Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Most everyone hated the 1998 American remake of "Godzilla", especially the Japanese, so it wasn't long before the Big G returned to his homeland to start anew. Released in Japan in December of 1999, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (as it was originally known) became a box office hit. Not to be outdone, TriStar pictures, who produced and released the American remake and owned the Stateside rights to the Japanese entries, lopped "Millennium" from the title, re-edited it, re-scored it, re-recorded the dialogue with English-speaking actors, and released it in American movie theaters during the summer of 2000. It bombed at the box office and was the last modern Godzilla movie to be released theatrically in America until 2014 (not counting the limited theatrical release of the original Japanese "Gojira" in 2004).
"Godzilla 2000" ignores the events of all previous films in the series. In this story, Godzilla has been present for a long time. He makes landfall now and again to snack on a nuclear power plant or two, and it's the job of the CCI (Crisis Control Institute) to ward him off. Keeping an eye on his movements is the Godzilla Prediction Network, an amateur network of diligent citizens led by the father/daughter team of Yuji and Io Shinoda. Their back story is never explained, but I suspect that the duo's determination to track Godzilla may have something to do with the absent mother figure.
The CCI discovers a meteorite at the bottom of the ocean floor and decides to raise it up. As soon as it hits sunlight, it flies off to confront Godzilla. Before you consider that the movie should have been called "Godzilla Vs. a Rock", it sheds its stone casing and reveals itself to be an alien spacecraft. Meanwhile, Yuji discovers the secret to Godzilla's strength and healing ability, a cell they dub "Regenerator G1" ("Organizer G1" in the Japanese version). The alien ship, after surfing the Internet for a while, learns of this discovery and sucks "Regenerator" straight from Godzilla's DNA. The alien inside uses it to adapt to Earth's atmosphere and becomes a creature called Orga, who takes on Godzilla in a one-on-one fight for dominance. Big mistake. Orga opens up its mouth to swallow Godzilla whole, so Godzilla sticks his head right in and blows the critter up from the inside with his atomic breath (bad ass moment #1). Then he confronts the head of the CCI (who's a real asshole), kills him face-to-face (bad ass moment #2) and stomps off victorious.
Directed by Godzilla veteran Takao Owara ("Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth", "Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla II", "Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah"), "Godzilla 2000" represented a return to form for the series. It was far from perfect, though. The movie feels a bit piecemeal and uneven, due in no small part to its rushed production. The digital effects artists were still going composite-crazy (as in the "Rebirth of Mothra" trilogy), resulting in many terrible visual effects (and a couple of great ones, too - one shot with a jeep in the foreground racing against Godzilla in the background is pretty cool). The re-cut, dubbed American version is, surprisingly, the superior version of the movie. While the English dubbing is ungodly in its cheesiness, it's still funnier and less annoying than the dialogue in the 1998 American remake.
Toho Studios even thought the American cut was better, so it became the default version of the film after it was released. The editing was tighter, the music was better, and the movie felt more like a fast-paced ride than the slogging Japanese cut. I'm not a big fan of the Millennium Series Japanese redesign of Godzilla. His mouth and his spines are too freakishly big and he has too much of an unwieldy, Anime-inspired look to him (trivia note - he's the first green-colored Godzilla in the history of the series), but it's nothing I can't live with. It was just great to see the real Godzilla on the big screen again.
Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Many fans consider this to be the worst movie in the Millennium Series (excepting the American remake). I disagree. I consider "Godzilla 2000" to be the worst (well, least best) entry. I will detail my arguments below. First, though, lets get to the basics.
"Godzilla X Megaguirus: G Extermination Command" is its Japanese title. It was released in the year 2000 and was the lowest-grossing movie in the Millennium Series. Newcomer Masaaki Tezuka took over the directorial reigns this time around and was working from a script by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura, who also wrote "Godzilla 2000". TriStar Pictures had originally wanted to release this movie theatrically in the United States, but the box office failure of "Godzilla 2000" nixed that idea.
Like most of the other movies in Series 3, "Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus" pretends that all of the other movies don't exist. The Plot: Since Godzilla's first appearance in 1954, nuclear power has been abandoned in order to deter Godzilla's advances. Humanity has turned to plasma-based energy to meet its needs. In order to defeat Godzilla once and for all, Japanese scientists have developed a plasma-based satellite weapon which can create mini black holes to suck up all matter and energy within a predetermined area. They call it the Dimension Tide. During its preliminary test, a wormhole is formed. A prehistoric dragonfly emerges from the wormhole, lays an egg, and returns to its original time period. The egg gets into the sewer system of a nearby city where is splits into hundreds of eggs, causing the city to flood.
The eggs hatch into large dragonflies called Meganulas. The Meganulas zero in on the biggest nearby power source, Godzilla, drain his energy, then transfer that energy to the Alpha Grub, also known as the Meganulon. The Meganulon transforms into the super-powered dragonfly Megaguirus and battles Godzilla to defend its territory. Meanwhile, a joint effort by the scientific team behind Dimension Tide (led by a young rebel hipster scientist named Kudo) and an anti-Godzilla task force, the G-Graspers (led by kick-ass female warrior Kiriko Tsujimori) conspire to get the satellite weapon up and working. Godzilla kills Megaguirus (after one particularly bad ass moment where he bites off the giant insect's stinger), and turns his rage towards the city. It seems that one of the Japanese politicians has been secretly experimenting with a nuclear power source beneath the city, putting everyone at risk. Tsujimori puts her own life in danger to target Dimension Tide's final shot before its satellite burns up in the atmosphere. Dimension Tide hits Godzilla, sucking him into a black hole. Yay. That doesn't appear to be enough, however. During a couple of mid-to-end credits scenes, Godzilla returns. It's not explained, but I'm guessing that he came back through a wormhole after a short vacation in prehistory.
I think this is a solid entry in the series. Whether it's because of director Tezuka or not, I'm not sure, but it's a much more solid movie than "2000". It's well-paced, the visual effects are much better, the music by Michiru Oshima is quite excellent (themes which originate in this film return in future installments), the cheesy comic relief is still present but there's much less of it, the characters are more well-formed and are less "arch", and the action sequences are more varied and original (like one scene where Tsujimori rides atop Godzilla's back). Speaking of Kiriko Tsujimori, she's the first true female butt-kicker in the series (it's about time). Godzilla's other opponent, Megaguirus, is a new take on an insect character which first appeared in "Rodan"(1956). He's kind of a mash-up between Mothra and a Godzilla-copying creature like Orga, but he's got a bit of a sadistic personality and makes a great villain.
Overall, I find it to be a quite enjoyable film. The idea of using a black hole to defeat Godzilla is a unique idea, but there are also many themes and characters that feel like rehashes of similar tropes from the series' past. This may be why many critics consider this to be a lesser film. Whether or not these tropes are welcome is a matter of personal taste. Tropes ain't all bad, if they're done well.
Coming up next, the final four films of the Millennium Series. Here's where the Series gets really good. . .
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