This is one of the most horrible movies I have ever seen. The script is doing its damnest to make sure that Zilla is nothing more than a momma looking after its children with horrible human beings hunting it and trying to kill it. They literally killed her kids and then she ran after them for revenge and we're supposed to root for the humans. I was like "KILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS, ZILLIE"!

Sounds like Jim had a lot of trouble with this one.

So what, is Zilla Godzilla's brother in law or something?

I never understood the hate for this movie. I guess because "it's not Godzilla?" I agree with Jim, watching it on its own terms, it's a perfectly decent kaiju flick.

I'm surprised you didn't bring up the "America does it better" arguement, which is what I think rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Godzilla is through and through Japanese, so having America take a swing at it feels a bit arrogant, I guess.

But then I never saw a Godzilla movie besides this one either.

I've always loved this movie.
So I understand where you're coming from Jim.

This review seems a lot of reviews for a bad game

It starts off weak and goes on waaay too long. There's a lot of weird ridiculous filler, but it gets good during the best action scenes.

I actually like this movie. It was the first full "Godzilla" movie, even if it's in name only, I ever watched. I knew about the character beforehand but I'd only seen glimpses of him during old Godzilla movie that I never fully understood at the time so they lost my interest quick.

But as decent as the movie is to me. I must admit it's legacy is what I love the most. The animated Godzilla cartoon that spawned as a continuation of this movie was awesome to the younger me and I still look back on it fondly.

I'm so glad someone defended this movie on The Escapist!

Though it lacks the mention of the even better 1998 Godzilla Animation.

This is my favorite Godzilla movie due to the re imagining of what Godzilla could've looked like when not played by a guy in a costume.

Its disappointing so many people would over look the flaws of Cloverfield that were similar to Godzilla 1998. And at least in Godzilla 1998 you had some people that were Okay to follow around. Scientists, Reporters, French Spies (or whatever they were). Cloverfield had a bunch of dopes at a party that would've been better off in some slasher movie anyway.

My second favorite Godzilla movie being the very first that was killed off. So anyone saying they like the original usually have that wrong because they refer to all the goofy sequels that came after that.

As for the next Godzilla movie I hope it isn't a guy in a costume. But even in that case I'm going to feel bad that Godzilla is going to go back to looking a poor concept of a T-Rex with its tail dragging near the ground.

When I was younger I loved this film, but shortly afterwards I started watching the original Godzillas and much like how
my feelings for 'X-Men Origins' soured after I found out who (and just how much fun) Deadpool was, I started to resent it
a little. I know peeps will say thats petty but it was petty to use the bloody Godzilla name in the first place. Still,
now im not a teenager and have abit of perspective, I will gladly admit the films nostalgic for me, in a good way, like
Harryhausens films and unlike 'Stanleys Magic Garden'... what was I smoking as a kid...

The only thing I really disliked about this movie is how they had to do the usual American film thing of killing the bad guy/monster, and worse yet, how they completely destroyed the possibility of Godzilla being a somewhat sympathetic character (something that at points they hinted) by making it shoot infinite babies out of its ass and the usual "at this rate it will end the world in a week!".

There was potential for a giant monster franchise similar to the original Godzilla movies. Just introduce the monster, have the military fight it, have the good guys make "friends" with it, have it apparently die in the end (but the good guys know it hasn't). Then make a sequel where some other bad monster shows up, and the good guys go recruit Godzilla to kick it's ass. Rinse and repeat.

But no, it had to be a lizard alien queen with infinite broods of fattyraptors. Oh well.

This review went on a bit long. Really, Jim. You could use an editor.

I kinda feel like Jim failed to properly defend this one, although I don't remember it being that long, probably because I was a little kid in 98 and only actually payed attention during the monster bits.

Don't remember much of the movie, but I do remember the look of the monster, and I rather like it, and thats really all I remember of it XD

Oskuro:
There was potential for a giant monster franchise similar to the original Godzilla movies. Just introduce the monster, have the military fight it, have the good guys make "friends" with it, have it apparently die in the end (but the good guys know it hasn't). Then make a sequel where some other bad monster shows up, and the good guys go recruit Godzilla to kick it's ass. Rinse and repeat.

That did happen with this franchise actually...the animated series of Godzilla based off this film. I was going chime in as that's one of the reasons I'm glad this film exists. It was pretty good. I rather enjoyed it, as had a kind of dark tone despite being a kids show. (similar to season 1 of the hulk in the 90s cartoons. Amusing enough both are metaphors for nuclear weapons for different reasons.) Nick befriends the last surviving egg of Godzilla and they work together to smash aliens and whatever else comes to our front door.

I also liked the overall design of Zilla. I was a fan of Godzilla back in the day as a kid, but I felt there was a enough room for more than one style of Godzilla. (I guess as a Transformers fan I'd already gotten the idea of there being multiple versions and continuity drilled into my head with comics and beast wars being so different from the original cartoon.) This creature wasn't a slow moving titan that just waded it's way through everything, it felt like a real beast with the graceful way it zipped around.(which the cartoon does even better. Sure it's unrealistic from a physics stand point...but anything that huge would never work period at any speed if we apply too much real world logic.) it made it feel more believe a monster could evade capture or being destroyed (it also had because it was too mobile for the military to take down rather that it was somehow just too damn powerful to be killed by humans.

