MOVIE REVIEW: GODZILLA
Before all the monster battles, city-smashing chaos, and Hollywood blockbusters, there was Godzilla (1954) — a serious, haunting film that introduced the world to one of cinema’s most iconic creatures. Directed by Ishirō Honda, the original Godzilla isn’t just a monster movie; it’s a post-war tragedy wrapped in sci-fi horror.
It’s dark, emotional, and still incredibly powerful all these decades later.
Story – 8.2 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
The story kicks off when ships start mysteriously sinking off the coast of Japan, followed by destruction in coastal villages. Eventually, the truth is revealed: a massive, prehistoric creature has been awakened by nuclear testing in the Pacific.
Godzilla isn’t just a giant monster here — he’s a metaphor for the atomic bomb and the trauma Japan was still dealing with after World War II. The film dives into themes of science, war, and the moral cost of powerful weapons.
Monsters/Villains – 9.1🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
Godzilla is terrifying in this film. He’s not the hero or anti-hero we see in later versions — he’s pure destruction. the sight of a massive creature stomping through Tokyo was unlike anything audiences had ever seen.
The design is iconic: a towering lizard with rough skin, dead eyes, and a radioactive breath attack that turns the city into rubble. There’s no real villain in the human cast — the monster is the villain, and he’s treated like a force of nature.
Actors/Characters – 7.5 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
The human story revolves around scientists, military leaders, and a love triangle between Emiko, her fiancé Ogata, and the mysterious Dr. Serizawa. While some of the performances are more stoic , Serizawa’s arc stands out — especially his internal conflict over whether to use his invention, the Oxygen Destroyer, to stop Godzilla at the risk of unleashing something even worse.
Overall – 8.5 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
Godzilla (1954) is way more than just a guy in a rubber suit smashing miniatures. It’s a powerful, haunting film that uses its monster as a metaphor for real-world horror. It laid the groundwork for decades of kaiju movies, and while the franchise would eventually shift toward campier fun, this original entry still stands tall as a serious and thoughtful piece of cinema.
