Godzilla (1998) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Toho made a pop culture icon out of Godzilla and Hollywood has had a habit remaking Asian classics which is exactly what happened in 1998, which was not worth it at all.
PLOT
The film begins showing an iguana be exposed of a military nuclear test in French Polynesia. Years later, it was spotted attacking a Japanese cannery vessel; Those who survived name it ‘Gojira’. NRC scientist Niko Tatopoulos is pulled from researching Chernobyl to investigate the trail left by the creature in Panama and Jamaica. Looking over the skin samples, he is sure it’s in fact a nuclear mutant instead of an old dinosaur like some presume. It then reaches the Eastern American Seaboard and causes mayhem onto New York. The military would later try to lure it with a large pile of fish as bait, but they fail due to the creature’s size and agility. When Nick reunites with his ex girlfriend, aspiring reporter Audrey Timmonds, he checks blood samples to confirm it is an asexual that is about to lay a nest. Behind his back, Audrey steals a classified tape hoping to start her career. Instead, her superior Charles Caiman steals her reports and dubs the creature ‘Godzilla’ instead. With Nick getting removed from the operation due to the tape being disclosure, he meets French secret service agent Philippe Roaché who admits his country is responsible for Godzilla’s creation and wants to help him find the nest in order to destroy it. However, Audrey’s friend, cameraman Victor ‘Animal’ Palotti followed and overheard their plan, chooses to go for a scoop and Audrey tags along hoping to set things right with Nick. As Godzilla evades a second attempt of bait on the surface, it dives into the Hudson River only to be attacked by Navy submarines. As that happens, Nick and Philippe find the nest within Madison Square Garden and the eggs instantly hatch to attack everyone on sight that carries the scent of fish. Most of Philippe’s forces are devoured and by the time he and Nick encounter Audrey & Animal, they’re able to send a live coverage at the venue’s broadcast booth to ensure the nest is destroyed. They get out in a short period of time, only to find Godzilla emerge still alive and angry for the loss of its nest. He chases the protagonists who in turn alert Sergeant O’Neal (Doug Savant) where to follow them via taxi, giving them coordinates where Godzilla will be heading. Ultimately, Godzilla gets trapped in the Brooklyn Bridge and is left vulnerable to be fatally shot down by fighter jets. As the world celebrates defeating the creature, Audrey not only makes up with Nick, but chooses to quit working for Caiman. Phillipe leaves with Animal’s tape of what happened at the Garden and calls Nick with a promise to return it after editing specific contents on behalf of his agency. The film ends in a cliffhanger revealing one egg from the ruins of the Garden to have survive and begin hatching.
THOUGHTS
Tristar had the worst task in trying to make Godzilla Hollywood’s own in changing so much everything that had made it work for so long. This should’ve been an epic remake off of Director Roland Emmerich’s past success with Independence Day, but everything he cowrote with Dean Devlin, Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio was just downright wrong for all Kaiju fans to bare witness. I don’t even feel any excitement when it came to David Arnold’s score. The design for Zilla himself is interesting as he’s supposed to be based off of a lizard, but it’s just too different from the formula we’re used to. The only time I was really into it was the closeups done for the hatchlings due to practical costumes used. Knowing this makes it very ironic how the cartoon sequel is ten times better than what the hell we got here. I cannot give the same credit with the former because the needed VFX is quickly outdated which is a shame since the teasers made him look cooler. It’s also a trip he doesn’t have atomic breath because that made him more intimidating apart from his mass. And just because he’s a reptile doesn’t really mean he should be an asexual animal. That’s where you just go against everything we know of an iconic monster. I know this is supposed to be a tale showing what happens when nature is treated with arrogance, but the ensemble leaves me bored since I don’t really connect with any of them. The best examples can go to the side characters since Kevin Dunn makes a believable leader as Colonel Hicks and Michael Lerner is straight up hilarious as the egotistical Mayor Ebert who almost exploited Godzilla until he was told not to, but I feel nothing when seeing Vicki Lewis as paleontologist Elsie Chapman. She straight up does nothing compared to Nick after he figures out everything about Godzilla. She should’ve just went home because she didn’t lay out any ideas after the dinosaur theory and I just don’t give a shit when she gets in the moment kissing her colleague, Mendel Craven (Malcolm Danare), to celebrate Godzilla’s defeat. And I know we all love Hank Azaria for all the credits he has for The Simpsons, but Animal doesn’t interest me either as the one who’s got his own dedication for a money shot of a news report. That’s just something that doesn’t fit for a monster movie like Godzilla even when he gets a handful of good material. There’s misplaced and there’s miscasted. Who is best defined for the latter? It would easily be Matthew Broderick as Nick Tatopoulos because he’s just too quirky for the role. He’s a smart guy that does his best in being principled, but his social awkward vibe feels distracting. I’m not even connecting with his chemistry alongside Maria Portillo as the ambitious Audrey. It’s very clear that she didn’t accept his marriage proposal when they were in college because she was focused in building a career she would lose her passion. If she made the mistake involving a story unrelated to Godzilla, I don’t think Nick would be so forgiving. And the only reason she wants to redeem herself because she thought Nick was gonna die. She likely would’ve waited out her redemption had there not been the factor of a giant monster. She does the right thing quitting her job since her boss took advantage of her, but she’s still got a long way to go with Nick after this.  Deep down, the only one that interested me was Philippe because Jean Reno is able to play it straight as a badass spy, but doesn’t feel one noted. He’s a guy that cares most to clean up a big mess his country is responsible for and is willing to trust an inexperienced Nick for having an equal motive. Apart from that, there’s another set of things that don’t make much sense. Like there is no cameraman next to Philippe when he asks the fisherman what he saw. While I’m trying to figure out how long was the fisherman’s pole, I refuse to believe that delivery driver’s headphones were loud enough to not hear Godzilla running a rampage. That scratched my head harder than wondering why was the station playing Barney when it doesn’t seem like there were any kids inside the waiting area. And for a creature as big as Godzilla shouldn’t be able to flee undetected when it’s leaving a destructive trail behind. Also, it’s pretty much on Nick to leave the top secret tapes out in the open. Even if he doesn’t expect Audrey to do that, he needs to treat this government assignment serious. It’s then dumb how the French don’t have security outside their hideout to keep people like Animal from snooping around. And come on, I’m not fooled with the debris not hitting anyone when the bombs hit the Garden. Lastly, I refuse to believe Godzilla no matter how smart he may be, knows that the protagonists were gonna reach the Brooklyn Bridge and be able to get there before them. In short, 1998’s Godzilla is a horrible remake for lacking everything we loved about it before. You want an upgrade? Watch the Monsterverse and Minus One to pretend you didn’t see such bullshit of a movie.