Godzilla (1998)

After Toho released Godzilla vs. Destoroyah in 1995 they decided it was time to give the big guy a break, even though they had left that movie open for possible sequels as Godzilla's meltdown at the end was absorbed by Baby Godzilla, leading to the offspring to become full grown.  Regardless, that path was not explored, and Toho decided to let Hollywood have a go at the property.

Despite Godzilla being influenced by The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and King Kong, it had been a long time since America had a giant monster destroying its cities.  Giant irradiated creatures were a thing in the 1950s but, as the understanding of what radiation did and the actual fear of finding out firsthand grew, the joy of seeing big bugs and dinosaurs wreak havoc faded.  The Godzilla films themselves had become a bit of humorous nostalgia and, other than The Return of Godzilla being released as Godzilla 1985 with Raymond Burr edited in, the giant lizard had pretty much disappeared from big screens as well.  Only diehard fans knew of the Heisei films at the time as most received no distribution in the United States until around the time that TriStar released the 1998 film after a number of years in development hell.  

After a Japanese fishing boat is destroyed near French Polynesia Philippe Roaché (Jean Reno), an agent with the French secret service, arrives to find out what happened.  In response, the sole survivor gives an account of what he saw: a legendary sea monster called Gojira.  The creature doesn't go unnoticed by the U.S. government, having left its footprints across Panama on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.  Dr. Niko Tatapoulos (Matthew Broderick), an expert on radioactive mutations, is called in to help the military investigate along with paleontologist Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis).

Before they can fully determine what they are up against the creature emerges from the sea and attacks Manhattan, leaving destruction in its wake before suddenly vanishing.  A cameraman, Victor "Animal" Palotti (Hank Azaria), manages to capture it and it looks like his friend Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo) may finally get the scoop she wants.  Audrey also happens to be Tatapolous's ex-wife, and hopes to get info from the inside.  Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that the size of the creature may not be the only threat in poses.

Director and co-writer Roland Emmerich is German and, like most Europeans, had only a passing knowledge of Godzilla and its legacy.  The movies were pretty much a phenomena only in Japan and the U.S., with them never being taken seriously in the latter.  Europeans had an even more dismissive attitude toward the films and that manifests itself in Emmerich's attitude.  Jan de Bont, the director of Speed, had originally been hired to make the film, and was a fan.  Unfortunately, he ended up leaving as production didn't go forward due to budget constraints.  In the end, Emmerich's version went overbudget and barely made that back.

Where it was a hit was Europe.  I can understand why.  I hated this movie when I first saw it for numerous reasons, and the majority of them being that this creature is not Godzilla.  It's a giant, mutated iguana.  It walks horizontally, does not have atomic breath, does not have the creature's signature roar and, at least in the original film prints, looked awful due to its CGI rendering.  However, watching it now, and seeing that the U.S. military is portrayed as comically inept throughout, the appeal makes sense.  Independence Day had been so blatantly pro-American that it became one of the oft-mentioned faults of the film.  Here, Emmerich did the exact opposite.  American audiences, if they cared, pretty much didn't notice because of how bad the rest of the movie came across, especially since the last 45 minutes almost feel like a retread of final portions of Jurassic Park.  Not only was this Godzilla in Name Only, but it seemed the script itself was recycled in many ways. 

That is a shame since Broderick, who was never that great of an actor, is halfway decent in this.  Jean Reno is pretty much here because Léon: The Professional had become a surprise box office hit, and so Reno was now one of the few French actors recognizable to an American audience, but he brings a sense of humor to the proceedings despite the fact he is mostly phoning it in.  Also, the special effects on this have been fixed since being in the theaters.  Current versions, although the greenscreen is still a bit obvious, feature a much more realistic monster that interacts more believably with the miniatures around it. 

That doesn't mean this is some sort of forgotten masterpiece.  None of Roland Emmerich's films fall into that category, and as he has gone along in his career it is more fun to laugh at his movies than anything else.  Still, it is well directed, even though all the rain is pretty unnecessary, as is his petty swipes at Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.  I have some major issues with them and many of their critiques of genre films, but the two of them were generally right about the schlock that Emmerich produces, and his having an overweight, bumbling Mayor Ebert (Michael Lerner) with an assistant named Gene (Lorry Goldman) just makes him seem thin-skinned.  

Despite audiences in the U.S. and Japan voicing everything from general disappointment to outright anger at Godzilla it still barely broke even.  The end leaves this open for a sequel, and two additional movies - the first taking place in Australia - were planned.  They were abandoned once support for this film fizzled, its toy line failed, and instead of becoming a brand new franchise it quietly went away.  Toho, who had expected to not do anything with the property well into the 2000s, found itself suddenly needing to make their own film to redeem the character. 

Godzilla (1998)

Time: 139 minutes

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria, Maria Pitillo

Director: Roland Emmerich