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Godzilla (Real name: Gojira) came to fame in 1954 in Toho Company's 'Gojira' starring with (thru the marvels of modern technology circa 1950's) Raymond Burr !!! Many say if there had been no "Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" there would have been no "Godzilla". I do not believe this is correct. Ray Harryhausen's monster was less of an influence than King Kong which was created by Harryhausen's idol Willis O'Brien. The God Of Monsters actually came face to face with O'Briens Kong in one of Godzilla's early sequels. His latest Toho triumph is 'Godzilla 2000'. But he now has millions of new fans thanks to 20th Century Fox's 1998 Summer Blockbuster, 'GODZILLA'™. Emmerlich is a GREAT film-maker but he is not a GREAT director. However, Tri-Star's re-make has been unjustifyably panned by some critics. Some even said it was "un-original" which is hardly justified when it's 'supposed' to be a re-make. I thought it was closer to the original "Gojira" than Toho's 'sequels'. It certainly had the feel of the original's influences, namely 'King Kong' and 'The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms'. The SFX were brilliant APART from the scene under the stadium, where the baby Godzilla's looked 'pasted-on'. I think it was inexcusable! I haven't seen anything THIS bad since Game Of Death's famous head-shot! I can't believe they released it without the necessary post-production tinkering. Maybe the scene was supposed to be darker and they didn't think it would show up? After 'Lost World' and 'Jurassic Park' we expect THAT standard on ALL monster films. Maybe that's unfair, but I think the producers of these films have to at least equal the cutting edge films to compete. I think one of the problems the SFX people had was because this was the first film for about 30 years made in 'TECHNICOLOR'! This process makes everything SO sharp that it shows up all the faults! A lesser medium might have been more forgiving. Actually, the dodgy under the stadium scene looks more realistic on the small screen, even on the razor sharp DVD. Having said this, I repeat that the reviewers have been VERY unfair to 'Godzilla'. It is MUCH better than I expected. It is generally well made and I challenge anyone who has seen it to disagree with me that they will remember some of the action scenes in it for the rest of their lives. I especially enjoyed the battle between Godzilla and the attack helicopters. TRIVIA: Anyone spot the 'Independence Day' alien toy on the desk in the stadium commentary room. I thought it was a nice touch that the monster was called 'Godzilla' because the American media guy mis-pronounced 'Gojira'. That's like what happened with the original! Many original Godzilla fans were annoyed that their 'hero' could be hurt by 'missiles', but Godzilla used to get 'seriously' (often graphically) injured in his Toho films. I still have to look away when he is injured by the monster with the chain-saw chest! Hey, in the first EVER 'Godzilla' movie he is killed! Join the KFSS: Asian Movies Mailing List to talk 'Asian Monsters'! Anyway, here's my marks for Tri-Star's 'Godzilla' out of a possible 10/10.
SFX: 9/10 (Apart from THAT scene which was 2/10) OVERALL SCORE: 7/10
Is this fair? Or are the Toho originals still #1?
Emmerlich has said there WILL be a sequel but not for a while.
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