User Score
9.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14

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  1. Sam
    Nov 23, 2005
    10
    Holy re-release Batman! Not only does this movie bring back the everything that made me jump with love and joy, but there's even more of it. Although I will say that the 1998 wasn't that bad, I thought it had good FX and pottential, and I loved the underated 2000, but this forever will be the best Godzilla movie. However, there is a good chance that the new one, with its rumor of being darker, grittier, and more intense, may overpower this, but until then, let's enjoy ourselves, and unleash the hardcore Godzilla fan everyone has inside them. Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. ChadeW.
    Dec 1, 2005
    10
    After decades of countless criticisms, crappy less-than-b-quality movies(not to mention the UTTERLY horrible and unfaithful 1998 "remake"), im glad to see that the Gman (the true Gman, not the creepy, speech impetted guy from half-life) finally gets some of the pat on the back he deserves. Honda does(or did...) a VERY good job of getting it through to our little americanized brains that, Ahem, NUKES SUCK. Well so did James Cameron with Terminator and T2, but as good as he did it, nothing can beet the master. Godzillas trademark... Godzillaness is all here. Plus a little (if i may say so myself) Barney the dinasaur-like message to kids... then again, dont get your kids to see this, they might fall asleep or get really fricken insultive of your old-timey self, but if they ever did understand the message(unlikely with todays kids) they WILL have horrific nightmares of the BMFRCM( Big Mutha ****** Rubber Clad Monster) stomping on theyre homes and ruining their barbies and GI joes with the charring and scathing nuclear fires that Ishiro Honda likes to call American Payback. This is without a doubt, THE best foreign monster movie ever made, hands down. Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. TonyS.
    May 7, 2004
    10
    Great movie that displays a message of grief and an overall great movie. Godzilla rules!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. SkipP.
    May 7, 2004
    10
    The original uncut Japanese version of this film is a "must see" of world cinema. Unfortunately, few in the West have seen this version, but with this new release, that should change.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. KevinP.
    May 7, 2004
    10
    Still the best after all these years.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. RobertP.
    Jul 22, 2004
    10
    After having "the wool over my face: due to the 1956 American verson, it was refreshing and ethical to see the "original version" The actors, writers, and the director, have a right to expression; something which was "cut out" by the American version. The original, also has a well written plot, with many explanations of the creature's presence;again the American dubbed version makes no "understandable rational" of Godzilla"s creation. A well written, directed, and acted film! Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. MichaelT.
    May 14, 2004
    10
    "Godzilla" is not just a great (!) monster movie, or just a powerful (!) anti-nuclear message. It's the point where many aspects of today's Japanese pop culture were born. See "Godzilla" NOW, and pray that a DVD release is coming down the road.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. BillS.
    May 20, 2004
    10
    Someone needs to slap the ReelViews and Film Threat critics around, because this was the grandfather of a wonderful age of monster films in Japan. Not for everyone? So what? Anyone can appreciate deep characters, strong irony and stunning imagery. GOJIRA has all of that and a dark, scary, giant monster that actually looks the part thanks to the gritty old B&W film stock and moody, deep-dark Nippon-Noir scene crafting. Fans of the genre can rejoice in it, newcomers can learn from it. This is the original, the best, GODZILLA as it was meant to be. Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya produced a rubber-suited magnum opus 50 years ago with atomic horror fresh in their minds. It translates brilliantly to celluloid and will probably be revered as a socio-political-fantasy work of art in another 50. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. AG
    Jul 13, 2004
    10
    What is up with Ebert on this one? "Equally idiotic?" I thought he was a Godzilla fan - and no self-respecting Godzilla fan would ever say such tripe and utter nonsense. Perhaps he's so miffed over the childish slur from Devlin & Emmerich (the USA 'Godzilla' atrocity from 1998) against himself and the late Gene Siskel, that he can't stomach anything with the Big G in it, anymore? Ebert - get over it. You look like a fool when you attack the greatest of all the Godzilla films, a genre you yourself have professed to enjoy. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 20
  2. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. 80
    As crass as it is visionary, Godzilla belongs with--and might well trump--the art films "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and "Dr. Strangelove" as a daring attempt to fashion a terrible poetry from the mind-melting horror of atomic warfare.
  2. Godzilla is still the most awesome of tacky movie monsters.
  3. Not that Honda's original Godzilla is a message movie first and foremost. It's a horror flick, and an ingenious one at that, with visual effects so vivid that gimmicky spin-offs became an enduring staple of popular film.