Review of Godzilla (1998) by Ganesh K — 04 Nov 2011

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not exactly a fan of Roland Emmerich's work, but I was intrigued to see what he would do with "Godzilla". I was hopeful during the film's opening moments. It looked like Emmerich was going to give the franchise the respect it deserves, but it dissolves into yet another "let's blow crap up" epic that we've come to expect from the auteur. There's no heart here, and the film takes itself way too seriously to even be campy fun like the earlier Japanese pictures. It's just big, loud and dumb.

The special effects are admittedly impressive as this is one bloated blockbuster where you can actually see the budget on the screen. Unfortunately once again, the problem is at the script level. It amazes me the money that the studios will pump into films like this without ever seeming to focus on the script. And the only thing that's less important than the script in a movie like this is the cast, and this is a hodgepodge of weird actors that don't seem to belong. Matthew Broderick is terribly miscast, but worse is co-star Maria Pitillo who plays Audrey but would be more at home playing Audrey in "LIttle Shop of Horrors".

Emmerich obviously wanted to up the excitement level by adding the element of the jolly green lizard's eggs hatching and a multitude of evil baby lizards, but that just makes the movie feel like a "Jurassic Park" clone. While watching the little buggers destroy Madison Square Garden, I had to keep reminding myself that I was watching "Godzilla". This big summer film is one missed opportunity after another.