Godzilla

It’s not a popular opinion on the internet (where even the original films are widely ridiculed), but the 1998 American version of Godzilla is, once it gets going, is a surprisingly enjoyable monster movie, albeit one that’s best thought of as a big budget throwback to the classic American rampaging creature features of the 50s that inspired Godzilla rather than a Godzilla film per se. As an origin story there are no monster mashes but plenty of “We’ve tried everything and nothing can stop it!” rampages and showdowns between the big feller and the military, be it submarine attacks or helicopter chases through the skyscrapers of New York, and if that’s all you’re expecting it’s a fun popcorn flick on an epic scale.Not that it’s without some major problems. Yes, there’s some very bad bad dialogue (“That’s a LOT of fish!” “We’re going to need bigger guns”). Yes, Maria Pitillo’s heroine is annoying (as, sadly, are all the women in the film) and Harry Shearer’s comic relief too broad. But, after the first third, which doesn't really work as well as it should, once the monster appears it's quite enjoyable, and the last third with the Babyzillas in their nest in Madison Square Garden (and Jean Reno impersonating Elvis) is great fun, David Arnold’s superb score and camerawork pull off one of the most effectively executed false endings in a blockbuster and the then-surprisingly dark, rainy look for what was intended as a fun summer blockbuster now almost looks bright and sunny as designer gloom has become the default visual option for so many big budget fantasy franchises. Time has taken some of the shine off the FX but they’re still for the most part impressively photorealistic and while this Godzilla doesn’t have much personality he’s given a lot more screen time than in any other Godzilla film before or since.But the giant dinosaur in the room will always be the fact that this is not the Godzilla that fans of the Japanese films know and love but has been given an ill-considered redesign from a guy in a suit to a giant iguana-like reptile. Changing the look of such an iconic movie monster is the kind of bad idea that’s like turning King Kong into a giant werewolf. What made it worse was the redesign was kept a big secret until the film’s release, building up unrealistic expectations of what the new look would be that were fuelled by the bigger is better marketing overkill. At first it was fun to see huge billboards on office blocks promising 'He's bigger than this building' or huge billboards covering a block saying 'His tail is this long,' but when they booked what seemed every single billboard in every capital city in the world with variations on the same theme, it got tired fast. It didn’t help that director Roland Emmerich boasted of completely changing Godzilla and producer Dean Devlin was giving self-aggrandizing interviews about how this was what the Toho Godzilla would have been like if they had access to modern effects and of bearing the awesome responsibility of making the year’s biggest hit and talking up the proposed sequels before it even opened, while the film’s classic first teaser trailer took a swipe at Jurassic Park’s takings by having the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex effortlessly crushed by Godzilla’s foot. Such self-satisfied hubris was just riding for a fall, though it’s worth noting the film still sold more tickets than the 2014 version and ended its run showing a decent profit even if it was a long, long way from the filmmakers’ unrealistic expectations.Taken away from those unrealistic expectations and the fanboy outrage of 1998, it holds up pretty well. It’s certainly not disrespectful to the original films, bowing to the big feller’s origins by opening on a Japanese ship and it comes up with a credible explanation for why modern weapons don’t work – heat-seeking missiles aren’t much good when your target is a cold-blooded lizard. And Toho have made plenty of worse Godzilla movies, not least Godzilla 2000, which ushered in the last and most inconsistent series of Japanese movies (with this film’s Notzilla having a brief literally throwaway cameo that’s the highlight of the worst of them, Godzilla: Final Wars). As long as you’re not expecting a classic kaiju film but accept it as a Hollywood monster movie with (then) state of the art effects, it’s an enjoyable low-brainer that offers far more entertainment value than some modern summer blockbusters.That the film’s overambitious box-office expectations weren’t met has always been apparent in the extras package the film received on DVD (where it was one of the first major releases) and Blu-ray. Where there was no shortage of material swamping the TV airwaves during the film’s release, little of it made it to home video. The DVD featured and audio commentary by visual effects supervisors Volker Engel and Karen Goulikas and creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, theatrical trailer and the two teaser trailers, music video (Heroes), behind-the-scenes featurette (introduced in character by Harry Shearer but running only a third as long as the version that played on TV and omitting its interview with the original man inside the suit Haruo Nakajima), and a before and after f/x stills and stills gallery, all of which is less substantial than it sounds. The Blu-ray offered only the commentary, music video and featurette and adding a few extracts from Sony’s Toho Godzilla titles and a trivia game but offers a very substantial upgrade in picture and sound quality.

