Godzilla (1998): the Twentieth Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Feb. 8, 2018, 8:56 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the 1998 Godzilla film, the first American Godzilla film, made when the Japanese film series was on hiatus and uncertain if it would ever return. Most fans and critics regard this film very negatively, citing how the titular creature bore no resemblance to the previous incarnations of the iconic monster and how easily it was defeated as the films primary problems, although some also criticize the fact that more screentime is dedicated to the humans deciding what to do than to Godzilla himself. The film was followed by an animated series, with plans for one or two sequels, but the poor reception of the film destroyed any hope for any sequels, and Toho decided to reboot the franchise two years later with Godzilla 2000.
I myself have mixed feelings about this film; I acknowledge that it is no masterpiece and is an example of how not to make a good film, but I still find it enjoyable in its own weird way. It is akin to Plan 9 From Outer Space or Batman and Robin in that it is a guilty pleasure that one can watch on a weekend when they have nothing else to do, more in the territory of so bad, its good, rather than genuinely awful films such as Battlefield Earth or Not Another Teen Movie.
It is true that the Godzilla of this film is not the same as the Godzilla of the Japanese films, but I like how he was much more swift and agile, instead of the slow and lumbering creature of the Japanese films, and he does look at least somewhat more realistic in this film. I definitely did not like how easily he was defeated, but this film at least partially recaptured the dark and tense atmosphere of the original 1954 film, whereas many of the Japanese films that followed the original became terribly campy, losing sight of Godzillas original portrayal as a destructive force of nature, which this film rectified. Also, nearly every Godzilla film, regardless of its country of origin, features the human characters running around and engaging in various side plots, so that was nothing new to this film.
It is unfortunate that this film could not have been more successful, but that happens at times; not every film can be a cinematic masterpiece, and the majority of them are quickly forgotten.
What does everyone else have to say about this? What are your opinions on the 20th anniversary of the 1998 Godzilla film?
pinecone2k3 says... #3
I thought it was a decent shut-off-your-brain-for-a-couple-hours-and-enjoy-it-for-what-it-is kind of movie. My biggest issue was that they insisted on calling it Godzilla. If they'd simply ditched the idea of attaching it to that franchise, called it something else, and just said it was its own original-ish kaiju movie, I'd have had no gripe with it.
February 9, 2018 7:54 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #5
pinecone2k3, yes, I agree with that, as well; if the film had not been called Godzilla, it might have been received, and remembered, better, akin to how Van Halen III would have been a great album by the standards of lesser bands, but by VH's own standards, it was a failure.
Boza says... #2
It has not aged well, like many movies from that time, looking back at it. I liked it in cinema and a few years later on the TV, but I recently saw it again and cringed. The small godzillas at the end, Jean Reno's talent being wasted (leon the professional being a few years before Godzilla, now that is a film I like rewatching, all the cast is great), etc.
It is much akin to the Michael Bay style of movies for me, now that I can compare it to transformers.
February 9, 2018 4:49 a.m.