Godzilla (1998) (Movie Review)

   Way back when I was just a little kid, I was obsessed with giant movie monsters, and the one who always stood front and center for me was Godzilla. No joke, I grew up watching an old VHS collection of all the original Japanize Godzilla movies, I had a huge collection of Godzilla toys, pajama’s, bed sheets … you name it. Back then, I viewed Godzilla like a super hero ... but where did it all start? What kicked off my childhood obsession with the legendary king of the monsters? Well, surprise, surprise … it all started in 1998 with the American remake simply titled “Godzilla”. I was somewhere between six and seven years old, and I distinctly remember how thrilled I was, as it was actually one of the very first PG-13 movies I ever saw in the theater. At the time, it made me feel like a big boy watching more exciting forms of entertainment rather than my usual cartoons. 

I also remember being consumed by all the marketing, advertising, toy tie-ins, and for completely nostalgic reasons, I still have one of those Taco Bell Godzilla cup holders. More to the point, there was a time in which I absolutely adored this film, and that old VHS tape with Godzilla’s glaring eye on the cover was a crowning piece of my collection. However, I’m now a grown adult who prior to this post hasn’t watched the movie in over fifteen years. Yet, with the brand-new American Godzilla films bringing in audiences, it’s gotten me curious (and even a little excited) to look back at America’s first attempt at a Godzilla movie. It’s no secret that this film has gained a reputation as not only the worst thing under the monsters banner, but one of the absolute worst movies to ever come out of the 90’s. While I can’t defend this film from its mostly deserved reputation, I still want to try and look for positives to highlight. Maybe I’m blinded by nostalgia goggles, maybe there is some good, or maybe it’s all terrible, but either way, I’m excited to look back on the film that kick started my love for one of the greatest giant movie monsters of all time.      

  The movie begins with what I can only describe as … a damn good opening credit sequence. It’s all set to a montage of orange tinted stock footage of both nuclear testing and nature shots of lizards. While viewing this as a kid, I didn’t understand the context of this, yet there was still something about the select shots, the distant radio countdown, and the ominous music building that always gave me chills. Even that iconic shot of the mushroom cloud has been ingrained in my head thanks to this opening. 

So, the film actually has a very strong opening, and even the first fifteen to twenty minutes of build-up in the first act are quite good. We begin with Godzilla sinking a boat out at sea, yet all we see of the monster is a quick shot of it's tail. We then see a traumatized survivor in a recovery room, who upon being asked what he saw, can only respond by repeating one name … “Godzilla”, or maybe it’s “Gojira”. It’s actually an effective enough scene, and I also love the following sequences in which the military find giant footprints out in the open. The beast eventually makes its way to Manhattan Island, and even in his first attack, we still don’t get a clear picture of what he looks like, which is great. Unfortunately, once the military draw the monster out into the open, and we see Godzilla in full form, the film nose dives into a sink whole which it can’t escape from. The intriguing build-up is over, and from this point on, the film is stuck in a loop in which we see Godzilla running around buildings during rainy nights with the military shooting at him.

   It gets so repetitive that it’s hard to separate one action sequence from the other, and Godzilla for whatever reason isn’t doing that much damage to his surroundings … in fact, the military are responsible for more destruction then he is. I should note that this was the first movie to introduce me to the classic monster movie formula, in which a giant beast of some sort is set loose in a populated area, and armed forces need to kill it. There’s nothing wrong with the formula, but one of two key ingredients need to be established in order to make it work. 

The first is that there needs to be some kind of emotional core to anchor down all the destruction, and this film really has no soul beneath all the mayhem. The second is that there needs to be a sense of tension and dread to make the monsters appearances more exciting. While I can’t say that the original 1954 “Godzilla” was a scary film, it at least maintained a dark, serious and foreboding mood, which enriched the experience with a lot of atmosphere. There was even a good deal of subtext behind the movie, as Godzilla was being portrayed as an allegory for the atom bomb, and the devastation of a country that witnesses its devastation. This American Godzilla by contrast has nothing meaningful under the surface and is basically just a big monster stopping though a city. On a side note, this film was responsible for introducing me to the majority of New York’s famous land marks, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Madisyn Square Garden, the Hudson River and the Chrysler Building, so that was educational.

