Having never seen the US version, only the English dub of the Japanese edit, I feel that this is an intelligent film, beautifully scored and photographed. Even the cornball ending, with Godzilla's "death" reducing everyone to tears and a pop song to play, gets to me

On the other hand, this shares many of the flaws of the Heisei films. The human characters are dull and unengaging, lacking the humourous touch that propped up many of the Showa films. The action sequences are slow, either due to the new suits or an ill judged attempt at realism, and some of the effects are badly judged, no more so than Godzilla's first appearence, where the sentry guard seems to be knee high to him