Godzilla (1998)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers (WGA):

Ted Elliott (story) &
Terry Rossio (story) ...

Release Date:

19 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Size Does Matter

Plot:

A montage of French nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean, observed by many marine iguanas. Then, in present days...

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Lizard | Monster | Military | Scientist

Awards:

8 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15

1:00 PM

MyNetwork

Cast

Matthew Broderick	...	Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
Jean Reno	...	Philippe Roaché
Maria Pitillo	...	Audrey Timmonds
Hank Azaria	...	Victor 'Animal' Palotti
Kevin Dunn	...	Colonel Hicks
Michael Lerner	...	Mayor Ebert
Harry Shearer	...	Charles Caiman, WIDF Anchor
Arabella Field	...	Lucy Palotti
Vicki Lewis	...	Dr. Elsie Chapman
Doug Savant	...	Sergeant O'Neal
Malcolm Danare	...	Dr. Mendel Craven
Lorry Goldman	...	Gene, Mayor's Aide
Christian Aubert	...	Jean-Luc
Philippe Bergeron	...	Jean-Claude
Frank Bruynbroek	...	Jean-Pierre

Also Known As:

Gojira (Japan)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi monster action/violence.

Runtime:

139 min | Denmark:133 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | French | Japanese

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:10 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35077) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Philippines:G | Brazil:Livre | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Centropolis Film Productions

Trivia:

Tomoyuki Tanaka had produced all of the Japanese Godzilla movies. He died only a month before this film began actual production. This film is dedicated to him.

Goofs:

Continuity: We see the top of the Chrysler building being knocked off early in the film. When there is a long shot of Madison Square Garden after the air strike the Chrysler is shown intact.

Quotes:

Audrey Timmonds: Wait, I don't get it... If he's the first of his kind, how can he be pregnant? Doesn't he need a mate?
Dr. Niko Tatopoulus: Not if he reproduces asexually.
Audrey Timmonds: Where's the fun in that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Soundtrack:

Deeper Underground

A 20 foot giant lizard can disappear in New York City?

Godzilla, one of the major monster classics that we all know and love, mainly of course with the old badly dubbed Japenese films. As badly made those films were, they were still incredibly fun because of all the camp. It was just a good time to watch those movies and Godzilla was just freaky looking and scared the heck out of you. So naturally the men who created the big time special effects movies like Independence Day and Stargate would naturally try and re-create the gigantic lizard and you guessed it, put him in today's New York City. Now who are we going to rely on to save us? Arnold Schwartzenegger, Syvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jackie Chan? Nope, Ferris Bueller, er, I mean Matthew Broderick. He plays a nerd in this movie, so who better to save us? Godzilla is barely recongnizable as he is just a CGI love fest where it seems that the creators were not even close to what Godzilla really looked like in the old films. Oh, this was a bad movie.

A Japanese fishing ship is attacked by an unseen, giant monster that attacks from below the water: only one sailor survives. Traumatized, he is questioned in a hospital by a French scientist as to what he saw. His only reply is Godzilla. Dr. Nick Tatopoulos, an NRC scientist, researching the effects of radiation on earth worms, is interrupted by the arrival of an agent of the U.S. State Department. He is sent to Panama, escorted by the military, to observe the wreckage of the recovered Japanese fishing ship and a set of massive dinosaur-like footprints in the grassy soil. The Frenchman is also there, observing the scene and introduces himself as an insurance agent. Aboard a military aircraft, Tatopolous identifies skin samples he recovered as belonging to an animal "unknown to science". He dismisses the military's theory that the creature is a reawakened dinosaur, theorising that its origins in French Polynesia make it a mutant created by nuclear testing. An old man is seen fishing on the dock. He takes a bite from his fishing rod, and a big wave comes toward him after a few minutes of trying to pull in his line. The big wave happens to be Godzilla, and he emerges from the dock. Godzilla then travels to Manhattan and creates havoc in the city, killing dozens of people. Godzilla is revealed to be a gigantic, bipedal lizard that towers over much of the New York skyline. The city is evacuated and the military attempt to kill Godzilla, first luring it out with a huge pile of fish (the creature's staple diet). It takes the bait, but is scared off by small arms fire, but oddly enough, it's just not working on the giant lizard.

That's pretty much a good enough "summary" of the movie, there's more in the movie than that, but it's kind of pointless to mention as this movie was just pointless to make. It's just badly written, the special effects are way over the top and obvious to anyone, and the actors are just so out of place it's insane. Now is this the worst movie of all time? I wouldn't say so, but it is just a bad movie over all, I wouldn't really recommend it. Godzilla just doesn't belong in America, especially since our government is stupid enough to constantly loose a gigantic lizard in NEW YORK CITY! So I wouldn't recommend this film, it's just a stupid way of killing time, you could be doing more useful things like the dishes.

2/10