Godzilla -1998- -

Later, Toho officially recognized "Zilla" as a separate kaiju—one whose only power is speed and burrowing, who was killed by conventional missiles in its own film, and who is considered a disgrace to the Godzilla name. Is Godzilla (1998) a good Godzilla film? No. It ignores the character’s history, powers, and meaning.

But is the 1998 film really a bad monster movie , or is it simply a bad Godzilla movie ? Let’s take an objective look back at the film that tried—and largely failed—to bring the King of the Monsters to the West. The idea of an American Godzilla film was a development hell classic. For over a decade, studios like Columbia TriStar (Sony) tried to get a version off the ground, with directors like Jan de Bont ( Speed ) attached at various points. De Bont’s version, which never got made, allegedly featured a more traditional, ray-breathing Godzilla fighting a giant monster called "The Gryphon."

When Roland Emmerich ( Independence Day ) finally signed on, he made it clear he was doing things his way. He famously disliked the original Japanese concept, calling Godzilla "too fat" and preferring a more agile, animalistic creature. The result? A $130 million summer blockbuster that opened to massive hype on May 20, 1998. The plot is pure 90s disaster-flick: French nuclear tests in the Pacific mutate an iguana into a 200-foot-tall monster. The creature swims to New York, lays a nest of eggs in Madison Square Garden, and generally wreaks havoc on Manhattan. On the human side, we have Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos—a nerdy scientist who studies worms (yes, worms). He’s joined by a stereotypically sleazy reporter (Hank Azaria), a French secret agent (Jean Reno), and a love interest (Maria Pitillo) who mostly screams.