much, much more in common with "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" than Godzilla. It would have worked better as a remake of that than Godzilla.

[nonhosonno]

Ive said it before, Ill say it again: If the movie wasnt called or associated with Godzilla, it would have been much more beloved.

"Much" more? Doubt it. Lousy script. It needed a major retooling. Broderick's character and his aloofness should have been done away with. Matthew Broderick-Bueller will never shake that stigma. ;)

Hell, it has much, much more in common with "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" than Godzilla. It would have worked better as a remake of that than Godzilla.

There's a cool movie I wouldn't mind seeing remade, so long as it were a serious film and not the reptilian equivalent of Starsky & Hutch. The original Beast looks better than the Devlin/Emmerich "Geckozilla," too!

I thought this was a fantastic and underservely maglined flick! i don't know why people despises it so much, those people just want to be trendy and want to hop on the band-wagon, IT'S NOT THAT BAD FOLKS! i remembered seeing it at the movies when it first came out in 1998 at the age of 15 going on 16 i was outstanded and afterwords i loved the movie but too bad this movie got a bum-rap because people say the "acting sucked and so did the dialog blah-blah blah" but i didn't care for those things cause i thought this had great special effects, stunts and quality surround sound to it especially the cool creature design and that's what i got with my money back in theaters.

Whew. Nice sentence.

Don't be trying to squeeze blood from a stone, give this movie a chance. One of my favorite Sci-fi movies ever unashamedly.

No! :p Want to see a kickass Godzilla movie? Check out Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Tell me that ending doesn't make you mushy.

[nonhosonno]

Emmerich and Devlin said that they hated the old style Godzilla movies, and that they would make a better movie than they were.

Their wisdom failed them. We like the "suits"!

Check out the latest issue of Rue Morgue (available at all Borders and B&N bookstores) for a great Big G cover feature.

[rick]

Look, all I can say is that any movie where the moster stomps into a major city and then manages to hide from sight, is not a movie starring Godzilla

[Erebus]

US Godzilla was pretty good as a popcorn flick. But it just had a huge legacy of movies already behind it, and everybody was expecting so much from it, that it kind of snuffed out.

[DDM]

It was a good dinosaur flick, but not a Godzilla film.