Rating of
3/4
Review - Gojira (1954)
Delorted - wrote on 01/27/08
Known to most as “Godzilla,” a giant dinosaur-like creature is brought to life through nuclear testing and destroys Tokyo, Japan. The very first in a still on-going series is “Gojira.”
Judging by the sorts of movies America was making at the time, this had to have been nothing but revolutionary. It definitely stands out as one of the most innovative and ripped-off ideas in film history. It’s amazing to watch and terrifying to hear. Of course, it’s not all that great as a movie, so I’ll have to throw in my two cents here.
As great as the action scenes are, the politics and even the main love story seem out of place today. The romance does fit in well, looking at it on its own, but the way Godzilla has taken over as such an icon, the love story seems to slow down the movie a bit. If I were seeing it in theaters back in 1954, I probably would have enjoyed it more, but seeing as I saw it in 2008 after over 50 years of development in both film and the franchise, the original is actually kind of boring. You’re sitting there during a dramatic scene just wondering when the monster will show up again. Maybe it’s just me and I’m shallower about film than I thought I was.
One thing I have to mention is that theme music. Every time I hear it I get chills. It sounds really ahead of its time and really sets the mood for the movie. The iconic roar from the monster is also unnerving, which is a good thing since they haven’t stopped using it since.
“Gojira” is the perfect monster movie, probably because it’s also the first real one. It started something nobody had ever seen before and will keep going on until the end of time. We can only hope they get a better budget and screenwriters at some point in time, because from what I’ve seen, the sequels are not as glamorous.
Acting: 7/10
Writing: 6/10
Video/Editing: 9/10
Audio/Music: 10/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Final Score: 8/10
