Godzilla (1998)

	Directed by: Roland Emmerich	COUNTRY USA GENRE Action/Science Fiction/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Godzilla RUNNING TIME 139 minutes
	Produced by: Dean Devlin
	Written by (based on the franchise by Toho Co. Ltd.): Dean Devlin Roland Emmerich

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos	Matthew Broderick
Philippe Roaché	Jean Reno
Audrey Timmonds	Maria Pitillo	½
Victor "Animal" Palotti	Hank Azaria	½
Colonel Hicks	Kevin Dunn	½
Mayor Ebert	Michael Lerner	½
Charles Caiman	Harry Shearer
Lucy Palotti	Arabella Field	½
Dr. Elsie Chapman	Vicki Lewis	½
Sergeant O'Neal	Doug Savant	-

Review

Roland Emmerich’s gradual development from teller of fascinating adventures (Stargate) to Hollywood’s leading churner-out of oversized, CGI-driven spectacles (Independence Day) reached completion with Godzilla – the first American adaptation of the renowned Japanese kaiju franchise. This was where his chase for bigger, brasher, and more bombastic finally imploded. Narratively, Emmerich returns to all his usual unsophisticated tropes: silly military men, insensitive officials, and vapid love stories – plus, of course, the single voice of reason in the form of a scientist. The problem is just that the science is presented with such banality and naïveté that it belongs in a children’s programme. The main letdown with Godzilla, however, is that Emmerich fails to evoke any sense of horror, suspense, or wonder, which completely deflates the whole idea of a monster story like this. The film amounts to little more than showing off the latest in computer-generated visual effects – which were unconvincing then and look utterly mundane today. There’s also a wholly forgettable score by David Arnold. Remarkably, the film made loads of money at the box office despite being universally panned, which says something about how the 1990s were the glory days of moviemaking.