**** Godzilla, American style.

Someway, somehow, Tristar and Centropolis got ahold of the rights to make a Godzilla movie. The tried to make it bigger and better. Some say that they went to far with the updates, making Godzilla in name only. It could be a mistake, it could be an accident, it could be revenge for Toho ruining King Kong. Whatever it is, it was a very good movie, but not a Godzilla movie.

Due to French nuclear tests, a new species of really large iguanas formed. The only one to survive the nuclear process had to go to a different island to insure survival of the species. Godzilla, as it was called. chose New York City. It came ashore, recked havoc, and went underground. It was lured to the surface by a big pile of fish, but the military missed the agile lizard. It tied again, and was able to supposedly kill it. Meanwhile, the main characters and a group of people from the French secret service went and found the eggs in Madison Square Garden. The eggs hatched, and after eating the fish left for them by Godzilla, went after the people there. The Garden was trashed by bombers. Just when you thought the movie was over, surprise! Godzilla pops up again, chases the Taxi the people went in, and got caught in the Brooklyn Bridge. A dozen missiles later, and Godzilla was dead. The series wasn’t dead, though, cause one egg survived (of course).

Now this is a tricky one to rate. The movie itself was great. It may not have had a great according to critic-type people, but compared to most giant monster movies, it has the best plot of the category. Obviously, it also has the best special effects. Finally a monster movie that looks real! The computer generated Godzilla scenes are spectacular and awe-inspiring. There is a bit of a surprise ending here, and without that part, which actually holds a lot of great Godzilla scenes, the movie would have been bad. There is some parts that look like they are from Jurassic park, but if you look closely, they aint that close to looking like velocaraptors. However, it wasn’t cut short and ended up being a great movie. There is a lot of scenes that are very good. There are few that are bad. The movie works right, looks right, and is very well made. However, it can be noticeable that the movie never was test screened. It has some flaws, like the annoying Siscal and Ebert references. However, for a movie that was never proofread, it was pretty darn good.

However, the main problem is the fact that this is suppose to be a remake of Godzilla himself. Now, the monster is warped a little to much, it don’t look like Godzilla (to big of a neck, has back problems so it can’t stand up right, two big spines but small in the rest). Another problem is that it only took a dozen missiles to kill him. The real Godzilla can be shot with everything and still get up from it. But the main problem is the lack of the Thermonuclear breath. I was disappointed that he used fire breath in only two scenes, and I was disappointed more when I realized it was just cars exploding. Godzilla without thermonuclear breath? That’s not right! Godzilla is improved a little from previous Godzillas, with lighting speed instead of hermit crab walking, brains instead of brawn, and a body that is designed for actual monster fighting. This sounds more like it is based on the old Godzilla of the 70’s, which pleases me. I never liked the 90’s Godzilla. However, he still is stretched a little to far from what it is based on to be a good remake.

If they would have screen tested the movie and found out that they should have put in thermonuclear breath and have Godzilla take a little more licking before he stopped ticking, the movie would have been a lot better. It would have been a good Godzilla movie along with being a good monster movie. Basically, I don’t really consider it to be a Godzilla movie, because it was made by America, and not Toho. It runs into a category all it’s own. However, for a monster movie as a whole, it’s the best you can get. It’s a great movie with universal appeal. If you like high budget special effects movies, you should probably like this one, unless you are a severe fan of Godzilla. Then, you would like it and hate it at the same time.

Better plot than most giant monster movies.

Best special effects of all giant monster movies.

Great looking, fun, awe-inspiring Godzilla action scenes.

Good, Jurassic Park style action scenes.

Surprise! ending; movie not good without it.

Best of the all non-Godzilla giant monster movies.

That is not Godzilla!

Nit-picks.

Boring plot in middle of movie.

The ending looks eerily similar to the one in King Kong (1976).

12 missiles? That’s it?

Where’s the thermonuclear breath? We want thermonuclear breath!

Credits