Sure classic Godzilla puts the God in Godzilla as he is a titan whom stomps his way through everything in his path. He has a different purpose and message which is fitting something to be a force of nature. I'm good with both versions, and enjoyed the crossover other than I wish it were longer. (Zilla also has appeared in Godzilla fighting games as the fastest and most agile in the game.) The Godzilla universe is no worse for the existence of this film since very little has made it state side since 1998 anyways.

Oskuro:

There was potential for a giant monster franchise similar to the original Godzilla movies. Just introduce the monster, have the military fight it, have the good guys make "friends" with it, have it apparently die in the end (but the good guys know it hasn't). Then make a sequel where some other bad monster shows up, and the good guys go recruit Godzilla to kick it's ass. Rinse and repeat.

I'm sorry, when I picture this it in no way involves giant lizards.
Just an Iron Giant sequel.

hehehehe, you seemed to struggle a bit with this one, Jim. Hope you're not losing your touch!

Essentially, though, that's always been my stance on the movie: it's half-way decent if taken purely as a Giant Monster Movie and not a Godzilla movie.

I always liked the monster design in the movie, even though the big chin looks kinda silly. My biggest problem with it is all the squishy pink things running around, the humans.

Hey Jim, Id like to see you do a movie defense force of the second Matrix movie, I never understood why people hated on it so much. Sure the third one sucked but the second was pretty cool to me... although I haven't watched it since it came out so I might be remembering it wrong.

I watched this movie at the thatres back then, I didn't know shit about Godzilla himself (except for that godawful 70's cartoon... and the pretty decent 90's cartoon) and I remember liking it as a kid and I still like it as an adult, it's just silly fun, even if the effects are very dated (have you seen the dock scene recently?).

Also, I just couldn't help it :3

this was the first godzilla movie i watched as a kid and i think it was the one that got me interested in kaiju movies.

I have a defense: the LFE on the blu-ray will jar the fillings from your teeth. :)

This movie is really in no way "awful" or even bad. It was really, REALLY fun back in 1998, and it was likely the first movie I watched as a child in a movie theater. And there is nothing wrong with godzilla's looks. Ok, so he's a actual giant lizard/t-rex with spikes on his back. Original godzilla is basically a giand lizard with spikes on his back too, only he walks straight because rubber suit, and is "fat" because rubber suit as well.

Besides the cartoon based on it was badass. And I mean it, badass.

One more thing: Human element being skippable in a giant monster movie is more of a rule in the genre rather than the exception. So nothing new here.

You're telling me that after all the movies you've reviewed, this one is the one you struggle to come up with justification for? After reviewing Trans-fucking-formers and Alien Resurrection, *this* is the movie that you struggle with?

. . .

Yeah, okay.

Actually, the monster design never bothered me. I actually kinda like it, all told. The real problem with this movie is that it just takes itself too seriously. It never embraces the insanity of its premise and instead tries to explain everything in way more detail than it really needs to instead of saying, "here's some crazy shit, enjoy the madness."

Theres a part where youre rattling off actors names with clips of scenes of them and you misidentified Hank azaria with some of those Italianish looking guy. Look way to stereotype. RACIST!! :P

I'm still waiting for a Lost World episode. That movie is under appreciated...

OT... I only ever saw 5 minutes of this as a kid. Thought it looked like a Jurassic Park knock off. Part of me wants to pick this up... the other... not so much

Explain to me how a giant Lizard that's only slightly smaller than the Empire State Building managed to hide INSIDE of Madison Square Garden?

I'll freely admit though, I still watch this movie whenever it's on the telly, because Jean Reno, damnit!

The only problem with this movie is that it's called Godzilla. If it was called something else, like Artiguno, Cloverfield, or Mr Dimples comes to New York, a lot of people would have been okay with it.

Ronack:
This is one of the most horrible movies I have ever seen. The script is doing its damnest to make sure that Zilla is nothing more than a momma looking after its children with horrible human beings hunting it and trying to kill it. They literally killed her kids and then she ran after them for revenge and we're supposed to root for the humans. I was like "KILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS, ZILLIE"!

I always felt like the film was a paradoy of AmericanFUCKYEAHism. Where the vast majority of damage was caused by the military epicly failing. The monster was just an animal doing animal things, and did very little damage itself.
I made these observations at 10 years of age. Either I am wrong, or I was a very sharp kid.

It think it's OK to not root for the 'intended characters to root for'. For example, in the Mass Effect series I literally didn't care at all about Shepard. I sincerely hated the character.

scw55:

I always felt like the film was a paradoy of AmericanFUCKYEAHism. Where the vast majority of damage was caused by the military epicly failing. The monster was just an animal doing animal things, and did very little damage itself.
I made these observations at 10 years of age. Either I am wrong, or I was a very sharp kid.

It think it's OK to not root for the 'intended characters to root for'. For example, in the Mass Effect series I literally didn't care at all about Shepard. I sincerely hated the character.

This is of course correct. Later it became clear to me that godzilla was not the real villain of the movie (like he actually is in the first classic if I'm not wrong), but rather almost a "Frankstein" kind of monster, created by "humanity's own destructive nature". There is even that one scene where the zilla' mom cries for her killed spawns, while grabbing to a building against a rainy background. That's pure "monster drama" right there.

"Jean Reno is in it."
Well I'm convinced.

Seriously though, I never thought this movie was all that bad, then again I'd never seen a Godzilla movie before this one so there ya go. Still haven't really seen any except for Godzilla 2000 which was pretty good.

This movie is not only not that bad but actually fucking awesome! I didn't even knew people disliked it o.O
And the "that's a lot of fish" quote is funny too... seriously. I enjoyed every minute of every time I rewatched it.