running time : 2 hours 20 minutes starring matthew broderick , jean reno and maria pitillo directed by roland emmerich fantastically over hyped , godzila finally lumbers onto the big screen . the film opens with footage of nuclear testing on the french polynesian islands , then an attack on a boat from some beast , and finally we join dr . nick tatopoulos ( broderick looking about 17 years old ) doing some research in chernobyl . some shady u . s government guys appear , and ask him to come to an island where they have massive footprints , from what looks like a giant lizard . and what's more , this beast is heading for new york . gulp ! although godzilla should be a non stop roller coaster ride , and at some points it is , there is something curiously uninvolving and unexciting about this movie . the main faults lie with the acting and writing , common problems with 'summer blockbuster' movies . broderick is pretty useless as the hero , with no humour or a 'tough guy' image . while emmerich's previous summer flick , independence day ( 1996 ) had wisecracks and action from jeff goldblum and will smith , this has neither . also , maria pitillo , as broderick's former girlfriend , is just as useless , with a chronic disability in acting . she's incapable of showing emotion , speaks every line in the same way , and basically she's total crap . it's up to french actor jean reno to save the day , and indeed he does , turning in a campy performance as a french secret agent . shame he has such little screen time in such a overlong film . hank azaria also turns up as a crazy cameraman named 'animal' , and he adds a little life to the picture . also making an appearance is harry shearer ( probably best know for doing voices in the simpsons ) as a slimy news reporter . o . k , so the acting is not up to par , but it never is in these movies . but what about the script ? well , that's not up to par either . emmerich and screenwriting pal dean devlin seem so caught in the destruction of new york city that they forgot to write a script . the dialogue is banal ( broderick looks at a lot of fish and utters 'that's a lot of fish . ' ) , and the character development is non existent ( reno plays the typical frenchman ( 'no croissant ? ' ) , broderick forever remains a geeky scientist . ) also , the film is seriously lacking a sense of humour . the jokes that are uttered are pathetic , and there's an 'hilarious' running gag about siskel and ebert . ( the mayor is mayor ebert , and is assistant is called gene ! ha ha ha ha ! . ) the plot is dire , and in the end just rips off jurassic park ( 1993 ) by having lots of baby godzilla's ( i . e . velicorapters ) running around new york . right , so the script and acting suck . but what about the special effects ? thankfully , they're are quite good . godzilla is an impressive piece of cgi , although we don't see much of him because the movie is so dark . the destruction of new york is pretty well done aswell . but although they are impressive , they can't save godzilla from being an hugely disappointing and boring movie . the movie goes on for far too long aswell , and it can't seem to decide on a ending . and of course , the ending itself leaves possibility for a sequel . let's just hope one never arrives . 
