Godzilla (1998) 4K UHD Steelbook Review
“Godzilla” (1998) remains a low point in the franchise.
Written by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, 1998’s “Godzilla” was the first American take on Toho’s legendary Kaiju franchise. In this entry, an iguana nest mutates after being exposed to nuclear testing on a French Polynesian island. The now gigantic Iguana (now known canonically as Zilla by Toho) travels to New York to nest. On the human side of the story, you get storylines involving a radiation expert (Dr. Niko), a wannabe reporter (Audrey) that has a history with Niko, a French Secret Serviceman (Philippe), Mayor Ebert, Colonel Hicks, and cameraman Victor.
Despite boasting one of the best marketing campaigns, director Roland Emmerich’s “Godzilla” (1998) is a giant-sized dud. Everything Godzilla fans (myself included) love about the franchise is absent here. There’s no social or political commentary, the writers take no stance on whether Godzilla is a villain or a hero, there’s barely a story holding it together, the humor is abysmal, and the characters are entirely one-dimensional. Thankfully, Gareth Edwards got it right with 2014’s “Godzilla” and revived the American side of the franchise.
At an achingly long 138 minutes, there’s simply not a lot going on in this summer blockbuster. Most of the movie revolves around dumb science, characters trying to find Zilla, the army trying to trap or chase Zilla, and Zilla hiding. The only aspect of any real interest is the Zilla babies story angle, but even that ends up feeling like a “Jurassic Park” and “Alien” knock-off.
From a production standpoint, there’s a lot to admire here. The sets, the army vehicles, the model work, the debris, and the practical and CGI effects are first rate. Even though the Zilla design is odd, there are a number of exciting sequences (particularly the helicopter chase and the Brooklyn Bridge scene). A special shout out goes to the epic soundtrack which is far better than the movie. The album contains tracks by Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, The Wallflowers, Foo Fighters, P. Diddy With Jimmy Page, Silverchair, among others.
One of the biggest talking points is the truly bizarre cast that was assembled here. Yes, there’s a lot of talent here such as Jean Reno (the only cast member who is actually good here), Matthew Broderick (sorely miscast), Hank Azaria, Michael Lerner, Harry Shearer, and Kevin Dunn, but it feels like such a random assortment. And then there’s Maria Patillo. Let’s just say there’s a reason her career never really took off.
Unless you harbor some nostalgia for this film or are a Godzilla completist, 1998’s “Godzilla” can be skipped.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.40:1 2160p. How does it look? A nice upgrade that provides sharper image quality.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? Zilla’s stomping and roars never sounded so good.
Extras:
* 2 teaser trailers and 1 theatrical trailer (on the 4K)
* Blu-ray copy
* Digital copy
* On The Blu-ray- “The Ultimate Godzilla Multi-Player Trivia Game,” “2012” trailer, commentary by visual effects supervisor Volker Engel and associate visual effects supervisor Karen Goulekas, “Behind The Scenes Of Godzilla With Charles Caiman,” “All Time Best Of Godzilla Fight Scenes,” The Wallflowers music video for “Heroes,” and Sony trailers.
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