TriStar Pictures, Rated PG-13
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Written by Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio and Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich

Well, the most anticipated movie of the year is now here and it's nowhere near worth all of the hype. Not that it doesn't have its moments. "Godzilla" is from Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the creators of "Independence Day," so needless to say, no one's going into the theater expecting subtlety. I enjoyed Devlin and Emmerich's first hit film, "Stargate." It was the first science fiction film in quite a few years that was fun and had a very intriguing concept. "Independence Day" wasn't quite as good, but it was still a lot of fun. "Godzilla" is somewhat different from the other two, but the main problem is there isn't much fun to it. Godzilla is a giant creature made as a hybrid from a nuclear explosion and it makes its way to New York to nest, of course destroying nearly everything in its path (the people in the film call it a him, but since it is soon discovered to be asexual, that's really incorrect). Attempts are made here at characterization and plot but they all come second to the special effects which are astounding (far above those of "Deep Impact" and "Lost in Space"). This leads us to another problem. The movie is overlong so there are long stretches where you see neither hide nor hair of the creature. Since you couldn't care less for any of the characters, you're sitting there demanding to know when Godzilla will show up again. The movie also operates on the assumption that the U.S. military is wholly incompetent, as they do exactly the wrong things to try and stop Godzilla. In the last hour or so, the military is pretty much out of the picture and the movie finally starts to redeem itself a little with some real thrills. It would be almost a lot of fun if the audience weren't trying to get over all the parts that were lifted from "Jurassic Park," and noticing all of the holes in the plot. However, the effects are still wonderfully done and there are enough witty moments to make it decent summer fare. Jean Reno steals the show from "star" Matthew Broderick (but let's face it, Godzilla is the star, even if he gets less screen time than Broderick). Reno is great in every scene, and it's too bad he has yet to become a big action star in the U.S. Someone needs to put him in another movie like "The Professional" that will make a lot of money. From the looks of this movie's box office (the first time in recent memory that a $55 million opening was a bad thing), however, better luck next time. **

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