Just a year after Roland Emmerich's version of Godzilla blessed the world with its presence, Toho decided to start all over again. This rendition of Gojira eschews all the previous sequels, and takes directly after the original 1954 film.
The film certainly has its moments. Godzilla does his thing as usual, stomping on buildings and crushing things like it's nobody's business. This time, however, there's also a UFO in the mix, which wreaks even more havoc and transforms into one ugly mother... Inevitably, the two beasties duke it out, and Tokyo is destroyed yet again
The film will appeal to fans the best, because it's all back to basics with this film. There are no gimmicks, tricks, or fads pulled out in this film; it's just a straightforward monster flick with straightforward action. Unfortunately, that also means that the film drags in certain spots, as it focuses on characters who never really amount to much of anything. The story overall is pretty weak and flimsy, and nothing really stands out about it.
The film is also marred horribly by its overall quality: the SFX are terrible by any standard, the monsters and models look dirt-cheap, and the acting and writing are pretty bad. On top of that, if you watch this with English dubbing, you'll expose yourself to some pretty horrible voice-work (I can't keep a straight face anymore, thinking about the line "this missile will go through Godzilla like crap through a goose!"). Photography and editing get the job done, but are nothing worth screaming about. The music (aside from using the classic film's theme) is pretty horrible.
The film has its moments, but at first, I was a little appalled by it, thinking a little too much like some kind of DTV trash. It's not quite that bad, and Godzilla fans might still get a kick out of it. Still, there are better films in the series.
3/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Average | Film: Poor)
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