But like the effects in Jurassic Park, not all of Godzilla’s scenes are entirely CGI, as some were shot practically too. Animatronic heads, tails, and legs were used in the film to play the title beast plus full costumes were employed when it came to the baby Godzillas as they run amok in Madison Square Garden. The action with the babies was a combo of both CGI and suit acting as the cast ran from the 7-foot-high creatures who are trying to eat them. Like their father/ mother Godzilla….still to this day trying to figure that shit out, but the offspring are fast little runners who bear no resemblance to Toho’s Son of Godzilla (thank God) and looks like smaller cuter versions of the parent creature.
The new Godzilla design was the idea of Patrick Tatopoulos who used iguanas as the base model for his take on the creature. He was told to design a sleek and agile animal that could run, jump, swim, and climb so the older lumbering beast of the past was put aside for the faster more nimble Godzilla. The overall creature design was very impressive and had it been used for another creature, say a remake of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, its design would have gone over way better with the public. Oddly enough, Godzilla himself owes his very existence to The Beast Form 20,000 Fathoms because it was that very movie that inspired Toho to create Godzilla in the first place since they themselves were fans of the 1953 movie.
A year before Godzilla 1998, the marketing started getting the buzz ready for the movie. With ads saying Size Matters and showing just bits and pieces of the title monster in TV commercials, no one really knew just what the new Godzilla would look like until you saw the movie. Most diehard Godzilla fans were not happy with the film’s release. Despite the new creature's revolutionary design, most hated it at the time as it resembled nothing like the monster of their childhood….nor did the creature act anything like Godzilla. Gone were the creature's indestructible qualities we have come to expect and instead of fighting the military as the unstoppable force we know and love, this creature just ran away from helicopters and other forces. Although to be fair again, the producers were going for a more realistic animal and that’s where the issues lie.
The indestructible Godzilla was not seen here and that’s what fans could not get past. I saw this movie in the theater upon release and I too said the same thing “What he’s running from the army? A few missiles killed him, no atomic breath, what the hell is this?” I said to myself when sitting in the theater. And yet as I watched the movie on cable a few years later, I understood what the filmmakers were going for. They had the fan's best interest at heart but missed changing the creature too much. Now had this really been a remake of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (and why has that not been remade) or any other generic giant monster movie running amok in New York, the film would have been received way better. Hell, no one lost their mind over Cloverfield….and why, because it was an original monster and didn’t capitalize on the name Godzilla. If you watch the movie for just what it is….a monster movie, then it's really pretty damn good.
Okay, the characters are annoying for the most part (I know), but the story is pretty good, the slow reveal of the title beast is well executed before we see him in full. The creature's design is well thought out (even if it’s not really Godzilla) and come on, it's still entertaining. Godzilla 98 was going to be the first of a new American Godzilla franchise but because of the backlash that was never meant to be…..well almost.