Godzilla 2000 (1999)

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nTitle: Godzilla 2000 (1999)

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nDirector: Takao Okawara

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nSo in preparation for Godzilla (2014) I decided to revisitnsome of the Godzilla movies in my collection and the one that jumped at me wasnGodzilla 2000, mainly because I had not reviewed it here, so I took thenopportunity to revisit it. I have to say, it’s a pretty solid Godzilla flick fillednwith lots of fun moments. The thing with this particular Godzilla film is thatnit was made as a response to Roland Emmerich’s masterpiece (I kid, I kid)nGodzilla (1998). Japanese audiences hated that American Godzilla so much thatnthey had to immediately make a response film. Originally, Tri Star pictures hadna trilogy of Godzilla flicks planned, but Japanese hatred for that film moved thenguys at Toho Ltd. to make a proper Godzilla flick, as a result we get Godzilla 2000 a film made to remind us what a true Godzilla film is all about.

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nOn this particular flick humans discover a huge chunk ofnrock beneath the ocean; the rock is emitting energy, so of course they decidento unearth it. They soon discover this ancient rock is actually a dormant aliennspaceship that had crash landed on earth’s oceans years ago. At the same time,nwe follow a group of scientists who are trying to pin point Godzilla’s exactnlocation on earth, which is kind of funny because how the hell do you losentrack of something as huge as Godzilla right? So anyways, the main character isnthis scientist and his daughter who are the equivalent of storm chasers, butninstead of storms, they chase Godzilla. Will Godzilla make it in time to savenhumanity from the evil alien ship that’s stealing all of humanities knowledge?

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nWhat I like about this one is that it was the first time wenget a glimpse at a new Godzilla design, which to me is the best Godzilla hasnever looked on any of the Japanese films. To me this era of Godzilla films (knownnas the Millenium Era) is the best era, because Godzilla looks pretty bad ass,nnot bulky or obviously a man in a suit. So right from the beginning we meetnGodzilla face to face, and it’s not some computer generated image trying to getnaway from cheesiness, nope, this is Godzilla, the way he’s always been, kind ofngoofy, but 100% fun. There’s this scene where the protagonists are driving downna tunnel and what awaits them at the end is Godzilla’s giant face and hisnbreath, the scene is beyond cool! A great way to remind us just how fun anGodzilla movie can be. The ideas have to be out there and crazy! The craziernthe better! And so to me, this one delivers in that aspect.

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nStarting with the fact that we’re talking about a giantnalien spaceship that sucks up knowledge from computers and morphs into a giant tentaclednmonster! The only downside in this movie for me is that the alien creature wasnachieved through computer effects, and since nothing else in the film isncomputer generated, well, the effect stands out like a sore thumb. It just doesn’tnlook good; it doesn’t help matters that the computer effects aren’t good atnall. This is one of those Godzilla villains that never returned, it’s not anfavorite and it’s easy to see why. The effects were terrible, good thing it doesn’tnstay that way for long and eventually morphs into a man in a suit type of thingncalled Orga. Orga has a cool ability, it can steal your DNA through its bitenand it can copy your abilities, so logically, it bites Godzilla and starts tonclone Godzilla in a way, which was a cool ability in my book. The monsternbrawls are cool, destroying buildings and putting Tokyo in peril, but mynfavorite part of the film is how Godzilla decides to destroy the alien.

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nSo anyhow, my final words on this one is that it was a goodnway to start the new era of Godzilla films. It was a fresh start in many ways,nfor example, it starts from scratch and ignores the continuity presented in allnprevious Godzilla films save for what happened in the original Gojira (1954). Godzillan2000 was a huge box office success in Japan and so they also released it in thenU.S. They cut a couple of minutes off to quicken the pace and added new music.nBy the way, this was the second Japanese Godzilla film to be released in Americanntheaters since Godzilla 1985 (1984). The English dubbing is deliberately tonguenin cheek and funny, so when you hear people saying things like “Great Caesar’snGhost!” don’t be surprised. American producers decided to make the tone of thenfilm funny, because in their heads, they think American audiences would neverntake the monster fight sequences seriously, so why not make the whole thingnfunnier with a funny line or two? But what do they know right? Godzilla filmsnexist in their own unique universe and offer a very distinctive experience. Youngotta take them for what they are,  because with Godzilla films you either get themnor you don’t. I’m one of the ones who has a blast watching these movies, thisnone was super fun, I recommend it!

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nRating: 3 out of 5

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