   I suppose I should quickly zip though the human characters, who leave much to be desired. For whatever it’s worth, this was the film that introduced me to the actors Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria, and helped me put a face to them. While I’d obviously see them both in better roles, this is still the movie I find myself looking back on when I think of those two names. 

The one salvageable character in the whole film is a French secret service agent played by Jean Reno. While an admittedly stock character, I still love the guys laid back performance, and slight cool factor. When I was a kid, he was the only human character I remember singling out as someone to cheer for. I also didn’t mind some of the smaller military characters, who I think could have held the film if they were the only other humans to focus on. Unfortunately, we have a very boring girlfriend character, who hijacks way too much of this film. She has this detailed sub-plot about trying to progress her carrier as a reporter, but she’s under the mercy of a boss who’s always trying to flirt with her, and she also has a cliched best friend with a pompous New York attitude, and … who cares, why is all this in the movie? It doesn’t help that the girlfriend’s performance by young Maria Pitillo is absolutely hilarious. It’s so off-putting that she won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. Also, her romantic relationship with Matthew Broderick’s character is about as lifeless as Godzilla’s CGI effects. Then there’s that odd Mayer, who along with his advisor are modeled after the critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel ... and I think they speak for themselves. It’s also worth noting that no-one ever acts phased by the appearance of a giant monster. Sure, they run away, but once an action sequence ends, the human characters go right back to talking like it was another day at the office, which further emphasizes this films lack of an emotional anchor.       

            

  Lets finally talk about Godzilla himself as portrayed in this film. For the most part, Godzilla is CGI, as opposed to his classic rubber suit, although there are select moments in which Godzilla is played by a guy in a costume. The criticism’s aimed at the monster itself have been universal from day one. This Godzilla doesn’t breathe fire, he’s all hunched over, way too acrobatic, significantly smaller and noticeably weaker, as his armored skin for whatever reason isn’t indestructible in this film. One little detail that always amused me was the whimsically inspiring musical score that always seemed to follow Godzilla whenever he makes an appearance. I have to say, I’ve never had a problem with Godzilla’s re-design in this film, in fact I actually kind of like it. The original Japanese Godzilla is so classic looking that I always felt an American version should have its own original design to stand apart. This Godzilla looks nothing like his foreign counterpart, and I felt it helped give the monster its own unique identity. What I can’t defend is the painfully dated CGI effects that brought the monster to life. I remember thinking he looked awesome as a kid, but these creature effects have not aged well at all.

  I was at least surprised to see a fair amount of practical effects in the film, and they’ve actually held up. All the buildings, explosions, and military vehicles are all practical visuals with real models, and it’s really become a dying art to see effects of this sort in a summer blockbuster. The same kind of effects were used two years earlier with “Independence Day”, which isn’t surprising as Roland Emmerich and his team were behind the creation of both movies. Of course, it made for very effective marketing to promote “Godzilla” as a new film from the creators of “Independence Day”. 

Now when I first saw this movie as a kid, I hadn’t yet seen too many films in my time, so it was really amusing to look back on this film as an adult and catch all the little nods and winks made to other movies. For example, when Godzilla makes his first appearance in front of the military, the camera tightens up on Matthew Broderick, which was a call back to the camera work in “Jaws”, when the shark makes its first public attack in front of the main characters. Even the line “We need bigger guns” is a call back to “We need a bigger boat”, also from “Jaws”. There’re of course countless references to “Jurassic Park”, right down to the monster appearing in the rain just like the T-Rex. One little call back to the T-Rex that really worked in this film were the distant footsteps causing things to trimmer. There’s a brief moment when a giant Octopus is seen on a TV screen, which was a clip to the 1950’s monster flick “It Came from Beneath the Sea”, which was subsequently my first window into a larger world of classic B monster movies. Of course, there’s also a painfully forced moment in which Barney the dinosaur briefly appears on a TV screen. Then there’s the scene in which we see Godzilla’s eye opening while framed in a tunnel entrance, which has always stuck with me as a memorable image, and was recreated again with the dragon in “Shrek”.    

