Ignore the Ratings above 5 stars and those below 5 stars!

Rating: 5/10 (1 June 2014)

5 stars out of 10 is the fairest rating this movie should be given. Here's why: Godzilla the "monster" is magnificent -- great CG and Godzilla has more character than any of the actors. The physical swimming and fighting scenes with Godzilla are spectacular. That rates by itself at least 9 stars, but everything else in this movie rates no more than 1 star. The talent of the best actors in this movie is totally wasted: Juliette Binoche dies early in the movie, and Alan Cranston soon after. Ken Wantanabe is a token Japanese, and his skinny female sidekick is...worthless -- no roles were fully fleshed out or very well written, and the lead actor is wooden and one-dimensional, portraying a Navy explosives expert who miraculously is a lone survivor of absolutely every skirmish he's involved in, and is not only given a perfectly fitting Army uniform but Army firearms as well simply because he meets up with the Army, and suddenly becomes a trained paratrooper capable of sky-diving from 30,000 feet and landing perfectly in a clear area of a physically demolished San Francisco. Should I next mention the molded plastic monsters that Godzilla fights, one of which flies and one of which, the intended mate, cannot? Or the female's egg sack that no one shoots? Or, once the egg sacs are laid, a rip-off from the movie "Aliens" takes place? And the ending of this movie could not be any more contrived and hokey. Please, people who ripped the previous Godzilla flick with Matthew Broderick have no business rating this movie any higher. If you want to see a truly original, modern take on the idea of the original Godzilla, but with engaging human characters, then stick with "Cloverfield".