TriStar

If you go to this film expecting the Japanese Godzilla, you're in for a disappointment. Theis new American version of the legendary monster wouldn't be recognizable as Godzilla unless I hadn't been previously hit with an onslaught of hype for the film. But is the film any good? Well, that depends on your definition of good. If you mean good as in good acting, a logical and intelligent script, and an unpredictable plot, then no, this film isn't any good. The filmmakers have dumped logic and realistic characters in favor of big special effects and action-packed scenarios. Unfortunately, even the action scenes fail for most of this picture. The much-anticipated destruction of New York City while scared Manhattanites flee in terror lasts all of ten minutes. Instead, the city is evacuated and the big lizard spends the rest of the film battling the army, a scientist, and a pair of journalists. In fact, the two most exciting scenes in this film are ripped off from Jurassic Park and its sequel. Throw in some ridiculous humor (characters named after critics Siskel and Ebert - wow, that's original) and you realize that if Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich had spent less time trying to simultaneously hype the film and keep its most important element a secret (two actions which seem to cancel each other out) they might have been able to fix the film's glaring errors. It's entertaining at times, but it could have been so much better.

C