Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
Director:
Roland Emmerich
Cast:
Matthew Broderick……….Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
Jean Reno……….Philippe Roaché
Maria Pitillo……….Audrey Timmonds
Hank Azaria……….Victor ‘Animal’ Palotti
Kevin Dunn……….Colonel Hicks
Michael Lerner……….Mayor Ebert
Harry Shearer……….Charles Caiman, WIDF Anchor
Arabella Field……….Lucy Palotti
Vicki Lewis……….Dr. Elsie Chapman
Doug Savant……….Sergeant O’Neal
Malcolm Danare……….Dr. Mendel Craven
Lorry Goldman……….Gene, Mayor’s Aide
Christian Aubert……….Jean-Luc
Philippe Bergeron……….Jean-Claude
Frank Bruynbroek……….Jean-Pierre
The Movie
Roland Emmerich had a particular way in which he wanted to bring a modern version of Godzilla to the screen. The legendary monster, initially inspired by Japanese fears of nuclear weapons & testing, seemed ripe to be a summer blockbuster with a $125 million dollar budget behind it in 1998. Emmerich had the commercially successful and critically panned films Independence Day and Stargate behind him; What better way to try and top both of those than to remake the film that spawned monster movies into a gallant special effects extravaganza?
And on paper, 1998’s Godzilla was a great idea. The beast could be updated from being a guy in a rubber suit into a much more modern beast with the power of CGI. Throw in a good cast, add in the city of New York to trash, and even take a couple mean-spirited jabs at Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel for panning the aforementioned successes and what one is left with is a cataclysmically awful attempt at a modern monster movie so bad that it inspired a whole new generation of Godzilla movies to erase the stench out of the mind of the public.
Looking more like a gigantic lizard meshed with a reject from Jurassic Park as opposed to an extra sized monster, the beast itself is radically different than it was in the past. Whereas Godzilla had mostly been a predator, destroying things at will, in this version it employed guerilla warfare and runs from the military pursuing it. Between the beast laying eggs, its relatively weak ending, some boring and ultimately fruitless sub-plots and its complete and total dismantling of everything that made the original so breathtakingly original and creative.
But it does look amazing; you can give Emmerich credit for not completely screwing everything up. The big action sequences are mildly amusing and watching various New York landmarks get destroyed or damaged is absurdly entertaining. The film’s entire focus is to look pretty and yet is so idiotic and insulting from a storyline, acting, direction and editing standpoint that even the best of CGI graphics can’t save this film from being anything more than the colossal disappointment its box office returns showed.
Score : 3 / 10
The Video
This is a visual film first and foremost and the transfer doesn’t disappoint. Presented in a widescreen format with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the transfer looks great with vibrant colors coming through in the darkness of the film.
The Audio
With a Dolby 5.1 surround sound, the film’s audio matches its video. This is an effects driven film and a bad audio track would dampen a lot of the visuals Emmerich uses. It’s a great surround sound with wonderful separation, pushing the envelope to keep up with the video transfer.
The Extras
All new best of Godzilla fight scenes is a compilation of Godzilla fight scenes from the massive library that is the Godzilla franchise set to techno music. It’s a series of badly-clipped action sequences that shows bits and pieces of fight sequences intended to induce the purchase of the newly released Godzilla movies.
3 episodes from the “Godzilla” animated series are included. The series ran from 1998 to 2000, coinciding with the release of the much-maligned movie. Godzilla sits on a weird moral plane in this cartoon, as it follows the original film series in terms of developing Godzilla the character yet giving him the look from the film. It’s an interesting take on the beast that’s shockingly well-written.
Featurette is an extended Electronic Press Kit piece about the film that runs around seven minutes.
Production Art and Publicity stills galleries provide all sorts of pictures about the film to look at.
Godzilla takes New York with before and after shots is a series of shots featuring Godzilla and his trek through New York.
“Heroes” music video by The Wallflowers
Special effects supervisor commentary
Score : 7.5 / 10
