A giant, reptilian monster surfaces, leaving destruction in its wake as it strides into New York City. To stop it, an earthworm scientist, his reporter ex-girlfriend, and other unlikely heroes team up to save their city.
In the wake of extensive nuclear testing in the South Pacific Ocean, the low-profile scientist, Niko Tatopoulos, is summoned by the U.S. Army to shed light on the mysterious attack on a fishing ship, and the ominous sightings of a gargantuan sea-dragon. Before long, a mutated scaly nightmare in the shape of Godzilla--a massive and all-powerful radioactive sauroid--threatens to level the rain-soaked New York City, against the backdrop of a crippling bureaucracy and the military's futile attempts to stop the invincible beast from the ocean. Now, it's up to Niko; the cryptic insurance agent, Philippe; the determined reporter, Audrey, and her brave cameraman, Victor, to put an end to Godzilla's reign of terror before it's too late. Is there a reason why Godzilla has chosen Manhattan for its den?Written by
Nick Riganas
In response to the backlash against the movie and Japanese audiences being offended over the American re-imagining of "their" monster, Toho spokesman Masahiko Suzuki deemed their reaction hypocritical, reasoning that prior to the movie's release, Japanese people had lambasted the original Godzilla movies as well. However, this was a last minute attempt by Toho to salvage the film's box office. It would ultimately prove ineffective as the film would under-perform. See more »
Goofs
(at around 11 mins) When Dr. Niko is standing in his "sample" (i.e., the footprint), Colonel Hicks uses a ladder to climb out of the footprint, but they never descended a ladder to get into the footprint in the first place. A long shot of the scene reveals that all sides of the print are vertical. There is no sloped side that they could have walked down. See more »
It felt like this take on Godzilla was advertised for 2 years in advance of the actual release, every time (it seemed) I went to the cinema I was awestruck by little teaser trailers, in fact the one of the old guy fishing and hooking Zilla is a personal favourite...SIZE DOES MATTER! Love it I do. Sadly as most of us now know, the film didn't meet fans and critics expectations at all, but was the film done down by the hype and an expectation of a masterpiece for the genre?.
Well it didn't help that is for sure, but taking aside that problem, the film only glimpses at what might have been. It has many great points that seem to have been forgotten, so sadly we are all too aware of the film's failings on the makers behalf. The build up in the film is excellent, the makers mount the tension in steady strokes, doing what all classic monster movie makers do, they have you waiting with gripping expectation of the creature by a series of scenarios and inventive dialogue. The sound is incredible, making it an essential viewing for those who cherish home surround cinema, while some of the shots and destruction of New York are well worth the viewers time.
But then? Well they throw the good work away by turning the film's focus away from the big lizard to a story line that was only fitting for the cartoon version of Godzooki. Thus rendering the film as a poor man's Jurassic Park, which quite frankly doesn't sit well. Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno and Hank Azaria all deserved better scripting, hell we all did!
It's not the evil stinker some would have you believe, it does have its moments of both good and bad, it is, by definition, very much a film split down the middle. 5/10
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It felt like this take on Godzilla was advertised for 2 years in advance of the actual release, every time (it seemed) I went to the cinema I was awestruck by little teaser trailers, in fact the one of the old guy fishing and hooking Zilla is a personal favourite...SIZE DOES MATTER! Love it I do. Sadly as most of us now know, the film didn't meet fans and critics expectations at all, but was the film done down by the hype and an expectation of a masterpiece for the genre?.
Well it didn't help that is for sure, but taking aside that problem, the film only glimpses at what might have been. It has many great points that seem to have been forgotten, so sadly we are all too aware of the film's failings on the makers behalf. The build up in the film is excellent, the makers mount the tension in steady strokes, doing what all classic monster movie makers do, they have you waiting with gripping expectation of the creature by a series of scenarios and inventive dialogue. The sound is incredible, making it an essential viewing for those who cherish home surround cinema, while some of the shots and destruction of New York are well worth the viewers time.
But then? Well they throw the good work away by turning the film's focus away from the big lizard to a story line that was only fitting for the cartoon version of Godzooki. Thus rendering the film as a poor man's Jurassic Park, which quite frankly doesn't sit well. Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno and Hank Azaria all deserved better scripting, hell we all did!
It's not the evil stinker some would have you believe, it does have its moments of both good and bad, it is, by definition, very much a film split down the middle. 5/10