"Godzilla"

by Jeremy M. Posner

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The film begins a bit slowly through the creature's first mysterious encounters with Japanese sailors and the first investigations of the strange happenings by scientists who haven't a clue what's coming their way. It seemed at times as though the filmmakers were trying too hard to get us to snicker at the scientists before they figured out what the thing was. Fortunately, Godzilla is pretty fast, and didn't take too long to get to New York.

Once Godzilla arrives in "The City That Never Sleeps", the film does not stop for a moment. In New York, the creature torments people, buildings, and any other infrastructure it can find, with a rather careful eye towards accurately reproducing the layout of the island of Manhattan through most of the film. (So accurate, that I could easily tell that Godzilla came ashore just down the block from our Film Scouts offices in New York.)

In addition to the non-stop action, the film has some humourous touches, including a cameo by a certain famous purple dinosaur, and a mayor who, along with his sidekick Gene, bears a striking resemblance to a certain prominent film critic.

In the end, Godzilla is everything it tries to be.