Godzilla (1998)

In June of 1968, a nuclear test is conducted in French Polynesia by the French government, exposing an iguana nest to the radioactive fallout.

Thirty years pass, and a Japanese cannery ship is attacked by a giant creature in the South Pacific, leaving only one survivor. The next evening, the surviving old man, now in a hospital and traumatized, is questioned by a Frenchman regarding what he had seen, to which he only responded "Gojira."

Dr. Nick Tatopoulos, a biologist working for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has been studying the effects of radiation on earthworms in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine for 3 years. With the arrival of an official from the U.S. State Department however, Nick is reassigned and escorted to Panama by the military in order to examine the trail of destruction left behind by an unidentified animal, then to Jamaica to study the ruined ship on the shore. There, the Frenchman is also present, introducing himself as Philippe Roaché.

While aboard a military aircraft, Colonel Hicks is briefed about three ships being pulled under the waves. Hearing this, paleontologist Elsie Chapman hypothesizes that the creature could be a descendant of theropod dinosaurs because of its size and the claw marks observed earlier. However, Nick disagrees, arguing that it would be much likelier for it to be a mutated creature spawned from the nuclear tests that took place in French Polynesia, near the area where it was first spotted.

Meanwhile, the monster arrives in New York City briefly and then disappears, forcing an evacuation. Nick, drawing parallels from his own research, notes that it might be easier to draw out the creature rather than force it in the open, and suggests a plan to lure out the creature out with fish. The plan ends up being successful as the creature comes up to Flatiron Square and begins feeding on the fish. However, as the military opens fire, it manages to evade all attacks and disappears. Following this, Nick collects a blood sample and examines it in his provisional military tent, finding out that the creature is pregnant and assumes that, since it's the first of its kind, that it must be capable of asexual reproduction. He shares this finding with his ex-girlfriend, Audrey Timmonds—an administrative assistant hoping to become a news reporter—following running into her after years of being separate. To confirm the finding definitively, Nick leaves. Looking around, Audrey discovers classified video tapes concerning the monster's origins. Deciding this is her best opportunity at becoming a news reporter, she takes them and films a report, turning it over to the media. When it airs however, she sees that her superior, Charles Caiman, declared it his own discovery and recorded over her segments, while mispronouncing "Gojira"'s name as "Godzilla."

Following the report's airing, Nick gets kicked off the team due to his apparent carelessness. After, he bids farewell to Audrey and then gets kidnapped by Philippe Roaché, an agent of the French secret service, who informs Nick that the U.S. government isn't interested in finding the theoretical nest, though the French ar.want to cover up any involvement they had with Godzilla's creation. Working with Nick, they begin looking for the nest somewhere within the city.

Surfacing once again, Godzilla escapes all of the military's attacks and dives into the Hudson River, where he is seemingly killed after colliding with torpedoes shot at him by nuclear submarines. Meanwhile, Roaché's team—secretly followed by Audrey and cameraman Victor "Animal" Palotti—search underground subway tunnels and enter Madison Square Garden, where they find over 200 eggs. Before they could begin destroying any, they begin hatching, and the babies proceed to pursue the human intruders because of the fish smell they carry. Nick, Audrey, Animal and Roaché hide in the stadium's broadcast booth and send a live news report. The military is made aware of the broadcast, and respond with an airstrike as the four barely escape before the arena is bombed.

Right then, Godzilla emerges from the garden's ruins, apparently having survived the torpedo attack in the river earlier. Seeing that all of his offspring are dead, he angrily chases down the group through the streets of Manhattan. After several close calls, the group lure Godzilla out into the open by driving through the Brooklyn Bridge, whose suspension cables trap the monster. Now helpless, Godzilla is hit directly by missiles from three F-18 Hornets and falls to the ground, dead. As the people of New York celebrate, Roaché says goodbye to Nick and others.

Back in the ruins of the Garden, however, one egg remains, and then hatches.