This movie is probably one of those movies that, for some people, is so bad it’s good. At the very least, it’s a classic example of why Roland Emmerich films are the bane of many people’s movie experiences.
Godzilla is a reimagining of the Japanese monster from the ’60s and ’70s. In this movie, Dr. Niko Tatopolous (Matthew Broderick) is employed by the army and, later, the French Secret Service, to stop Godzilla, a monster that is, in this movie, a lizard that was mutated from nuclear testing.
Speaking from a personal level, I first saw this film when I was a little kid, a time when my movie sophistication was still maturing. I liked it then, so I still have fond memories now, even when I rewatched it this evening and saw many plotholes and areas where the dialogue and action could’ve been tighter. I’ll even go so far as to say that I like the idea behind a lot of Emmerich scripts and films, particularly because when you watch an Emmerich film, you know the formula, and you know the good people will win in the end. There’s never a twist ending. I think Independence Day is probably the only Emmerich movie to where his formula is used to the film’s advantage, and I also think that his writing style is the tightest, most cohesive script he’s ever written.
However, like I said, there are a lot of mistakes in Godzilla. First, there’s the creature itself. A lot of people got p-o’ed when they saw that Godzilla was portrayed as less than a reckless, scary animal. In this movie, he was portrayed in a more sympathetic light, with the focus of the story more on human interaction than just “Kill the animal!” Secondly, there are way too many human characters in this movie, which creates too many diversions. Broderick’s character and his love interest Audrey (Maria Pitillo) have a moment; the head of the army Colonel Hicks (Kevin Dunn) and the young, bumbling Sergeant O’Neal (Doug Savant) are trying to stop Godzilla; Mayor Ebert (Michael Lerner) and his aptly-named aide Gene (Lorry Goldman) are trying to spin the entire situation in a way to increase his ratings in order for Ebert to get re-elected; Phillipe Roaché (Jean Reno), the leader of the small group of French Secret Servicemen, is trying to help his country’s image, etc. Too many storylines for a movie that’s supposed to simply be about a group of people trying to save their city from a giant lizard!
Speaking of the city, the major plotline of the movie is that Godzilla has traveled all the way from the French Polynesian islands to New York City to nest (he’s now an “it”; he’ reproduces asexually) begs the question: why does Godzilla need to go to New York? Why wouldn’t he travel to a place that is similar to his original habitat? Why would he leave his home anyway? Even if he did leave home, couldn’t he conceivably have gone east to China or Europe, or…Japan?!
Finally, all of the Emmerich tropes are there: the people standing there, staring at danger instead of running away; the slightly annoying humor; time out for a love interest; marginal side characters, etc. But along with all of these themes, there are a ton of homages to the two movies this film has patterned itself after–Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park 2. This film came out a few years after these movies came out, and the market for the next dinosaur movie was wide open.
I think that overall, this movie filled that void for a dinosaur movie, and actually, the movie, for all of its faults, is a decent way to spend an afternoon. Just don’t think too much.
I was a kid when i watched that and of course I was amazed. But when I got older I thought the movie was “meh”. The original godzilla is really huge, and the American godzilla just doesn’t seem like giant enough.
I don’t think the director makes poor movies. I liked The Patriot and Independence Day.
Oh I remember this when I was little! I watched the VHS too much
Now I don’t really like it, especially the lame storyline, but I still love watching the scene where they’re trapped in that building/stadium/whatever it is.