Godzilla
Rent & Buy
French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that viciously attacks freighter ships in the Pacific Ocean. A team of experts, including Niko Tatopoulos, conclude that the oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the giant lizard is loose in Manhattan as the US military races to destroy the monster before it reproduces and it's spawn takes over the world.
What critics thought
One of the most thoroughly panned blockbusters of its era, the film drew near-universal scorn from critics who found the script lazy, the characters disposable, and the direction cynically competent at best. The rare point of partial agreement was that some set-pieces delivered spectacle, but critics and fans alike felt the monster itself had been so fundamentally reinvented — slimmer, faster, stripped of mythology — that it barely qualified as Godzilla at all.
“One must carefully repress intelligent thought while watching such a film. The movie makes no sense at all except as a careless pastiche of its betters (and, yes, the Japanese Godzilla movies are, in their way, better—if only because they embrace dreck instead of condescending to it).”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“one of the most idiotic blockbuster movies of all time, it's like spitting into the wind. Emmerich and Devlin are master illusionists, waving their wands and mesmerizing audiences with their smoke and mirrors.”
James Berardinelli·ReelViews
“It says much about today's blockbuster filmmakers that they could spend so much money on Godzilla and still fail to do justice to something that was fairy-tale destructo schlock to begin with.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“why place us in the movie if you aren't going to have us be eaten or squashed by the monster?”
Chicago Sun-Times
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- mild
Genres
Science Fiction, Action, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Roland EmmerichDirector
Matthew BroderickDr. Niko Tatopoulos
Jean RenoPhilippe Roaché
Maria PitilloAudrey Timmonds
Hank AzariaVictor 'Animal' Palotti
Kevin DunnColonel Hicks
Michael LernerMayor Ebert
Harry ShearerCharles Caiman
Arabella FieldLucy Palotti
Vicki LewisDr. Elsie Chapman
Doug SavantSergeant O'Neal
Malcolm DanareDr. Mendel Craven
Lorry GoldmanGene, Mayor's Aide
David ArnoldComposer
Dean DevlinWriter
Ted ElliottWriter
Terry RossioWriter
Ueli SteigerCinematographyGodzilla
French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that viciously attacks freighter ships in the Pacific Ocean. A team of experts, including Niko Tatopoulos, conclude that the oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the giant lizard is loose in Manhattan as the US military races to destroy the monster before it reproduces and it's spawn takes over the world.
What critics thought
One of the most thoroughly panned blockbusters of its era, the film drew near-universal scorn from critics who found the script lazy, the characters disposable, and the direction cynically competent at best. The rare point of partial agreement was that some set-pieces delivered spectacle, but critics and fans alike felt the monster itself had been so fundamentally reinvented — slimmer, faster, stripped of mythology — that it barely qualified as Godzilla at all.
“One must carefully repress intelligent thought while watching such a film. The movie makes no sense at all except as a careless pastiche of its betters (and, yes, the Japanese Godzilla movies are, in their way, better—if only because they embrace dreck instead of condescending to it).”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“one of the most idiotic blockbuster movies of all time, it's like spitting into the wind. Emmerich and Devlin are master illusionists, waving their wands and mesmerizing audiences with their smoke and mirrors.”
James Berardinelli·ReelViews
“It says much about today's blockbuster filmmakers that they could spend so much money on Godzilla and still fail to do justice to something that was fairy-tale destructo schlock to begin with.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“why place us in the movie if you aren't going to have us be eaten or squashed by the monster?”
Chicago Sun-Times
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- mild
Genres
Science Fiction, Action, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Roland EmmerichDirectorMatthew BroderickDr. Niko TatopoulosJean RenoPhilippe RoachéMaria PitilloAudrey TimmondsHank AzariaVictor 'Animal' PalottiKevin DunnColonel HicksMichael LernerMayor EbertHarry ShearerCharles CaimanArabella FieldLucy PalottiVicki LewisDr. Elsie ChapmanDoug SavantSergeant O'NealMalcolm DanareDr. Mendel CravenLorry GoldmanGene, Mayor's AideDavid ArnoldComposerDean DevlinWriterTed ElliottWriterTerry RossioWriterUeli SteigerCinematographyRent & Buy