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Godzilla

1998

Roland Emmerich

Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria ...

4.3

30,544

Sci-Fi. Fantasy. Action Nasty, brutish and very, very tall, the rampaging Godzilla does Manhattan -- and shows a lot more personality than most of the actors in this high-tech, big-budget, dramatically inept variation on the Japanese A-bomb monster movie classic.

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"You have to absorb such a film, not consider it. But my brain rebelled, and insisted on applying logic where it was not welcome (…) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader	"Overlong, neither funny nor scary movie about a big lizard": ★½ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times	"An expertly designed theme park ride of a movie that packs nonstop thrills"	POS
United States	Mick LaSalle SFGATE	"An overblown action monstrosity with no surprises, no exhilaration and no thrills."	NEG
United States	Keith Phipps AV Club	"While the special effects are impressive, countless films have already proven that if you sink enough money into a project, you can at least make it look good. Unfortunately, good looks are all Godzilla has going for it."	NEG
United States	Joe Leydon Variety	"Despite all the flash and filigree, this monster movie is curiously -- and conspicuously -- lacking in heart"	NEU
United States	Scott Mendelson Forbes	"It fails because it's neither cheesy enough for 'the fans' nor committed to being truly scary and violent in a way that would resonate with modern audiences."	NEG
United States	Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly	"Despite some clever and exciting sequences, though, this $120 million epic (...) lumbers more than it thrills."	NEU
United States	Stephen Holden The New York Times	"As for character development (...) and acting, 'Godzilla' (...) makes 'Independence Day' look like Henry James (...) How much further will the dumbing down of the event movie have to go before the audience stops buying tickets?"	NEG
United States	James Berardinelli ReelViews	"The script isn't just 'dumbed down', it's lobotomized. 'Godzilla' lives and dies on special effects alone (…) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Chicago Tribune	"It probably would have benefited from a 20- to 30-minute trim and, certainly, a smarter script, but the special effects truly are amazing."	NEU
United States	Christopher Monfette IGN	"it doesn't feel like a 'Godzilla' film, no matter how much whiz-bang action Emmerich packs from start to finish."	NEG

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