The original “Godzilla” seemed to launch the Japanese giant monster movie industry and while it is somewhat impressive given its time, I cannot help but feel that it is a little overrated. It’s by no means a bad film but it pales a little in comparison to other monster movies such as “King Kong” and “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms” and the fun factor of some of the later “Godzilla” films is absent.

After the Americans test nuclear weapons in the Pacific, a seemingly unstoppable dinosaur-like monster emerges from the sea and attacks Japan. The military try their best but the monster stomps its way through Tokyo and unless the scientists can work out how to beat Godzilla, the entire country will be destroyed.

The characters in giant monster movies are not usually very interesting and the ones in “Godzilla” are not great. There are some moderately deep conversations about the effects of war and nuclear weapons. The film does a good job at making Godzilla look like a big menacing monster with a great use of camera angles. It’s reasonably satisfying watching him demolish Tokyo as the military are powerless to stop him. It’s a shame he does not fight any other monsters in this one.

I admire the effort that clearly went into making the original “Godzilla” and the scenes where Godzilla attacks Tokyo are pretty impressive but overall, I was left a little disappointed. People often point to the original “Godzilla” as the best in the series but I have to disagree. Some of the later entries are much more entertaining than this one. Fans of giant monster movies arguably need to see this one because it is so important in giving us our first look at one of cinema’s most famous creatures but as a film, I cannot say that is really worth the general public’s time.