Liquid oxygen? What will they think of next!? Weirdly enough, Godzilla is at it's most interesting before Godzilla actually destroys anything. Score is not a grade.

This film has a great start. Like, from the very first scene we know about Godzilla (unlike King Kong, we get to know him 40 minutes later). There was many talking about him from the beginning, and until the 20th minutes we get see him. On the 30th minute, the film got boring and dull. The movie should've been more about the monster rather about humans (since they are mostly shown). It seems like the titular character is a supporting one, and part of this film's SUBPLOT.

A certified classic that created a genre. The special effects have aged badly in comparison to "King Kong" or other monster movies, but the characters and the storyline are very interesting. It's a great "time capsule" movie in the way that it shows post-WII Japanese zeitgeist.

It's a pretty amazing film, especially considering its age. The themes can be a bit on the nose, and some of the effects haven't aged well - though only some bad firetruck miniatures were really distracting - but it tells a good story and features some striking images. Godzilla at night backlit by a flaming city is one of those great moments. Would probably be better if you don't know anything about it going in, but it's over 50 years later, that's not possible.

Extremely serious and dark movie, especially considering zillions of goofy sequels and remakes it spawned. Story itself is not very interesting, we all get the allegory. Special effects looks dated by now, but seeing cardboard Tokyo being burned and destroyed with a powerful soundtrack by Ifukube on top leaves a very strong impression. I would say it's more important movie than it is interesting.

The characters are actually interesting and not boring like how most monster movie characters are. The special effects are laughable.

I don't exactly think this is a brilliant work, mainly because it's rather ham-fisted. But it is pretty original, the acting isn't bad at all, it's well-paced and the effects hold up surprisingly well.

Powerful, and the only "meaningful" Godzilla movie to exist. The American version is lacking a lot of that meaning.

Beautiful special effects, wonderful acting, and a message that still holds up well to this day.

a bit slow, but the ending is interesting.

Pretty on-the-nose thematically. The scenes of destruction get a little tedious.

Atomic testing destroyed your ecosystem and made you radioactive huh, yeah but y u mad? The brilliant score and Godzilla's chilling mechanical roar make this an aural treat. They also help paper over the wonkier visual aspects that time has been less kind to.

A moody film that is all about the atmosphere. The metaphor of Godzilla itself has lost a lot of its force over the years with the monster's legacy becoming more heroic and kid friendly.

Rough around the edges, but enlightening and goofy, all at the same time. A perfect representation of Japan's collective sadomasochism, anxiety and guilt after the horrors of WWII.

Godzilla (also known as Gojira in Japan) is one of the most known and celebrated giant monster movies. And it's certainly one of the best of them.

A hallmark in special effects. The Serizawa character was the most interesting of the bunch and proved to be very memorable.

The monster effects are a charming artifact. The human element is a little boring, despite the presence of Takashi Shimura, though Serizawa is an interesting character. I loved his ending, and the overall method of defeating Godzilla is pretty cool.

No appreciation of B-movie history can be complete without acknowledgement of Godzilla's brilliance and influence. As with Chuck Russell's The Blob (heavily indebted to Godzilla), Ishiro Honda's film makes the uprising and destruction of an unprecedented monster the stuff of grim spectacle, pervasive humour and great socio-political commentary. More so than King Kong, Godzilla deserves consideration as perhaps the greatest monster/disaster movie.

Predictably, the action scenes haven't aged that well. The character drama isn't that special either. But although the monster is not convincing, it's cool, and although the scenes where Godzilla walk around and smash buildings don't look real, the close-ups of his victims and the aftermath of his rampage are well done. The nuclear under- and overtones are powerful, which is not surprising concerning the time and place of the film. Worth watching.

The original jap version without Raymond Burr is a great metaphor for... surprise, atomic weapons! But it's fun nonetheless.

I'm a pretty die-hard Godzilla fan. This is the original film and it holds up incredibly well even after 50 years--a nicely original story (for its time) with compelling characters. The score is one of the best, as Ifukube's always were.

I appreciate what it's trying to do, be a monster movie with social message, but it does it so clumsily that neither the monster part nor the commentary are very effective. The effects, while obvious, hold up well enough but the destruction seems somehow distant from the human aspect of the movie. On the other side the film is trying to say so much was rather thin characters and ridiculous science that other than getting a simplistic point across it's not very successful.