Released: May 1998
Director: Roland Emmerich
Run Time: 139 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Distributor: Sony Pictures/Tri-Star Entertainment
Genre: Action/Science Fiction
Cast:
Matthew Broderick: Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
Jean Reno: Phillipe Roache
Maria Pitillo: Audrey Timmonds
Hank Azaria: Victor ‘Animal’ Palotti
Kevin Dunn: Colonel Hicks
Michael Lerner: Mayor Ebert
Harry Shearer: Charles Caiman
For 70 years, Godzilla has managed to entertain audiences around the world. Even if you never saw a Godzilla movie, you knew who and what the character was. Aside from James Bond, Godzilla’s the most recognizable character in pop culture. It all stemmed from that little black and white flick in 1954. Even though it was intended as a one-off film, it was so popular, more movies would end up being made. During the 60 and 70s, Godzilla got a little bit silly, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the stark contrast to the serious nature of the original film, the 70s-era Godzilla movies were more slip-stick funny. Everybody wanted in on the action, so there were knock-offs and spoofs, but we also ended up getting video games and comics. Godzilla was and still is a phenomenon. When America wanted to try its hand at making a Godzilla picture…well…let’s just say it wasn’t exactly what was expected.
Godzilla 98 follows Dr. Niko Tatopoulos as he’s digging up irradiated earthworms at Chernobyl to prove the mutating effects that radiation could have on a species. He’s immediately re-assigned when a Japanese fishing troller is attacked by an unknown force. Arriving in Tahiti, Niko is shown footprints made from an unbelievably large animal. They discover that the mysterious creature is heading towards New York City. One of the things that made the original Godzilla film work as well as it did was that it wasn’t just a monster movie, but an allegory for the dangers of nuclear power. The opening credits of this movie absolutely hammer it home. If we’re being honest here, this isn’t a Godzilla movie. More importantly, the creature here ISN’T Godzilla. There were a lot of issues going on with the movie before it went into production. Directors and writers kept changing, until Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin took charge. Seemed like an interesting idea, right? I mean, this dynamic writing-directing duo were riding high on the successes of Universal Solder(1992), Stargate(1994), and Independence Day(1996). So, it would make sense for Emmerich to direct a disaster movie. But here’s the problem: Emmerich’s ego got in the way. He was never a fan of Godzilla and he didn’t respect it. So, he and Devlin tossed out an earlier script that would’ve seen Godzilla be more of a heroic character like he was in the 70s. Nope. Also, instead of remaking the original film, Emmerich and Devlin simply made the creature an animal trying to survive.
Aside from the pre-production issues and rushed time schedule, this movie had an uphill battle the moment the marketing campaign started ramping up. The studio’s intention, I believe, was to try and appeal to both fans of Godzilla and people who were not. Unfortunately, the movie ended up alienating both camps. Why? First of all, the creature’s design. It looked more like an overgrown iguana than the massive nuclear-powered beast that everybody knew and loved. No, this creature was designed by effects artist Patrick Tatopoulos, and while I don’t think the design is bad, it’s not Godzilla. Not even close. On top of that, the CGI is extremely wonky. Watching the movie recently in high-definition, a lot of the CGI does NOT hold up well. Also, the film had serious issues with continuity when it came to the creature’s actual size. Some shots had this thing feeling massive, but some made the beast look small. When you’re making a kaiju movie, consistency is key. Combine that with some truly horrendous cinematography, and you have one ugly movie. The majority of the film is set at night during a massive rainstorm.
Let’s talk about the casting. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie so miscast in my entire life. I’ve got nothing against the actors in this movie as they’re doing their damnedest to make the movie entertaining. But Matthew Broderick as a nuclear biologist? Uh…okay. Maria Pitillo as Niko’s old flame? Kevin Dunn and French actor Jean Reno are the only two actors in this movie that really lend it ANY kind of credibility. There is little to no chemistry among the cast, especially between Broderick and Pitillo. Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer, two phenomenal voice actors from The Simpsons were not really given much to do with. Azaria plays Animal, the go-getting cameraman and Shearer plays Caiman, the sleazy, short-statured news anchor. The acting’s fine, but again, no chemistry and the writing for these characters is mostly abysmal. The humor in the film is also highly dubious, as Emmerich and Devlin poked fun at Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, with the characters of Mayor Ebert and his assistant, Gene. Ebert and Siskel were notorious for hating on Emmerich’s movies. The joke would’ve actually been funny if Mayor Ebert had either been eaten or stomped on. That would’ve been amazing, but they didn’t do that, because they didn’t have the spine.
As someone who is a fan of David Arnold’s musical work, his stuff here is all over the place. The music during the opening credits and when Zilla appears is truly epic. But he’s clearly re-using similar themes that he used from Independence Day. That’s not always unusual, we’ve seen other composers do it before: James Horner, John Williams, Bryan Tyler, Alan Silvestri. But here, it’s pretty obvious that Arnold didn’t really have the time for something truly memorable.
So, after all the crap that I’ve slung at this movie, I actually really like it. Why? First of all, the action sequences are pretty damned good. The combination of CGI and miniatures is fun, and watching the US Army do more damage to New York than Zilla is pretty funny. Even though the cinematography is kind of garbage, there’s no shaky cam and the lighting is good enough to see what’s going on. That’s always a plus. I’m not going to sugar-coat it, though: Godzilla 98 is a disaster. It underperformed a bit at the box office, but it still made money, just not enough to make a sequel, which is what the film-makers were kind of hoping for. That’s why they had the ending they did. That said, the movie did get a follow-up in the form of an animated series which ran from 1998-2000. It was actually better than the movie. However, TOHO, the folks that made Godzilla in the first place were PISSED at Emmerich and company for taking such a beloved IP and basically trashing it. When Tri-Star let the rights to Godzilla lapse in 2003, TOHO responded with Godzilla: Final Wars in which the 98 Zilla showed up only to get blown to smithereens by the OG Gojira. It was glorious.
Again, I don’t actually hate this movie. I had a lot of fun with it, and I’m a huge Godzilla fan. Yeah, I preferred the guy-in-the-suit movies, but I think Godzilla 98 was fun enough if you took it on its own terms. America would not make another Godzilla movie until the 2014 film, which was absolutely phenomenal. Also, last year’s Godzilla: Minus One is the best Godzilla movie since 1954. You can’t keep a good kaiju down.