The 1954 Japanese classic film Godzilla is very good as a horror film and a fun movie, which was thankfully recently given Criterion treatment. Alas, in the West the film has not always been available in its true form. In 1956 it was butchered thoroughly, massively edited and manipulated into Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, a goofy movie in badly dubbed English. If that weren't enough, in 1998 the Americans decided to butcher Godzilla again, with a movie about as bad- Godzilla, by the makers of the smash hit Independence Day (1996).
Because of my love of Independence Day as a youth, when I saw Godzilla '98 in theatres I assumed I had to like it, and tried to convince myself it was a good movie, much as with Batman and Robin the year before. Time has made me realize how much of that was self-deception, however. Godzilla '98 is loud and often stupid, and the action scenes never really blew me away. Most of the damage to New York City in the film is done not by Godzilla but by the army trying to kill the creature. The moments of comic relief all fall flat (we were supposed to be rolling over laughing every time someone called Broderick "the worm guy"). The movie repeatedly pulls the same tricks, with people thinking they're clear of danger before Godzilla pops up suddenly again. The dialogue is often painful, as adult characters interact as if they were children ("You were supposed to be my friend, I trusted you.")
Some parts defy logic. Why can't the military ever actually shoot Godzilla? Are we really supposed to believe Godzilla can pick up a car in his mouth and crunch on it but the car and people inside it are still functioning? The Nostalgia Critic also did a good job illustrating how the "Babyzilla" scenes imitate the raptor scenes in Jurassic Park (1993).
Admittedly, I still love this movie's soundtrack. "Macy Day Parade" by Michael Penn and "Untitled" by Silverchair are beautiful songs, though unfortunately they don't seem to be in the film itself, which favours "Come With Me" by Puff Daddy which is only sort of okay because it sounds like "Kashmir." The special effects are mostly good, although we don't actually get a good look at Godzilla besides his feet. The movie also had an attractive ad campaign. One commercial showed Godzilla stepping on and destroying a tyrannosaur fossil, and that unfortunately isn't in the movie either. Ultimately, Godzilla '98 has none of the charm of the Japanese original, and is more of a cliché Hollywood disaster movie.
Because of my love of Independence Day as a youth, when I saw Godzilla '98 in theatres I assumed I had to like it, and tried to convince myself it was a good movie, much as with Batman and Robin the year before. Time has made me realize how much of that was self-deception, however. Godzilla '98 is loud and often stupid, and the action scenes never really blew me away. Most of the damage to New York City in the film is done not by Godzilla but by the army trying to kill the creature. The moments of comic relief all fall flat (we were supposed to be rolling over laughing every time someone called Broderick "the worm guy"). The movie repeatedly pulls the same tricks, with people thinking they're clear of danger before Godzilla pops up suddenly again. The dialogue is often painful, as adult characters interact as if they were children ("You were supposed to be my friend, I trusted you.")
Some parts defy logic. Why can't the military ever actually shoot Godzilla? Are we really supposed to believe Godzilla can pick up a car in his mouth and crunch on it but the car and people inside it are still functioning? The Nostalgia Critic also did a good job illustrating how the "Babyzilla" scenes imitate the raptor scenes in Jurassic Park (1993).
Admittedly, I still love this movie's soundtrack. "Macy Day Parade" by Michael Penn and "Untitled" by Silverchair are beautiful songs, though unfortunately they don't seem to be in the film itself, which favours "Come With Me" by Puff Daddy which is only sort of okay because it sounds like "Kashmir." The special effects are mostly good, although we don't actually get a good look at Godzilla besides his feet. The movie also had an attractive ad campaign. One commercial showed Godzilla stepping on and destroying a tyrannosaur fossil, and that unfortunately isn't in the movie either. Ultimately, Godzilla '98 has none of the charm of the Japanese original, and is more of a cliché Hollywood disaster movie.