Godzilla

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1:45

Godzilla

PG-13

1998

2h 18m

Sci-Fi

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

20%

Tomatometer

148 Reviews

28%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

During a nuclear test, the French government inadvertently mutates a lizard nest; years later, a giant lizard makes its way to New York City. Dr. Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick), an expert on the effects of radiation on animals, is sent by the U.S. government to study the beast. When the creature, dubbed "Godzilla" by news outlets, emerges, a massive battle with the military begins. To make matters worse, Niko discovers that Godzilla has laid a nest of 200 eggs, which are ready to hatch.

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Critics Consensus

Without compelling characters or heart, Godzilla stomps on everything that made the original (or any monster movie worth its salt) a classic.

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David Edelstein

Slate

02/15/2023

What the new, monstrously budgeted Godzilla brings home is that size doesn’t matter -- that tacky crudeness harnessed to a real vision can have more brute power than all the state-of-the-art computer wizardry that Hollywood’s money can buy.

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

02/15/2023

1/5

This 'Zilla is no thrillah. The only thing huge about it is the size of its failure, with monsters straight out of Jurassic Park (yawn), a plot thinner than the butter topping on popcorn and mailed-in acting by the cast.

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Gary Dretzka

Chicago Tribune

02/15/2023

2/4

How do you screw up "Squish" and "Aargh"? By spending more than $100 million on marvelous special effects, another $50 million on a brilliant marketing campaign, and, then, forgetting to invest any money on a logical script. That's how.

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Evan Dossey

Midwest Film Journal

10/31/2023

As someone who subscribes to the notion that there are no bad Godzilla films, I still find the best bits of Godzilla to be good enough to make the entire thing worth sitting through every few years.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

10/28/2023

1.5/4

Forget the Emmy-winning TV special Liza With a Z -- here we have the Razzie-winning theatrical stinker Godzilla With a Zzzz (aka Godzilla vs. Ferris Bueller, since the oversized monster proves to be no match for Matthew Broderick’s incessant shtick).

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Allison Rose

FlickDirect

10/23/2023

3.5/5

The 1998 Godzilla may be less beloved for its lighter tone and special effects, but it offers entertainment if you approach it with an open mind.

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Paul E

@pauleveritt 2d

If I were 12, this would be an awesome movie. I not 12. Spoiler alert. The last third of the movie was lifted right out of Jurassic Park. Love interest, plot twist was painful to watch and really felt tacked on to the main story. Denigrating to the US military. (Helicopter pilot can not GAIN attitude to avoid being eaten? Come On.) On the good side, no sex scenes. No profanity that I can remember. CGI not bad for when it was made. It started out as a FIVE star and faded in the stretch to a -2 star. Averaged it all up and I give it a TWO star rating. If you are looking for a movie for you 12 and under grandchildren, this movie is strong performers. The grand parents will have to ignore the stupidity, nonsense, and gapping holes in the plot. It they can do all of that, they might enjoy the movie too.

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Michele G

@MeeshAnd Jan 20

This is a fun one. I cant believe it gets such low scores.

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Mitchell S

@Mitchstur Jan 6

It's more of a comedy than a monster movie, but there is some human drama and it's entertaining for the most part. Godzilla 2014 is way better though.

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Michael C

@Michael06 Jan 5

Jean Reno is such a good actor that if Hollywood ever decides to make a call of duty movie it would be stupid not to have him play captain price because he definitely would fit the part all the way around

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Jeffery B

@Jeffery01 Dec 29

Didn't feel like a Godzilla movie

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Jeffery B.

@Bubby-43499 Dec 14

This interpretation of Godzilla just simply didn't feel like Godzilla.

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Roland Emmerich

Director

Matthew Broderick

Dr. Niko Tatopoulos

Jean Reno

Philippe Roaché

Maria Pitillo

Audrey Timmonds

Hank Azaria

Victor "Animal" Palotti

Kevin Dunn

Colonel Hicks

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Synopsis

During a nuclear test, the French government inadvertently mutates a lizard nest; years later, a giant lizard makes its way to New York City. Dr. Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick), an expert on the effects of radiation on animals, is sent by the U.S. government to study the beast. When the creature, dubbed "Godzilla" by news outlets, emerges, a massive battle with the military begins. To make matters worse, Niko discovers that Godzilla has laid a nest of 200 eggs, which are ready to hatch.

Director: Roland Emmerich
Producer: Dean Devlin
Screenwriter: Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Centropolis Film Productions, Fried Films, Independent Pictures, TriStar Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Scenes of Scary Horror|Mild Bad Language)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $136.1M
Runtime: 2h 18m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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