Remember taking my youngest and the Mrs to see this when it was doing the rounds -The film tells of how after a French nuclear test in the South Pacific an Iguana nest is exposed to the fallout.Sometime later a Japanese fishing vessel is attacked by a mysterious and very large creature, the one survivor of the vessel will later call the creature Godzilla.When the attack is reported and giant prints are found Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos (Mathew Brodrick), an NRC scientist, is approached whilst investigating worms at the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is asked by U.S officials to investigate the incident.Nick dismisses talk of a survivor from the Jurassic era but says samples he finds was of an unknown origin.Soon after, the creature surfaces in New York and though showing little interest in humans causes death, destruction and chaos on a large scale, but what is it looking for?With the military, police and officials in disarray, only the logic of Nick joined by his ex-girlfriend would-be reporter Audrey (Maria Pitillo) her colleague Victor (Hank Azaria) and French secret-service agent Philippe Roaché (Jean Reno) set about saving the city from the giant creature.However, they'll find a nest with hundreds of ready to hatch eggs, stopping disaster begins to look more unlikely.Who'll prevail?I did enjoy watching the film again in truth though I have to say some of the acting left much to be desired especially in my opinion that of the lead character.The special effects were with the ongoing destruction of New York were pretty good for the time (1998)However, the continuity of the 4k upgrade wasn't in my view consistent, sometimes impressive, often not. ....4k upgrade rating 7/10

The problem with special-effects films like "Godzilla" is 'age' - and in 2014 ("Mastered In 4K" or not) - 1998 seems like a very long time ago. But a few details first before I get into this…I don't own a 4K TV - nor do I own the Sony BDPS6200 BLU RAY player with built-in 4K upscaling. So I suppose this review of "Godzilla Mastered In 4K" is compromised on 2 fronts. However I have what I suspect most film lovers have - a good Plasma TV and a half-decent BLU RAY player.I’ve already bought and reviewed the BLU RAY for "Glory Mastered In 4K" just recently and loved it. I thought the improvement was huge on what went before. But unfortunately - I only sporadically see improvement in "Godzilla"(no matter how much fun it is)...and I suspect there are several reasons for this.I’ve found that a certain percentage of BLU RAY reissues only make the print worse by exposing more – and to some degree that’s what’s happening here with 4K. A large amount of the shots are in a rain-sodden New York - or at night - or in tunnels - inside Madison Square gardens - out at sea in the dark - and mostly you simply get accentuated grain. There are so many scenes when proceedings just seem murky rather than clear – and it didn’t matter what Aspect I watched the film in. A lot of the time I felt like I wasted my money on this.But let me be clear about the other side of the coin - there absolutely are moments when the picture quality is startlingly good – beautiful even. Broderick making a phone call on a payphone in the rain – Hank Azaria talking to his girlfriend in a coffee shop - earth worms coming up to the surface of the mud as he sends shocks into the clay – Jean Reno’s face as he turns around in a taxi on the docks…these were superbly filmic. But overriding all of that is another core problem…Special-effects shots that were once state-of-the-art and thrilled audiences – now seem hammy and worse - obviously painted in. When you think of the recent "Transformers" films or "Man Of Steel" or "Avengers" or "Total Recall" and realize just how far effects have come on – the feeling that the giant reptile is actually there in New York no longer plays because spaces and hiding techniques now show up more than ever.So is Mastered In 4K a gimmick? No it's not. The new format on BLU RAY is in its infancy for sure as far as releases and market interest is concerned - but judging on what I saw with "Glory" – 4K will eventually take over – and does make a difference if the print is properly restored.It just appears that some films will benefit more than others. I would advise either avoid this one or try to view first before you buy…PS: Titles MASTERED IN 4K as of April 2014 are:1. Angels And Demons (2009)2. Battle: Los Angeles (2011)3. Elysium (2013)4. Ghostbusters (1984)5. Glory (1989)6. Godzilla (1998)7. The Karate Kid (2010)8. Men In Black (1997)9. Moneyball (2011)10. The Other Guys (2010)11. Pineapple Express (2008)12. Spider-Man (2002)13. Spider-Man 2 (2004)14. Spider-Man 3 (2007)15. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)16. Taxi Driver (1976)17. Total Recall (2012)