 Tagline: Size Does Matter "Godzilla is back, bigger and much better than ever....its size defies comprehension..an expertly designed theme park ride of a movie that packs nonstop thrills....one jaw-dropping scene after another, the film never loses either momentum or its human scale." - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times Storyline: Following the French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, an unknown creature is spotted passing eastward through the Panama Canal. Scientist Niko Tatopolous is called in to investigate the matter, and he quickly arrives at the conclusion that a giant, irradiated lizard has been created by the explosions. Godzilla then makes its way north, landing at Manhattan to begin wreaking havoc in the big city. Even with the combined forces of the U.S. military to fight the monster, will it be enough to save the people of New York? Written by Jean-Marc Rocher Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on November 9, 2009 -- All the king's horses and all the king's men may not be able to put the Big Apple together again. Only one word can adequately describe Director Roland Emmerich's Disaster movies: "spectacle." Love his movies or despise them, Emmerich's pictures never fail to provide the latest in visual and sound technology; big action sequences; massive destruction of landmarks; lots of noise; and most importantly, a popcorn-munching good time. Whether Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, or Godzilla, Emmerich strives not for Shakespearean poetry in his dialogue or Hitchcockian visuals to accentuate mood and atmosphere; instead, he goes for the jugular, bombarding the visual and aural senses with an onslaught of effects-laden visuals and sound combined with corny dialogue and over-the-top plot lines and devices, and that's just fine. Escapist entertainment is just as important as film-as-high-art, and nobody fills that niche better than Roland Emmerich. Scientist Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick, Glory) is recalled from Chernobyl to study large and mysterious footprints in both Panama and Jamaica, while simultaneously comparing notes against the choppy accounts that claim a large creature known as "Godzilla" has been capsizing fishing boats around the world. Before he can offer anything but conjecture, "Godzilla" -- a stories-tall creature that resembles a dinosaur -- rudely emerges from the waters off of New York City and promptly lays waste to the Big Apple. With the city under threat of total annihilation, Tatopoulos is flown in to work in conjunction with the U.S. military to stop the creature before it's too late. Meanwhile, Tatopoulos' ex-girlfriend, Audrey (Maria Pitillo), a city reporter looking for her big break, rekindles her relationship with Niko but must choose between her man or her career, a decision that could impact the fate of both the city and the world. Among Director Roland Emmerich's Disaster pictures, Godzilla may very well be the worst, but it's still not a bad picture based solely on what it sets out to accomplish. Needless to say, a paltry story doesn't help, but the film's highly generalized wave of destruction has a "been there, done that" feel to it, even if it does play as bigger, better, and louder than any of the Godzilla films before it. Fortunately, the film's downfall is also its saving grace. The story -- good, bad, or indifferent -- is completely irrelevant when it comes to a movie like Godzilla. The 139-minute movie, whittled down to one line ("monster ravages New York City"), can get away with shallow characters, poor dialogue, stretched logic, useless humor, and worthless background information because they simply can't -- and don't have to -- compete with the spectacle of a creature laying waste to the city's landmarks in rapid succession. The plot need only be strong enough to get the movie from one disaster scene to the next, and in that regard, Godzilla succeeds. Nevertheless, Godzilla serves up a few extras meant to compliment the onslaught of destruction and lighten the load throughout, and as one might expect, there are both hits and misses scattered throughout the film. Godzilla sets up two characters solely to poke fun at film critic Roger Ebert and his late companion, Gene Siskel, in what is easily the film's most groan-inducing plot line. It fares little better than something out of Disaster Movie, and it's about as sophomoric, too. In a film where absolutely everything is contrived, the "Mayor Ebert" plot line is the worst offender. On the other hand, Godzilla features a nice little homage to Creature Disaster pictures of the past with a clip from It Came From Beneath the Sea playing on a television set. Small nuances like that add a nice touch and reward genre fans, and it's one moment where Godzilla will have lovers and haters alike smiling at the attention to detail and respect for the genre. While words like "worst," "paltry," and "contrived" might make it sound like Godzilla is a terrible movie, it's important to analyze a film like this in context and give credit where credit it due. As alluded to before, Roland Emmerich films don't set out to win Oscars (except, perhaps, for sound design and special effects), so it's unfair to directly compare them to something they don't strive to compete with. On its own merits, Godzilla makes for a decent enough popcorn-crunching good time at the movies. It's no Independence Day, but the film's effects-heavy visuals and devastating sound design do a marvelous job of capturing the intended spirit of the film. Simply stated, Godzilla is an amusement park ride come to life on the big screen and a fine example of escapism entertainment that relies on grandiose technical achievements to wow audiences. Though its effects might look dated more than 10 years after its theatrical release, Godzilla's sound design remains impressive, and together, they make the movie a fun ride for those willing to suspend disbelief and give it a chance. They don't come much bigger and louder than Godzilla. Though not the special effects spectacle it once was, Roland Emmerich's Creature Disaster movie remains a severely flawed but thoroughly entertaining popcorn movie that might be the sort of thing that's nominated for Razzie awards (several, in fact) but it's also the sort of thing people go to see in droves. At the end of the day, it's just fine for what it is and wants to be, and in that light, Godzilla is a success on its own playing field. Sony's Blu-ray release delivers a strong 1080p transfer, a knockout of a lossless soundtrack, and a few throwaway extras. Recommended for fans of the film, noise, and bass. [CSW] -3- The DVD used to be a great demo for the Buttkicker LEF but now there are better ones. But it is still a good movie on Blu-ray which would be even better if it had D-Box motion coding. Cast Notes: 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), 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). IMDb Rating (08/03/14): 5.3/10 from 129,353 users IMDb Rating (05/31/11): 4.9/10 from 66,284 users
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