        

  Now apparently someone on the writing staff for this film took note of how repetitive it was for the movie to single its attention on one monster stomping through the city. Thus, we get a sup-plot involving Baby Godzilla … lots of them. While there is a Baby Godzilla who’s a prominent character in the Japanese films, this is nothing like that character at all, in fact there’s over 200 Baby Godzilla’s in this movie, and clearly modeled off the Raptors from “Jurassic Park”. 

Our team of heroes learn that Godzilla nested in Madison Square Garden, so they go in to scramble the eggs, only for them to hatch, and chase the survivors through the interiors of the building. This was yet another addition to the film that was heavily criticized, but speaking personally … this is my favorite sequence of the film. It’s the only action-set piece that stands apart from all the repetitive military battles, and I’ve always loved the concept of a small group of people trapped in a tight setting with monsters on the hunt. Seeing this as a kid was actually the perfect thing to wet my appetite for when I’d eventually watch “Aliens” and get a thrill from seeing the space marines in close quarter battles with ravaging monsters. The effects for these Baby Godzilla’s are once again a mixed bag, as some are terrific looking practical animatronics, while other shots are really bad CGI. Like, the full-grown Godzilla looked dated, but the special effects for these little creatures are far worse. There’re also some really goofy moments, like how a pack of these savage beasts can easily get thwarted by knocked over gumballs. 

  Eventually, our heroes succeed in whipping-out the nest, but unfortunately, it also makes mama Godzilla angry. Now, it’s really sad when the most emotional moment of the film comes from a giant monster reacting to seeing her barbecued children ... oh, that little scene always got to me. We then segue into the climax, in which Godzilla relentlessly chases after our four principle characters. This is when the action gets so laughable, it honestly becomes a self-parody. We have a giant monster failing to keep up with a taxi cab, it trips over a metaphorical banana peel, gets blinded by headlights that aren’t even aimed at his eyes, and in the most anti-climactic finale you could ask for, he gets gunned down by the military. Godzilla’s death is shot and scored like some kind of epic tragedy, which might have worked if there weren’t so many corny elements. For instance, before Godzilla collapses, it actually locks eyes with Matthew Broderick’s character, as if they had some kind of emotional connection this whole time. I will say that I’ve always loved that final close up shot of Godzilla’s eye losing its light, and the lids slowly close … that was effective. The movie ends revealing that one of the eggs survived, hatches into a new born Godzilla, and basically sets up a sequel that never happens.

  I distinctly remember being a kid and waiting in high anticipation for the next film, but it just never came. There was at least an animated TV show, which continued the story, and I remember watching it as part of the Fox Kids line-up. When the movie “Godzilla 2000” came out two years later, I thought for sure it was the sequel I was anticipating, but it turned out to be a launching pad for a new Japanese series. 

However, there were references to the American film in the following Japanese films. The American Godzilla itself even made a surprise appearance in the last film of the Millennium series titled “Godzilla Final Wars”, in which it briefly battles the classic Godzilla. In the end, the nostalgia bug has me for the 1998 remake of “Godzilla”. Especially with all the little details that constantly remind us it was made in the 90’s, like Kodak disposable cameras, Blockbuster videos, and Sonny Bata tapes. However, this is obviously still a bad movie, and one deserving of its reputation. It at least started on a good note, then got repetitive, and concluded with an embarrassing ending. Still, even though this film was a failure, it’s never injured me any. I did enjoy the film for a short time, and while it certainly hasn’t aged well, I was still highly amused by my little re-visit. When it comes to monster movies or disaster movies in general, it all comes down to one simple question … was I entertained? Well ... yes ... I was entertained ... just for all the wrong reasons ... so take that for what it’s worth. 

Thanks for reading my review of the 1998 American remake of “Godzilla” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!