5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
A giant, reptilian monster descends upon New York, and it's up to the Army and an odd team of investigators to save their city.
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin DunnAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 72% |
Thriller | 37% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
All the king's horses and all the king's men may not be able to put the Big Apple together
again.
Only one word can adequately describe Director Roland Emmerich's Disaster movies: "spectacle."
Love his movies or despise them, Emmerich's pictures never fail to provide the latest in visual and
sound technology; big action sequences; massive destruction of landmarks; lots of noise; and most
importantly, a popcorn-munching good time. Whether Independence Day, The Day After
Tomorrow, or Godzilla, Emmerich strives not for Shakespearean poetry in his
dialogue or Hitchcockian visuals to accentuate mood and atmosphere; instead, he goes for the
jugular, bombarding the visual and aural senses with an onslaught of effects-laden visuals and
sound combined with corny dialogue and over-the-top plot lines and devices, and that's just
fine. Escapist entertainment is just as important as film-as-high-art, and nobody fills that niche
better than Roland Emmerich.
At least he doesn't smell any worse in 4K.
Sony's commitment to releasing the finest Blu-ray products is evident with every spin of a Sony-branded disc. The consistency of product -- from the
latest blockbusters to the most cherished classic titles from years gone by -- is arguably tops in the entire industry, and why shouldn't it be; Sony
was a lead Blu-ray design and advocacy outfit, its PlayStation 3 console offered disc playback and instant wide format adoption, and the first wave of
titles released back in 2006 bore the
Sony label on the spine. Since then, and through a few growing pains and spurts -- a bloody format war, a misstep or two, the transition from Dolby TrueHD to DTS-HD Master Audio -- the
studio has emerged as the most trustworthy in the industry when it comes to its Blu-ray product. When it says Sony, chances are extremely
high that the movie is going to look
(and sound) about as good as the format allows. Now, Sony is recalling the days of its "Superbit" DVD releases with the emergence of "Mastered in
4K"
(*)
Blu-ray discs. The
new
transfers are sourced from 4K masters but here's where the giant asterisk comes in: they're then downscaled to standard Blu-ray 1080p resolution.
That
means buyers can enjoy them on their regular old Blu-ray players and their regular old HDTVs -- no fancy new hardware required. The downside is
that
viewers aren't really seeing the material in 4K; even those who shell out the large sum of cash for a new 4K TV will be treated only to an upscaled
presentation, much the same way today's regular old TV/playback 1080p device combos upscale standard definition DVDs.
Watching the "Mastered in 4K" transfer in 1080p does yield some benefits over the standard 1080p Blu-ray releases, even if it's not a true 4K
experience. The discs
take advantage of a significantly higher bitrate than regular old Blu-ray discs, meaning more muscle to produce the finest picture quality, revealing
superior details and showcasing that perfect cinematic, pleasing grain texturing for pictures photographed on film and more accuracy for those
photographed in the wholly digital realm. "Mastered in 4K" discs also promise superior color balance and accuracy, reproducing a more
faithful-to-the-source palette that will reveal the sort of natural shading and subtle nuance even the best of 1080p Blu-ray cannot match. More, Sony
promises
enhanced viewing on its own line of 4K TVs thanks to a proprietary upscaling algorithm that's designed to squeeze the most out of
the "Mastered in 4K" line of Sony discs, above and beyond what any competitor's display can offer. Makes sense considering some branch of Sony is at
work
along every step of the process. Unfortunately, one of Sony's shiny new 4K televisions was not available for review purposes, but suffice it to say that
either of the launch displays -- the 55" and 65" XBR-labeled sets -- will undoubtedly offer the best consumer viewing picture to date, whether joined
with a Sony "Mastered in 4K" disc or a regular old Blu-ray from any studio.
Godzilla might not be the first movie to spring to mind when thinking of films that would benefit from a "Mastered in 4K" presentation.
Something with a significantly wider and brighter array of colors -- like Spider-Man 2 -- would seem to be the greatest beneficiary of the
process. Godzilla is an undeniably dark, dark, dark film that takes place, primarily, at night and under constant rainfall. Is there
much room to squeeze out a better picture -- slightly better, moderately better, significantly better than the older release from a few years ago? The answer is "yes." Godzilla looks terrific,
boasting an exceptional film-like texturing. Light grain remains throughout the entirety. Fine details are accentuated and very well defined. Clothing
and facial lines reveal the most insignificant textures. Image clarity is excellent, looking only a little bit soft around various special effects shots.
Image stability, otherwise, proves excellent. It boasts a wonderful cinematic texture, boosted by a well-defined color palette, limited though it may be
in the film's latter stages and especially beyond the early Tahiti sequence where the image finds its boldest colors. Even under the darkness, the
shades of blue and gray look incredible, with the occasional splash of yellow from a city cab or green military camouflage thrown in for good measure.
Even in the middle ground -- the warmly lit television station or diner interiors that aren't as bold as Tahiti and nowhere near as dark as nighttime
exteriors -- find a very nice lighting-influenced balance and still capture that excellent, crisp, film-like detail that runs deeply through the film.
Godzilla looks fantastic in 4K. It's one of the best of the bunch, so far.
Godzilla stomps onto Blu-ray with a hard-hitting DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Want volume? Godzilla's got volume. Want bass? Godzilla's got bass -- enough to shake the house down. This is the sort of soundtrack that defies description and is much better experienced first hand than read about second hand, but suffice it to say, this is a devastating, room-shaking, speaker-blowing, brain-scrambling soundtrack. Even at more than 10 years old, Godzilla is still one of the standard-bearers for ridiculously aggressive, terribly powerful, yet crystal-clear and highly entertaining sound mixes. Early in the film, thunder and rain explode through the soundstage, and from the monster's first attack on a fishing vessel onward, there's no mistaking that this is anything but a surround sound and bass-happy extravaganza. It seems almost pointless to mention specifics, because this one rarely lets up in its ability to create a large and seamless sense of space, make fantastic use of the surround channels, and deliver consistently tight and devastating bass. The subtle downpour that accentuates most every exterior scene, the reverberating thuds as the creature stomps through the city, the din of heavy artillery and gunfire, or Godzilla's deafening screams travel through the soundstage and into the ear drums to almost punishing effect. This may be too much for some listeners at reference volume, but a slight decrease in volume doesn't too terribly adversely affect the quality of the listen. Also featuring solid dialogue reproduction that doesn't really become muffled or lost under the rain and bass, Godzilla makes for a so-loud-it's-silly listen on Blu-ray.
This 4K Blu-ray release of Godzilla contains no supplements. A UV digital copy code is, however, included in the case.
They don't come much bigger and louder than Godzilla. Though not the special effects spectacle it once was, Roland Emmerich's Creature Disaster movie remains a severely flawed but thoroughly entertaining popcorn movie that might be the sort of thing that's nominated for Razzie awards (several, in fact) but it's also the sort of thing people go to see in droves. At the end of the day, it's just fine for what it is and wants to be, and in that light, Godzilla is a success on its own playing field. For pure picture and sound quality, this is the definitive Godzilla and a top-notch reference-quality disc. Recommended.
2003
2008
2012
2002
2014
1997
2018
2018
2010
3-Disc Set
2010
1987
2018
2004
2008
2019
2010
2007
Unrated Extended Edition
2005
20th Anniversary Edition
1996
15th Anniversary Edition
2005