GODZILLA (1998, Blu-ray released November 10, 2009 – MSRP $24.95)
I didn’t think I could run that fast anymore. I actually hung up my cell phone like it was a land line so I could get out the door faster to get over to The Blu-ray Blog’s HQ to pick up my copy of Roland Emmerich’s super monster movie Godzilla.
I think it’s well established at this point that I like cheesy movies, and while there is the softest of soft spots in my heart for the classic “man in a rubber suit” I do love loud and crazy. And this movie has heaps of both, especially the loud! The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track on the Blu-ray disc is exactly as it should be; window rattling! There aren’t many movies that make me crank up the subwoofer, living in an apartment and not wanting to anger the neighbors. But today I did not care. Stomping, roaring, shooting, crashing! Love it!
Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin‘s infamous take on the Japanese classic might be a super exciting affair, yes. But it misses the mark where it counts. It rushes out of the gate strong, feeling like a perfect westernization of the Japanese Gojira concept. But quickly degenerates into a Hollywood mash-up, leaning more toward Jurassic Park than the source material, leaving the core character and and all the quirk and quality of the original behind. But nevermind. On its own insane, popcorn-movie merits, Godzilla is city-stomping fun. Light on story but heavy on explosions. You’ll have a great time watching this, as long as you can leave any connection to the old man-in-suit originals at the door.
The transfer is over all a pretty good quality affair. It’s unfortunate however that any sharpness or detail to be gained from Sony’s excellent work bringing the film to Blu-ray is swallowed by the dark, wet fog of the photography. It’s a great looking image, don’t get me wrong, but perhaps not the bright, crisp variety you hope for from a high-def source. You might feel like there isn’t much to “see” on the Blu-ray disc but rest assured, there is little doubt that this is the best Godzilla has ever looked on home video.
On another front though, they have made great use of the Blu-ray format with a cool intro menu and lots of extras – a very technical commentary track with visual effects supervisor Volker Engel and associate visual effects supervisor Karen Goulekas, “Behind the Scenes of ‘Godzilla’ With Charles Caiman“, “Heroes” music video by The Wallflowers. All are standard fare. But add in a digital copy of the film for your PSP (thanks Sony) and the awesome nostalgia piece “All Time Best of ‘Godzilla’ Fight Scenes” and now you’re speaking my language. And as a final bonus, they have a MovieIQ feature that lets you test your knowledge in a multi player way. A great way to spice up a movie you and your pals have seen a few too many times. There’s also some BD live content that links you to previews for Labyrinth
For about $20 or less, this movie can be added to your collection, guilt free. Just remember, it’s Godzilla – big bowl of popcorn and big sound!
This is one of my all-time top guilty pleasure movies. I was like 13 when it came out, and I’ve enjoyed the hell out of it ever since then.
Although, I did put it on my “10 Worst Dinosaur Movies of the 90s” list, but it’s so bad it’s good!