release year: 1998genre: walking disasterviewing setting: theatrical semi-sneak preview, 5/19/98 and second viewing, 5/22/98what I expected: a lot, given the hype and the potentialwhat I got: a Godzilla movie designed to please everybody
synopsis: A gigantic prehistoric monster heads for New York City and trashes the place when it gets there.
impressions: Overall, it was well-paced and entertaining. There was a slow spot, kinda toward the middle, but I can overlook that. It seems to me that the producers wanted to make everyone happy with this movie, and it may be that the movie suffers overall because of this. Hard to say. It does, in any case, contain the crucial elements: a big monster, a good well-defined (and funny) human cast, lots of military action, and of course the requisite large-scale death and destruction. There are also a few bonuses along the way.
acting: Godzilla looked...well, let's just say that he surprised me here the way the T-Rex did in Jurassic Park - it wasn't what I was expecting, but it wasn't bad. Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno turned in the best of the human roles, though Hank Azaria also gave a good accounting of himself.
overheard in theater: soldier in movie: "Target's shifting course...he's heading back toward Manhattan!" me: "Yesss..."
final word: Entertaining, though it won't be what a lot of people expect. It is also quite low on the plot content quota.
rating: B-
This was a quick, spoiler-free review. For a more detailed discussion of this movie, click here