Godzilla
TriStar Pictures | Release Date: May 19, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
32
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
9
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
An expertly designed theme park ride of a movie that packs nonstop thrills. Read full review
70
SalonGary Kamiya
The plot is about as ridiculous as you'd expect, but for the most part its absurdities are tolerable. Read full review
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
Despite all the flash and filigree, this monster movie is curiously -- and conspicuously -- lacking in heart. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
There are some clever and exciting sequences, but this $120 million epic of reconstituted Atomic Age trash lumbers more than it thrills. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
Size really is about all that this tedious, underpopulated beanbag of an epic has going for it. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Godzilla is so clumsily structured it feels as if it's two different movies stuck together with an absurd stomping finale glued onto the end. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
This Godzilla is lacking both the awesome spirit of the original and the sublime silliness of the more recent Toho outings. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneGary Dretzka
It probably would have benefited from a 20- to 30-minute trim and, certainly, a smarter script, but the special effects truly are amazing. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
The movie is of minimum interest; the story of the movie, however -- or, rather, of the way in which it has been engulfed by its own publicity -- is bound to fascinate connoisseurs of cultural meltdown. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The year's most eagerly anticipated green-eyed monster finally rears its ugly head, not with his trademark radioactive roar, but a deafening yawn. Read full review
40
EmpireAndrew Collins
Casting aside the forgettable ragbag of a cast, tiptoeing round the leaden script, and avoiding the story's many pot-holes (how come he only breathes fire twice?), Godzilla does provide plenty to look at. But that, for fear of sounding ungrateful, is all. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A big, ugly, ungainly device to give teenagers the impression they are seeing a movie. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The script isn't just "dumbed down," it's lobotomized. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverPeter Rainer
They do it up big, but their frame of reference -- mostly old sci-fi movies and TV shows -- is pint-sized. Read full review
30
Film ThreatChris Gore
For the single-digit age set, Godzilla is sure to be the greatest movie of all time. Read full review
25
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
When a movie is nothing but relentless action, there's little chance for dramatic tension to develop. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
An overblown action monstrosity with no surprises, no exhilaration and no thrills. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The dialogue is dumb ('zilla has the best lines, "arrrrrggh" and "maaroarrr"), New York is waterlogged, and Godzilla isn't on screen enough. Read full review
20
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The makers of Godzilla obviously devoted so much manpower and time and energy and money to the admittedly fabulous special effects that they apparently had no budget left over for actors. Read full review
10
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Overlong, neither funny nor scary movie about a big lizard. Read full review
10
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
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. Read full review
10
Washington PostRita Kempley
Size vanquishes both substance and subtlety in the overhyped, half-cocked and humorless resurrection of dear old "Godzilla." Read full review
0
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Watching inept American actors and wishing they were badly dubbed into Japanese isn't any fun at all. Read full review
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