I was so insanely excited to see Godzilla. From the first preview with the gigantic foot crushing the T-Rex skeleton, I was psyched. From the makers of ID4...SIZE DOES MATTER. Okay maybe size matters, but quality is just as important.
I expected Godzilla to make me crap my pants (not literally) like Jurassic Park did. Well it was more of a been there, done that, and bought the shirt kind of feeling. As big as Godzilla is, the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and The Lost World were much scarier and felt more threatening. Godzilla just seems like a special effect. When he's running through the streets at night (he never seems to be shown during the day) it seems like the makings of a computer video game, not a major motion picture. I am referring to the helicopter scenes. I can picture a video game coming soon where you have to destroy Godzilla in one of those helicopters. When three of the main characters are driving a cab around Godzilla's legs, it seemed like more of a theme ride from Universal Studios than it did a threatening monster.
Don't get me wrong, the special effects are good. It's just they seem like special effects. The dinosaurs at Jurassic Park felt real. They didn't seem to be computer generated. The space ships in ID4 seemed real. It's Godzilla. He's too big. He could only be a special effect.
Matthew Broderick plays such a stupid, cliched scientist, I can hardly tolerate his presence. Jean Reno's talent was just wasted on such a film. Hank Azaria needs to find a role that doesn't require him to talk in a stupid accent. Maria Pitillo plays such a stereotypical journalist. All of the characters aren't people, they're paper dolls taking from a zillion other movies.
Godzilla had potential, but the writting is really lacking. They try to draw sympathy and give motherly instincts to a reptile. Reptiles don't have motherly instincts. The writers didn't know what Godzilla really was.
Another problem I had was the lack of radioactive fire breath. He only fires it like twice. I mean come on. If I could breath atomic fire, I'd be shooting it all over the place.
Godzilla had possibilites and there are still two sequels we are going to have to endure. I give Godzilla a D-.
