GODZILLA
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: * out of ****
Over 40 years ago, a Japanese production company called Toho introduced the Land of the Rising Sun to Gojira, a reptilian creature of immense proportions created by mankind's nuclear testing. Partly flight of fancy, partly commentary on the exploitation of atomic power and weaponry, Gojira emerged from the ocean to terrorize Tokyo. A year later, GOJIRA was marketed to the United States by adding three things: A new name, a dubbed English track, and Raymond Burr. As GODZILLA, the film took on the rest of the world. Thirty years later, Toho remade the classic film and once again took it to the American market by adding the same three things (yes, including Raymond Burr) and called it GODZILLA 1985. Now it's 14 years after Toho's remake, and director Roland Emmerich has allowed the giant lizard to make an American first run.
In Emmerich's GODZILLA, Matthew Broderick plays Dr. Niko Tatopoulos, a biologist who is called in to join other scientists in the South Pacific already studying the existence of a radiation-induced super mutant which leaves footprints the size of livingrooms. When the mutant reptile suddenly appears out of the Hudson River, Tatopoulos and the rest of the team relocate themselves back to the States. Meanwhile, Tatopoulos's college girlfriend, Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo), works in New York City as an assistant to a big-time news reporter. She'd like to be a reporter herself, and when Godzilla comes ashore, she figures this is her big break. Of course, with the big guy running amok in the city, Niko and Audrey are bound to cross paths, and are joined by Victor "Animal" Palotti (Hank Azaria), Audrey's trusty cameraman friend, and Phillipe Roche (Jean Reno), an operative for the French government, whose nuclear testing started the whole problem in the first place. Together they attempt to find and destroy the surprisingly elusive Godzilla.
With the resources of the most cutting edge special effects houses and the clout of one of the nation's premiere movie production companies, one would think Emmerich could make a film truly deserving of the name GODZILLA. He didn't. Right up there with THE LOST WORLD, GODZILLA is one of the biggest disappointments in recent cinematic history.
The plot is pretty much what we expect: The big dinosaur-like creature comes out of the water and starts smashing New York City, and it's up to our heroes to figure out why this thing is on its rampage and how it can be stopped, while the military makes futile attempts to bring the creature down. The script, however, is painfully bad. It's fraught with lines so corny, they don't even belong in B-movies, and includes many character actions which make you think, "You idiot," or "You stupid girl."
I suppose when you've got a movie with a giant lizard loose in New York, any other semblance of reality goes out the window as well. Why is it that Godzilla topples some buildings by merely brushing against them, but is conveniently able to leap atop others? Why do helicopters have to follow Godzilla by flying dangerously between buildings where they can lose sight of him, when they could more easily keep track of him by flying a little higher and in a straight line? Why do sidewinder missiles, which have small explosive warheads, blow up entire buildings when they miss Godzilla? Why is a mission to bomb Madison Square Garden carried out by three F-18 fighter-bombers, when flights of such aircraft are always comprised of multiples of two? Okay, maybe the last one was a bit nit-picky, but hey, I was on a roll.
Broderick is usually a good actor, but in this film he's weighed down by an unexciting character and an atrocious screenplay which seem to fight against him every step of the way. Hank Azaria does what he can, but don't expect to see development of any of the promise he showed in THE BIRDCAGE. Like Broderick's, Azaria's character is quite simply lacking in color. What really annoyed me was Maria Pitillo, who actually takes the bad script and makes it worse with her acting. Casting must have been asleep on this one. The one bright spot here is Jean Reno, who oddly enough seems to fit well into a role which is often comedic, quite unlike what we've seem him do in the past. Although his character is contradictory to the unfolding disaster, Reno brings a style to the role of Phillipe which makes him enjoyable. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the other incongruities.
The entire feel of the movie is tongue-in-cheek, and seems to pay comical homage to a dozen or so films that have come before it. This results in a significant amount of parody, which contrasts sharply with the threat of the monster, and ends up just producing a mess. Most of the characters seem to be there for comic relief, and almost none are smart enough for the audience to take seriously. Although Emmerich obviously wanted to make a fun action picture, what good is it to sink millions into a CGI creature whose ferocity is undermined by the humans he threatens? If we can't take the characters seriously, the threat they face is an empty one because we simply don't care what happens to them.
GODZILLA simply pulls too many punches in its attempt to be a film more light-hearted than it should be. Far be it from me to want to see more carnage in the theaters, but here's a behemoth running through the city! There's bound to be a lot of casualties, but instead GODZILLA is afflicted with the after-school G.I. Joe cartoon syndrome, where almost everyone seems to get out of harm's way just in time. In a couple of scenes, Godzilla briefly breathes fire. None of the characters even remark upon this ability, nor is it used to any particular advantage by the filmmakers. It's as if the special effects people just wanted to show that yes, Godzilla can do this, just like in the old movie. Consider another punch pulled. Through creative script writing, you can make a sequel out of just about any movie, but the final scene in this one doesn't just leave the door open, it opens into a hallway leading directly into a room where GODZILLA II is waiting patiently. It made me want to gag.
Emmerich should have done away with 90% of the humor and in-jokes and played this one as a straight action film. With an intelligently written screenplay, GODZILLA could have been so much more. However, by confusing the viewer with a ton of add-ins and parodies, the movie ends up being something that just doesn't work. Now if they only had Raymond Burr....
Review posted June 3, 1998
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