Godzilla (Roland Emmerich, 1998) Review

It's another film from the director of 2012...oh good God what have I gotten myself into? We've all heard of Godzilla (and if not, where have you been) but I guess Hollywood felt that they needed to do their own take on the classic franchise. With Roland Emmerich at the helm...it's probably a load of crap. After all, everything he's made is terrible (even Michael Bay, to his credit, made The Island which was...okay) but is Godzilla an exception? Let's find out!

After nuclear tests are performed, it begins to mutate an iguana that finds itself attacking a Japanese fishing boat. A survivor is found and only has one word about the ordeal - "Gojira". Dr. Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick) is called in to investigate what has happened and what caused this mess. Tatopoulos finds that the iguana has mutated into a giant lizard known as Godzilla which has now set it's sights on New York City. With the army's weapons proving useless, Tatopoulos must find a way to save New York fom Godzilla.

Is this an exception? No. Plain and simple. This is as bad as his other films. This is not Godzilla! It really isn't. Firstly, it looks nothing like Godzilla nor does it have anything that resembles the franchise. If it wasn't for the name, no-one would think this was Godzilla. The focus on the monster draws away from the characters making them bland and uninteresting. People make fun of Matthew Broderick and this is one of the films that make you question his acting. Sure, he's done good stuff but this is definitely one of his worst films. So, let's recap here: Misuse of Godzilla name, boring characters and terrible acting.

More so, the focus on action makes the film boring and uninspired. If you've read my reviews for a while, you may know that I hate it when films focus on nothing else but action as I feel that it gives it no substance...this is the case here. All this is is a monster tearing up New York! Where's the substance, the development...ANYTHING?! Even the CGI is now a bit dated so...what's to like?

Godzilla, despite it's name, is not a Godzilla film. The original franchise even went out of it's way to distance itself or at least take a stab at it (seriously, the real Godzilla 'fought' this one). Please never let this director loose on other franchises...PLEASE! I've done two bad films in a row...I need something to please me next time...maybe another franchise (maybe but probably not...).

Verdict:
3/10
A terrible interpretation of a great franchise. It's bland, dull and is filled with some terrible acting and underdevelopment