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God who? >> The latest Godzilla inspires amnesia by MATTHEW HAYS
Trouble is, some 12 hours after seeing Godzilla at an advance screening, I've forgotten most of it. No, I wasn't drunk when I went in, nor did I do any substances--no dope, LSD, not even a lousy Sudafed. Yet here I am, trying to recall the elements which make up a film that's opening on a massive number of screens this week across North America, and I'm at a bit of a loss. Okay, so there's this monster. And he appears to have been created by nuclear testing in the South Pacific. There's a wacky, irreverent scientist, played by Matthew Broderick. There's a blond love interest, who is also a reporter. The monster comes to New York, and things start getting wrecked. This part feels much like a film called Jurassic Park Takes Manhattan, another movie I can barely remember but I'm sure must have been made before. The latter half starts to feel a bit like Aliens, but even though that film hasn't been emulated at all, for some reason the latter half of Godzilla feels about as fresh as the first bit. The creators of the new Godzilla--the same folks behind Independence Day--didn't want any photos of their new monster to appear in the press. It's supposed to be a surprise. He looks a lot like the old Godzilla, except a bit more like a real dinosaur, and there's less the feeling (like there was in the old Japanese films) that it's a short guy roaming around some model sets in a monster suit. The Manhattan sets in the new film are indeed impressive, with plenty of ad placements for Blockbuster and various other businesses thrown in. There's some cute banter between all the people who are trying to kill Godzilla. They exchange funny and silly one-liners about sex and monsters, which made some in the audience laugh. Lucky for you, I seem to be having trouble remembering any of the dialogue as well, so I can't repeat any of it here and ruin it for you. It's weird: I think to take notes for complex films, like those of Godard, but I suspected something like Godzilla would be easy to remember. But here I am, drawing a blank. Looks like you, along with millions of other dupes around the planet, will have to drop nine bucks to go and experience Godzilla for yourself, so you too can forget it all. Godzilla is now playing
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One would think there would be a lot to say about the latest Godzilla incarnation. After all, the ads for this film are everywhere. There are heaps of hype, lots of shameless plugging for the film at Cannes, a cult following of the original monster--why, it's one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the summer.