Godzilla (1998) Saturday Monster Movies

1998’s Godzilla was the first Hollywood version of the monster. It did not go over well. The mood of the film was inconsistent, the writing and acting pretty silly, and the monster… It was not very Godzilla-esque. Too dinosaur-ish, velociraptor inspired, and not at all like a man-in-a-suit shaped body.

Watching this movie today, one is struck by the many shots of New York with the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the skyline. There is even a passing refrence to the “bombing of the WTC” that is discombobulating. In a post-911 world, we often forget that that was the second attack. It is tough to watch a movie that has fun with the destruction of landmarks, particularly the World Trade Center, in the aftermath of its destruction. Before 911, we had a bullet-proof attitude that didn’t carry the right level of respect for such events.

It will be curious to see how soon after 2001, the movies start to treat the destruction and devastation with a different attitude.