Date: Fri 29-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Godzilla-Playing-Broderick

Full Text:

NOW PLAYING: A Big Green Lizard And Not Much Else: The Perfect Summer Feature

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Psst! Guess what? A new film was released last week about some kind of huge,

green monster (no, not the one in Fenway) that terrorizes New York City. I

think it's based on a series of cheesy but cherished movies from Japan about

some fire-breathing behemoth named... oh yeah, I remember now: GODZILLA! Ever

heard of him?

Forgive my facetiousness. I love hype as much as the next person (i.e. , the

Independence Day teaser -- the White House being blown to smithereens -- first

shown during a Super Bowl) but enough is enough! Comedian Dennis Miller said

it very well when, right after the much ballyhooed series finale of

"Seinfeld," he sarcastically opined, "Thank goodness that's over, now we can

move on with our lives and into the hype for Godzilla ." Well, forget about

the hoopla because Godzilla is upon us, playing at a theatre near you, and

although he is smashing up the box office (grossing approximately $74 million

in under a week), don't expect Oscar to come calling. In fact, although

Godzilla is admittedly fun viewing, it isn't even wholly satisfying.

My reference above to Independence Day is pertinent because the two main men

behind the mega-hit, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, are the chefs of this

summer blockbuster concoction. By the time the final credits roll, you'll see

that their recipe for success this time includes heaping samplings of Steven

Spielberg's Jaws and Jurassic Park and the duo's own Independence Day .

Basically, Godzilla follows the exploits of a 200-foot, mutated lizard who

decides to cross the Atlantic and take a tour of the Big Apple. While the

retooled monster is impressively updated from the rubber-suited stuntmen that

stomped cardboard miniatures in earlier versions, the sleek revisions don't

hold true for the mostly stock human characters that share screen space with

the green guy.

Matthew Broderick heads the cast as a likable biologist (in one of the film's

many inside jokes he shares the same last name as effects man Patrick

Tatopoulos, who designed the '90s version of Godzilla) but even his easy-going

charm cannot sell us on the half-baked subplot about his run-in with an

ex-flame (a miscast Maria Pitillo), an eager, wannabe reporter. More

successful impressions are made by Hank Azaria, as an aggressive cameraman

nicknamed "Animal," and Jean Reno, as a mysterious Frenchman from an insurance

claims company.

Devlin and Emmerich make a wise decision by following Spielberg's Jaws

blueprint and placing the imminent threat of Godzilla before the actual

depiction of the monster itself. In fact, Godzilla only really appears in

three lengthy sequences in the film... albeit three very effective sequences.

But unlike Spielberg's memorable cadre of Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and

Richard Dreyfuss, director Emmerich gives us, along with the aforementioned

cast, an overlong Siskel and Ebert spoof and "Melrose Place" alum Doug Savant

as a stammering, incompetent soldier seeking to bring Godzilla to his knees

before the beast completely trashes New York and its beloved, familiar

monuments.

Godzilla does finish strong with an exciting, fast-paced climax set in and

around a gutted Madison Square Garden, though it echoes a bit too much of the

harrowing Jurassic Park raptor scenes. Reno especially shines in this segment,

giving the human characters a bit more of the oomph they could have used more

consistently throughout the film.

Stylistically, Godzilla , rated PG-13, is about what you would want from a

summer film. It's explosive, loud and full of effects sequences, but also mild

on gore and excessive profanity. Small children may be upset by all the

bombast and fire play, particularly as it is directed towards the sympathetic

portrayal of Godzilla, but the film should be fairly suitable for most

audiences.