Review of Godzilla

Introduction

Along with the Matrix, this was the disc that finally convinced me of the superiority of the DVD format. When I had Godzilla on VHS, the film, set mostly in a dark, rainy New York was a dismal mess of blurred images and indistinct action. Add to that my temperamental video recorder, which liked to drop out the sound when I least expected it, watching Godzilla was a tortuous experience that made the film less of an experience and more like two hours of guesswork. So there I was, with a month old DVD player and a big pile of budget discs to break my new toy in on. The Matrix had blown me away, but I thought that might be the exception to the rule. So, when I put Godzilla in, and was treated to an experience similar to the cinema from a less than sterling movie title, I realised that DVD was truly the format of choice. I even used a comparison of the video and DVD to convince my family of that fact. Oh Yeah, the movie…

French nuclear testing in the Pacific has led rise to a monstrous mutation, and soon incidence of devastation is being tracked toward the east coast of America. The US Army who are investigating this draft the skills of Dr Niko Tatopolous to shed light on the gargantuan creature that has caused such havoc. Tatopolous is a biologist studying the effects of radiation on normal creatures and though his theories are outlandish, they rapidly gain credibility as the creature is tracked to Manhattan. The city is evacuated when the giant lizard appears in NY and proceeds to destroy large parts of the city. However rather than fleeing this mayhem, two intrepid people, Victor "Animal" Palotti, a news cameraman and Audrey Timmonds a reporter`s assistant who is looking for her big break and Niko`s ex girlfriend pursue the beast. Completing the group of behemoth hunters is a French Secret Service Agent, Phillipe Roache, who with his band of fellow countrymen wishes to stop the beast in an attempt to atone for his country`s mistake. By now, the creature dubbed Godzilla has made itself at home in the deserted Manhattan and is in the process of making little Godzillas.

Video

Godzilla is presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer The picture is again top quality, with the image sharp and well defined. You can see everything that happens which makes a change from the VHS. I had a problem with the fact that much of the movie occurs at night and in dismal weather. It doesn`t really make for a colourful experience and it`s a shame that the filmmakers limited themselves in this way. This is a problem with movie, not the disc. Perhaps the reason why they limited themselves to dark and indistinct is Godzilla himself. While the effects are impressive and seamless, with a towering CGI monster, the fact remains that I didn`t find Godzilla awe-inspiring. He seemed to me like a giant muppet with a lantern jaw. In contrast, the smaller younglings were far scarier, being human sized. When the heroes were being chased by them, it was more menacing. (In the scene where they confronted hundreds of the critters in the hall of Madison Square Garden, I got confused and thought I was watching Gremlins II for a minute).

Audio

Godzilla comes with an option of DD 5.1 English or German as well as English Dolby Surround. You should note that the disc defaults to the surround track. The sound is excellent, with the whole film being very immersive. Godzilla really makes his presence felt and you can hear the bullets and shells whiz by. David Arnold provides the music with his accustomed aplomb, and while the soundtrack isn`t memorable, it suits the film well.

Features

There are a fair amount of extras on this disc. There are three trailers, including the one in the museum of Natural History that is one of my favourite trailers. There is a commentary pointing out the effects shots, not my cup of tea to be honest, a photo gallery of 14 pics and a section with some before and after images of Godzilla`s path of mayhem. There is a 7-minute behind the scenes featurette presented as a spoof mockumentary by Harry Shearer in character. There are the usual filmographies and finally there is a music video. This isn`t what you expect, it`s not Puff Father or the Twat in the Hat going deeper underground, but it is the relatively insignificant Wallflowers with their cover version of Heroes. It isn`t a patch on the Bowie original, hell it isn`t even as good as the Oasis version, but the video is OK. One thing I did like about the commentary was that it was subtitled. This is something that should be done for all commentaries. It makes sense as the hard of hearing, who need subtitles for a film, will need them for commentaries as well.

Conclusion

Godzilla is an event movie, with the action and effects more important than the acting or script, which is good because Matthew Broderick is woefully miscast as the biologist Niko Tatopolous. He isn`t at all believable as a scientist and when he was throwing in some large biological terms, I thought he would have to resort to `smell the fart acting`. Maria Pitillo is Audrey Timmonds and is adequate as the good-natured reporter if a little bland. Hank Azaria is good as the cameraman, Animal if only because his character is well written and he has more to work with. I`d say that Kevin Dunn was miscast as Colonel Hicks, but to put it mildly, the whole military were portrayed as idiots out of their depth. If any country has an army like that, they would do well to surrender now. Then there is Jean Reno, who is in another movie altogether, a better movie. He is by far the best thing in this film and rescues it from oblivion, simply by sheer force of talent.

The team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin get together for another summer blockbuster. After the global devastation of Independence Day, they narrow it down to NY for Godzilla, but some of the magic has gone. The film is a duller experience both literally and figuratively. The movie is grey or just dark for the better part of two hours. The cast isn`t as good, lacking the charisma of a Will Smith or even the bland strength of Bill Pullman. The one saving grace that could be the monster isn`t at all scary, which should be the whole point. Rather than a sharp script, they rely on stupid running jokes. The constant mispronunciation of Tatopolous, the French disdain of American cuisine and the fact that they`re all called Jean-something. It rapidly gets tiring. It makes room for all the classic monster movie clichés, the monster acts like a human, with obvious maliciousness and preplanning, I mean, how does it know what a torpedo is, and how does it create strategy that fools the US Army. Of course, it gets the necessary noble demise (I hope that doesn`t spoil it) with the resonant heartbeat gradually fading away. How King Kong is that? Did I mention that I like this movie? It`s true, otherwise I would have never have bought it. While it displays such obvious shortcomings, it is also is 2 hours of shameless escapism. It is simple good guys versus bad guys nonsense and as such can be entertaining. The effects are good and the action relentless. If you want to put your brain in neutral for a while and just coast, you could do worse than this popcorn pap.