Godzilla 2000

"Godzilla 2000," actually completed in 1999 (and was released during the summer of 2000 in America), was the first Toho-backed kaiju-eiga film to receive a major theatrical distribution in the U.S. since 1985. I saw "Godzilla 2000" at the theater and wasn't disappointed, even though a lot has changed since Toho killed off their iconic monster at the end of 1995's "Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah."

I'm 19; I've been a hardcore "G"-fan since I was four years-old and of course, I was quite hesitant about seeing a new "Godzilla" film, being that the Americanized 1998 version wasn't that good. The Toho logo that appears during the opening credits reassured me that "Godzilla 2000" was taking me back to the good old days when Godzilla wasn't afraid to knock down a building or stomp down the military when they threatened him.

With their third generation of "Godzilla" films being kicked off with this flashy new movie, Toho continued a trend that was seen in generation two, where they discard the events of the previous Godzilla incarnation and instead start with the original 1954 "Godzilla" and work from there.

Toho took full advantage of this new series by designing a distinctly reptilian Godzilla, who as the film opens, has already popped up on the radar of some brainy scientist who argues that Godzilla should be studied, instead of destroyed.

And Toho didn't skimp on creating a new monster either, which is a giant UFO that yields something a lot more than just martians. This new foe is actually a nasty little creature that's never given a name, though subsequent debate about the film has concluded that its name is "Orga," who proceeds to try to consume Godzilla and his powers, thus creating one powerful monster.

"Godzilla 2000" has a lot of problems too, which may or may not mar an otherwise decent stomping experience. Though on the whole, it's nice to see Godzilla back in form (somewhat) and this Toho production firmly returns their most beloved creation to dominance, it also suffers a lot from the problems that have plagued its predecessors, and some of those problems may have been due to Roland Emmerich's 1998 Americanized version of the big green guy.

Of course, since I never really cared for the people in a "Godzilla" movie and those feelings haven't changed, it must be pointed out here that the people have been drastically short-changed in favor of the all-out monster showdown that is the film's climax. You're really given a reason to not care about humans in this picture, whereas any previous "Godzilla" movie may have made you have an inkling of feeling for them.

Godzilla himself has changed a lot, with massive plates that line his back and he's also been given a pretty nifty set of fangs. But the thing is, this Godzilla looks and behaves quite... different. Though it's evident with this production that Godzilla is the bad guy (pending on your view), this was one of the things that really struck me as unique about the previous generation of kaiju-eiga films - in that you never really knew if he was the bad guy or not - this movie makes that pretty clear to you, even though the new monster Orga is clearly the bigger problem for the people of Japan.

The special effects in this third generation "Godzilla" film seem to actually be a step back too. The previous generation (the first two movies at least) had really beautiful and thoughtful effects that put you into wonder about how they were achieved. This series doesn't have that level of wonder for some reason. You'd expect their effects to improve over five years or so, but these effects look rushed and unrealistic.

Aside from these quibbles, "Godzilla 2000" doesn't suffer a whole lot, but I was glad to see that it firmly reestablished Godzilla back to his good old, stomping self.

7/10

Goji 200 is a rather poorly paced film with uninteresting human characters and a rather bland telling of the "Goji Attacks Japan" story. The effects however are cool and I am very fond of the Goji 2000 design, so it gets 6 Missiles out of 10 from me.

Godzilla saves Tokyo from a flying saucer that transforms into the beast Orga.

There are some noteworthy firsts in this film: we have the first green Godzilla (no longer the dark gray we are used to), and the first Toho Godzilla using CGI (for better or worse) in some scenes.

No, could this be the best looking man-in-suit Godzilla yet? I think so. While a bit more "rock star" this time around, he looks incredibly mean and aggressive, the monster you do not want to mess with.

This may have been the last good Godzilla movie made (as of 2014). Although, I suppose that is all a matter of taste. Some people probably dislike this one while others probably love the Gareth Edwards version.

In truth, I was planning on coming here and stating how disappointed I was in this movie the second time around . . .

HOWEVER, that was before the movie ended. This may be the only Godzilla film I've seen thus far where I've enjoyed the later half more than the beginning, but I have reasons for that. Firstly, in the old movies, Godzilla didn't normally appear until the second half, allowing for background information and characters to develop. This film introduces him right away, and I believe that is so the on screen characters can begin their study and dissection of Godzilla on a scientific level (which is a "no-no." Godzilla is not science).

Also, the first half of the film relies heavily on special effects, something I wouldn't recommend to any nation other than the U.S. (not because other nations are poor at producing good CG. It's just that America has such a reputation for "pretty colors"). Godzilla started as a guy in a rubber suit. Since then, the technique has greatly improved and I love it.

Anyways, after the halfway marker, the two monster begin their final battle which is as glorious as ever in any film. I highly enjoy the miniatures and models more than any CGI. I can't remember a Godzilla flick with more on-screen destruction, and in such a modernized Japan as well.

The very ending, I would also like to bring up, is very romanticized, exciting, and visionary. Probably my favorite ending of any Godzilla movie.

Finally, I want to mention the music. Most of the soundtrack doesn't really make an effect on me, and sometimes it even stole the mood away from what it should have been . . . but as I said before, I liked the ending. I even spied the theme song from the original 1954 "Gojira" in the ending credits (Cool!) as well as other familiar tunes which I couldn't forget.

I did, however, think that the acting could have done with some work. Otherwise, the storyline and ingenuity matched all previous film plot lines.

There will always be fans of Godzilla, and from what I've seen there is only room for improvement.

Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) is a movie that I recently watched on a random streaming service. The storyline follows an alien artifact that crashes to Earth leading to the emergence of Godzilla. Initially they find Godzilla's attacks to be a threat to humanity, but what he's really doing is preparing for what's about to emerge from the alien rock. What could be more threatening than Godzilla and is he powerful enough to stop the alien?

This movie is directed by Takao Okawara (Yukai) and stars Hiroshi Abe (After the Storm), Shirô Sano (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack), Masahiko Nishimura (Princess Mononoke) and Denden (Cold Fish).

I adored that this movie went back to the Godzilla roots of a man in a costume and the traditional model trains and civilizations for Godzilla to destroy. The modern tanks and airplanes used via CGI were fine also. The dialogue in this was hilarious at times and the acting was as you'd expect for the monster universe. The alien monster CGI initially is awful but the final monster battle is fun, just not as good as some of the legendary monster fight conclusions. The music also uses the classic soundtrack which was a treat.

Overall, this falls short of some of the monster universe classics but it's still worth a viewing. I would score this a 5-5.5/10 and strongly recommend it.