CHAD’S GRADE: C-
It must have been a tantalizing proposition for Tri-Star executives back in 1996. Do an American version of Godzilla, utilizing the state-of-the-art visual effects showcased in Jurassic Park, directed by the guy who just did Independence Day.
An Americanized Godzilla had been propositioned many times during the early ’90s, with Tri Star almost pulling the trigger on a version directed by Jan De Bont, who was basking in the success of his 1994 hit “Speed.” And De Bont even approached stars, Bill Paxton & Helen Hunt, to star. But De Bont wanted a massive budget that made executives nervous, so he parted ways and went on to direct 1996’s tornado epic “Twister” for Warner Bros (which incidentally starred Bill Paxton & Helen Hunt in the leads.)
Enter director Roland Emmerich and his producing partner Dean Devin. The pair were on a roll with the surprise 1994 hit “Stargate” and the 1996 blockbuster smash “Independence Day,” a film that came to define the 90’s action movie aesthetic. While the duo had no special affinity for the famed Toho creature, the project seemed a good fit for their big spectacle sensibilities. They were given the green light and reworked the original Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio script (the pair retain a story credit.)
While all these ingredients looked promising on paper, the result is a terrible movie with all of director Roland Emmerich’s worst impulses on display. The only nice thing I can say is that Emmerich assembled an eclectic group of actors, among them Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, and Hank Azaria, all of whom should have fired their agents after seeing the finished product.
In this 1998 version, Godzilla is a mutated lizard iguana born from the atomic radiation tests during the 1950s and has now started to make his presence known. The massive creature makes landfall on the island of Manhattan, causing all sorts of mayhem. He knocks down the famed Chrysler building and lays waste to the Brooklyn Bridge (thankfully, he spares the pre 9/11 twin towers). Tracking the big G is Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick) and French secret service agent Philippe Roache (Jean Reno). Later they are joined by Nick’s ex-girlfriend Audrey (Maria Pitillo), an ambitious reporter, and her cameraman Victor (Hank Azaria)
Soon, Nick suspects that Godzilla is asexual and is pregnant, using a home pregnancy test (I’m not making this up), and has come to turn Manhattan into his new nesting ground. Why he chooses one of the most populous and crowded islands to reproduce is never explained. It’s just one of the many plot holes that riddle the film.
With a property like Godzilla, it’s a tricky balancing act melding big monster size thrills with a human-size plot to propel the story. And what director Emmerich specializes in is the big spectacle. The film’s first 20 minutes are quite strong, with shrouded shots of Godzilla tearing apart deep-sea shipping vessels. And when the massive creature rises from the ocean and starts to lay waste to New York, it’s a giddy and exciting sequence. Emmerich smartly films these early scenes from the ground up, showing the destruction from a human perspective. There’s even a standout sequence in the destroyed Madison Square Garden, where Nick and his crew stumble upon Godzilla’s hundreds of eggs hatching. It’s great fun to watch the cast dodge and hide from baby Godzillas in the cavernous complex, even if it’s ripped from the velociraptor set piece in “Jurassic Park.”
The film loses momentum in the second half, where the filmmakers switch to the more traditional wide shots showing Godzilla rampaging through a maze-like Manhattan. There are three sequences featuring air force helicopters chasing and firing on the great lizard. And the final scene where an angry Godzilla chases Ferris and company (oops, I meant Nick) in a cab after destroying his nest defies the laws of physics, an Emmerich specialty.
But it’s the human storyline where the film ultimately falls apart. Broderick is an odd choice to headline a big creature feature, and he’s terribly flat playing a wide-eyed, idealistic scientist. You desperately want him to break the fourth wall and give the audience his famed Ferris smirk. Jean Reno is a little better, playing the tough and mysterious French agent, but he’s also an odd fit. And the film’s truly awful performance is from Maria Pitillo playing love interest Audrey, who’s saddled with whiny, grating dialogue. There’s a terrible subplot of her news manager sexually harassing her that’s played for laughs and is downright offensive in the post “me too” era.
Director Emmerich had these same issues on “Independence Day.” Still, he had charismatic actors like Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith (in his star-making turn) to paper over the significant plot holes. No such luck here, despite the welcome presence of Matthew Broderick, and it renders this “Godzilla” unwatchable.
The biggest sin is the filmmaker’s decision to redesign Godzilla from top to bottom. Why spend thousands of dollars for the Godzilla name, only to jettison the familiar Japanese designs? I wish someone had asked the filmmakers that question because we get an uninspired mishmash of an iguana and the velociraptor from Jurassic Park. This deeply angered the passionate Godzilla fans that nicknamed the film GINO (Godzilla in name only).
And GINO is the film’s problem in a nutshell. You can tell that Emmerich and Devlin had no love of the Godzilla brand and this train wreck is the result. In a few late scenes, we get very little of the giant lizard’s trademark roar and his famed atomic breath. The final climax sums up the film perfectly. As Godzilla becomes tangled up in the wires from the Brooklyn Bridge, the Air Force mercilessly fires and kills the majestic creature. It’s a cruel and brutal scene, with none of the pathos that Godzilla’s forbearer King Kong managed to produce. The great Japanese beast deserved better. And thankfully, there’s a much-improved 2014 version that mostly nails the great Godzilla lore.