In a world where Hollywood blockbusters are dominated by tired franchises, Marvel metaverses, and schlocky horror slashers … one man has the experience and budget necessary to direct the ultimate historical epic. Indeed, at age 86, Ridley Scott is quite possibly the only man who could easily raise $200 million and brilliantly project modern history’s greatest battles onto an IMAX screen. That he can also attract the talents of a generational actor like Joaquin Phoenix — a man whose career he helped ignite two decades ago in Gladiator — should all but ensure a glorious outcome for Napoleon.

But the theatrical version of the film — reduced from over four hours to a more bite-sized two and half — is not glorious. And it’s not very exciting.

Dean Devlin still remembers the first time he saw 1998’s Godzilla in theaters. It was one day before the premiere, and Devlin, who co-wrote the script with director Roland Emmerich, was standing in the back of a room full of Los Angeles movie theater owners who’d been invited to the movie’s first and only test screening.

“I instantly knew what was wrong with the film,” Devlin tells Inverse. “I instantly knew how to fix it. And I knew we didn’t have time to do it.”

So where did the movie go so terribly wrong? In an interview with Inverse, Devlin reveals why his and Emmerich’s Godzilla went off the rails in the form of five pieces of advice filmmakers should follow when putting the huge lizard on screen.