Godzilla (1998)

"Independence Day" is one of my favorite science fiction movies and when I heard as a teenager that the creators were making a Godzilla movie, I was sold. As the years have passed since I saw this movie for the first time, the movie remains fun for me despite its shortcomings. Just like with the Star Wars prequels, I understand and can see all the faults with this movie but Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin know how to make a movie that is unapologetically fun (though they have apologized in recent years for messing up). The story structure has rising action and humor with the monster itself as the star.

While the filmmakers wanted to be distinct from Steven Spielberg’s "Jurassic Park" franchise, they did use parts of his "playbook". Godzilla is depicted as an animal instead of as a monster. I think one reason why critics hated "Godzilla" is that the creature resembled a T-rex. The baby Godzilla is also reminiscent of a raptor. There are plenty of references to the original monster but the filmmakers wanted to do their own version. The first victims of Godzilla for example in this movie are Japanese as the creature migrates towards "the city that never sleeps". It seems as though the filmmakers wanted to put this famous monster in New York City and see what would happen. That idea was fun enough to entertain me as a teen. This movie depicts an unprecedented Manhattan evacuation and ironically, this was only a few short years before a real Manhattan mass departure. Nick is established as quite an unlikely guy to be chosen to tackle Godzilla. This makes him appealing as an underdog but he is no Will Smith. You have to like Godzilla and so we get a moment where we see him fully for the first time and Nick gets a close-up look. Each action scene in this movie is more entertaining than the last so that is good. The wild card in this movie is the French guys. Do they have some sinister agenda? Because I first saw actor Jean Reno on "Mission: Impossible", I wondered whether that was the case when I first saw "Godzilla". The problem with that theory is that the French spy and hide but don't interfere nor sabotage the American military. They kidnap Nick because Caiman's news report mentions the French nuclear tests. Philippe and his men have to act quickly to eliminate this problem before France is blamed and they need Nick's help. Nick is able to ask the questions we need to so as to learn more about these mysterious French operatives. Once we learn that they are DGSE and as the story progresses, Philippe earns our trust. His patriotism is what won me over. I like the character of O'Neal but not because of his stuttering. Being on the front lines makes him automatically appealing maybe.

The stakes of the story get higher when Nick theorizes that Godzilla has a nest with eggs but every story needs a setback. Because Audrey betrayed Nick's trust, he is kicked out of the military investigation. I love that moment because Nick is completely in the dark about how the press found out about this theory while all the rest of the group looks to him for an explanation. You can tell Colonel Hicks believes Nick about the nest and doesn't want to lose Nick but higher officials tie his hands. We accept Godzilla's defeat in the Hudson because we know that Nick and his team will probably find the nest and have a fight of their own. Subsequently, I love the plot point of the nest's location. Suddenly every sports fan sits up in their chair when Nick and Philippe arrive at Madison Square Garden. My favorite sports references concern the New York Rangers by the way. I also like the plan of going live from the sports broadcast booth in order to alert the military. The broadcast is a winning moment for our heroes because Audrey gets to report the news, Nick proves his theory and the true impact of the nest is dramatically spelt out in a great sequence. One moment of the film completely had me fooled when I first saw it. Madison Square Garden is destroyed, Nick gets the girl and Animal & Philippe have a funny moment. David Arnold's score and the use of camera seem to conclude the movie until we hear the faint sound that by this point in the show is unmistakable. After an entertaining scene at "da Ga'dan", we next get one heck of a cab ride that almost goes "the wrong way". Nick is able to establish communication with O'Neil with quick thinking and it leads to an ultimate victory. At least Godzilla got the cab in the end. Thanks to good storytelling, we mourn his death as well as celebrate it. This is one of those movies with too many gags and jokes to name them all. Some of my favorites include the homeless fisherman who is impressed by the fish he has on the line. Another is when Animal can't get the tape in his camera until he calms down. As a videographer, I laugh at that. Then, Animal is a hero at the news office for getting the creature on tape but amidst the applause and praises from his co-workers, Animal is just happy to be alive. O'Neal's line, "We need...bigger guns." seems to be a reference to "Jaws" but its delivery and timing makes it original. I have to mention the reaction of the pilot who accidentally destroys the Chrysler Building. It is so blunt that it is hilarious. I also laugh when Nick has to find a change to use the payphone. This is not supposed to be all that funny but I laugh as well as Nick's scenes with the elevator. Finally, there is the line "Let me spell it out for you. I want you to blow up Madison Square Garden!"

One of my favorite story writing teams from the 90's and early 2000's, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, wrote an American Godzilla script in 1994 with Jan de Bont (the director of "Speed" and "Twister") as the planned director. Unfortuately, budget disputes caused Jan de Bond to leave the project and when Emmerich & Devlin took over, they made a lot of changes to the script. I wonder whether the original '94 version could have been better. "Godzilla" was my live action introduction to Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria. The character of Animal is your typical New Yorker in my opinion and so I guess that will do in lieu of no Will Smith character. I consider this movie to be my introduction to Kevin Dunn even though he had a small role on "Ghostbusters II". There are three Simpsons actors in this cast by the way. Azaria is one and you can tell that Harry Shearer is the voice of animated anchorman Kent Brockman. Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson) is the office secretary with the broken hand. There is also a spoof of film critic team Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in the form of Mayor Ebert and his assistant. The filmmakers did not get Siskel & Ebert's thumbs up on "Stargate" or "Independence Day" and so this was payback I guess. The name Tatopoulos comes from the production designer of this film, Patrick Tatopoulos (his name is in the opening credits). He worked for Emmerich & Devlin before on "Stargate" and "Independence Day" and continued to work for them on future films.

I miss the days when I can go to a movie and judge it without being influenced on what others say. With today's technology, it is hard to resist the temptation of peaking at a film's rating on the net before its release. Facebook also provides a lot of spoils. "Godzilla" came out at a time without such easily accessed information and so I liked it in 1998. I still do today. I think the reason for that is that this was my first ever Godzilla movie. I had nothing to compare it to. The film is fun because I choose to get into it. The story has a narrative that saves the best part of the movie for the end and it has good build-up.

4 Stars