Godzilla Sightings
"I went to the 7:00 showing tonight, not because I was really all that excited about seeing it, I haven't really been caught up in all the hype, but I just thought it would be neat to see it before everyone else, and I was completely blown away!! The movie more than lives up to all the hoopla around it. As a matter of fact, after seeing the film, I will go as far as to say that there wasn't enough hype about this movie. I have never in my life seen such breath taking special effects! The character development in the movie was even pretty good, acutely it was perfect for a Godzilla movie! Just enough to let you get to know characters, but not so as to take away from the real star, Mr. Zilla. I was expecting lame dialog like the embarrassingly bad stuff in Independence Day, but they did everything just right in this movie. The acting was even good! This movie will most definitely make over 100 mil. this weekend, it certainly deserves to. If this movie is any indication of what is to come, this is going to be one hell of a summer at the movies."
- Ed Furcolow (Canton, Ohio)
"Just saw Godzilla on Tuesday. There was not a huge crowd here, it was kind of dead at the theater. Well the movie was OK a little boring, but great special effects. The crowd wasn't really into it from what I saw."
- Davy Ramirez (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
"Godzilla opened last night at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, D.C., and played to a packed and enthusiastic audience.
This is definitely a check-your-brain-at-the-door movie, and anyone expecting anything more than a basic special effects film should not bother. The action and effects sequences are well-executed and jaw-dropping, with advanced seamless computer technology. But the filmmakers made some poor choices that undermine the film and make it surprisingly lumbering and boring as a whole. A Siskel-and-Ebert visual gag would hardly be funny once, but the two impersonators become a major presence, and are very distracting. It is difficult to suspend disbelief when this "joke" keeps popping up.
This is a fun ride while it lasts (especially when you recognize stolen-whole scenes from Star Wars and Jurassic Park), but it is ultimately soulless and without charm. Not a movie to see more than once."
- Michael Miller (Washington, D.C.)
"Well, I have just returned from a 9:30pm sneak peak on Tuesday night. The theater handed out commemorative tickets to ticket buyers and ran out very quickly. I must say I was impressed by the size of the crowd for such a late showing on a weekday night. I saw it in the city of Holland, Michigan. Here, Godzilla is playing on four screens (a record for this town - usually a movie shows on only two). Having been a fan of Godzilla since a little boy, I felt that this rendition kept true to the original Japanese series (without the B-grade humor). What fun! There is a great chance I shall see it again."
- John Coin (Holland, Michigan)
"Saw Godzilla last night. I left the movie having met my expectations. Think that it will be a hit, but doubt it will break 300 million domestically. Great special effects, had good views of Godzilla and decent story for an event movie."
- Chris (Hampton, Virginia)
"I had almost forgotten how excited I was to see Godzilla untill I walked into the theater to catch the 8:15 showing last night. There were no lines, so at first I was a little worried, but after retrieving my commemorative ticket (a very nice touch by the way) and entered the theater I was reassured. Although not packed, every aisle had people in it. I'd guess that there were about 200 people in the 350 seat auditorium. The movie itself was pretty good. I can't say that it lived up to what I was hoping for, but it didn't really disappoint me. Of course it was terrific looking, but there was just something missing. It might have been the unenthusiastic crowd of mostly 22-35 year-olds, but I will have to see it again to decide how I really feel. Overall, I'm still excited to see the numbers unfold, and hear what others think."
- Patrick Grijalva (Atlanta, Georgia)
"I caught an 8:45 show at a nicely done, less-than-a-year-old Hoyts Megaplex. I had a lovely time. The movie itself was nothing special in terms of plot or character, but I would never walk into a Godzilla movie *expecting* strong plot or character. The actors did serviceable jobs of reading their lines, except Maria Pitillo, who I generally had liked on the canceled TV show Partners; here she was given a lame part and did nothing to save it. The effects, however, are of course the star. Pretty much anytime Godzilla or his kin were on the screen (which is a good portion of the movie), the film rocked all. The action sequences are edited with quick kickass precision and last as long as they should. The helicopters attempting to take on Godzilla is an especially impressive scene. Not as mindlessly patrioic or manipulative as the enjoyable Independence Day, but more of a go-for-broke actioner in the mode of a Lost World or Starship Troopers (better than the former, and about as good as the latter, which is to say in my opinion quite). In terms of box office it may fair, if not poorly, not spectacularly either, because it lacks that teary ID4 emotional hook. It makes for, on the balance, better entertainment if that's what entertains you (it does, for me anyway), but will probably translate into just a relative bit more than Lost World's box office take, around 250-270 million. The audience seemed mildly enthusiastic but not overjoyed."
- Jesse (Albany, NY)
"I went to a sneak preview on Tuesday night and it was awesome! At the end everyone started clapping and cheering! They gave out special edition tickets that had a movie still in them. The theatre was packed even though no one really knew about the sneak preview ahead of time. They had the movie playing on 7 screens and they all were packed! It was at the Cineplex Odeon in downtown Seattle. They have a total of 16 screens. The special effects were great and the story line was well written. The ending left no doubt that there will be a sequel. I will be going to see this movie again and again!!!"
- Colby Fish (Seattle, Washington)
"I saw Godzilla last night at its first showing at a suburban 'plex on Long Island. It was not sold out, only about 4/5ths full. The crowd was not that into it and there was very little excitement, I was kinda disappointed actually.
- Dan Fisher (Long Island, New York)
"Although the movie started with a bang, the movie trailed out with one long, protracted whimper. The less-than-half full Washington, D.C. showing stayed quiet throughout the better portion of the flick, letting out the occasional yawn. Matthew Broderick has all the excitement of ID4 straight man Jeff Goldblum--which is to say none at all. Broderick is most effective when someone else plays off him, i.e. The Cable Guy. The rest of the cast led me to tear, and the usually hysterical Hank Azaria is a collassal snore as a straight-forward actor. What seemed to be monstrous potential at the outset of the movie quickly regressed into stupefying boredom. When we finally see all of Godzilla, all we see him do is run and wreak havoc on large buildings. See Godzilla run, see Godzilla run into things, see Godzilla chase scaredy-pants humans. Unlike ID4 (sorry for the inevitable comparisions), but in this movie, Godzilla comes, Godzilla kicks our ass, we cry, we flee, and finally, somehow, we manage to gun him down with gobs of missiles. I called around to various theatres in both suburban Virginia, suburban Maryland, and in D.C., and of the 20 theatres I called, no one sold over 75% of the tickets for even ONE showing. I don't see this movie grossing more than $180-210 million, still not a bad take.
- Joel Mowbray (Washington D.C.)
"I work at a Clearview Cinemas theatre in the suburbs of New York City. Since the opening of a 21-theatre Loews in April, business has been dead. So, it came as no surprise that when I went to see the 7:00 showing of Godzilla last night, there were only 6 people in the theatre (including four of us who got in for free). I give the film a mild recommendation. The first half was just bad. They tried to give heart to the film, but it didn't work. Matthew Broderick was missing something. His character was never really scared, especially with his handy backpack which he rarely took off. The relationship, or forced relationship, excuse me, between him and the girl was not good either. Why he would even consider taking her back after the things she had done to him is beyond comprehension. Hank Azaria is always good for a laugh. And Jean Reno is always nice to have around. The second half saved the movie only because it was a complete rip-off of Jurassic Park, except there was no time when you would jump out of your seat. The special effects were great, but all effects-laden movies today have good special effects. Batman and Robin was a bad movie, but the effects were there."
- Adam Dratch (Congers, New York)
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