Godzilla

The film's opening credits play over a montage of French nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean, observed by many iguanas. Then, in present days, a Japanese fishing ship is attacked by an unseen monster; only one survived (an old man). Traumatized, he is later questioned in a hospital by a mysterious Frenchman (Jean Reno) as to what he saw. But the man didn't answer until the Frenchman asks in English with a lit lighter moving left and right and repeatedly says only one word: Gojira (the name was later mistranslated as Godzilla by the U.S. media).

Another seaborne attack just by the Eastern Seaboard culminated in the eventual destruction of a fishing ship. The crew, however, survived, after witnessing their boat sinking, but it shot up from underneath and landed with a huge splash in the surface.

Niko "Nick" Tatapolous (Matthew Broderick), an NRC scientist, who happened to be in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Ukraine) researching the effects of radiation on wildlife, was interrupted by the arrival of an agent of the U.S. State Department. He was sent to Panama, escorted by the military, to observe the wreckage of the recovered Japanese fishing ship (which had three gigantic claw marks on one side) and a set of massive dinosaur-like footprints in the grassy soil. The Frenchman is also there, observing the scene and introduces himself as an insurance agent. Aboard a military aircraft, Tatapolous identifies skin samples he recovered as belonging to a creature "unknown to science".

Godzilla then heads to New York City, dragging three trawlers under the sea on the way, then creating havoc in the Fulton Fish Market, before rampaging through the city. Manhattan is evacuated and the military attempt to kill Godzilla, first luring him out with a huge pile of fish. Godzilla takes the bait, but then shrugs off small arms fire, and evades and destroys three pursuing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. He escapes, but not before Nick realises that the monster reproduces asexually, and is collecting food for his children. Nick is determined to find Godzilla's nest.

However, when a videotape from Panama is stolen by Nick's ex-girlfriend, Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo), a would-be TV journalist for news channel "WIDF", he is thrown off the team. He is then kidnapped by the Frenchman who introduces himself as Philippe Roaché, an agent of the DGSE, the French Secret Service. He and his team have been keeping close watch on events, and are now ready to help clear up the mess they feel responsible for, but cannot acknowledge.

The military lure Godzilla out again, and after a fierce battle in the waters of the Hudson River with three U.S. Navy nuclear submarines, Godzilla is torpedoed and seems to be dead. Meanwhile Nick and a crack French team, led by Roaché, surreptitiously followed by Audrey and cameraman Victor "Animal" Palotti (Hank Azaria), track Godzilla through the subway tunnels to Madison Square Garden, finding hundreds of eggs. They start to lay explosives, but the eggs start to hatch. The Baby Godzillas begin to look for food, and since the team stink like fish, they become inevitable targets. After failing to contain the baby monsters and losing several members of the team, the remaining four of them take refuge in a TV broadcast booth. From there, Nick, Audrey, and Animal alert the authorities, who order an immediate strike by a trio of F/A-18 Hornets. The four escape just before the building is destroyed, only for an extremely enraged Godzilla (who managed to survive the battle in the East River) to emerge from the wreckage. The four make a getaway in a taxicab, and lure Godzilla to the Brooklyn Bridge where he becomes entangled in the steel suspension cables, and is an easy target for the fighters. As the three F-18s close in, they each fire a pair of missiles that slam into Godzilla's side. As the jets pass him, Godzilla uselessly tries to attack by snapping at them with his jaws, but fails, and the F-18s circle around and fire another wave of missiles that also slam into the monster's side. After many screams of pain, he finally falls to the ground. As Godzilla is left to die, he looks at Nick during his final moments as his heart slowly stops beating. At the end of the film Nick and Audrey reconcile while Roaché disappears into the night after stealing their videotape footage of the incident. He promises to return the tape after "certain information" has been removed. All seems well until we see in smoking ruins of the Garden, a single egg has survived and hatches; begining Godzilla: The Series.