Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) [Tokusatsu Review]

Godzilla 2000: Millennium; or, To the Future and Beyond
     Biologically, Godzilla is a very special existence. It's full of unimaginable mysteries. To study Godzilla will be the key to disclose the secrets of living beings on our planet.
Being fired up by my frenzy regarding Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), I decided to go back and revisit the good old Kaiju flicks with our favourite King of the Monsters. My first choice of revisitation became Godzilla 2000: Millennium, a movie that owes its existence to the abhorrent American remake from 1998.

Release Info

Directed by: Takao Okawara Starring: Takehiro Murata, Naomi Nishida, Shiro Sano, Hiroshi Abe

Language: Japanese Original Title: ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム Runtime: 108 min

Synopsis
Godzilla has become a permanent part of Japan’s geo-cultural landscape. Instead of fighting the monster, the authorities prefer to monitor his whereabouts. As a result, the scientist Yuji Shinoda (Takehiro Murata) and his daughter launch an independent organisation known as The Godzilla Prediction Network. During their observational stake-outs, they are accompanied by Yuki Ichinose (Naomi Nishida), a journalist who wants to get exclusive pictures of the King in action. In the meantime, Crisis Control Intelligence headed by Mitsuo Katagiri (Hiroshi Abe) examines an unidentified object which was found at the bottom of the ocean. Shinoda’s friend, Miyasaka (Shiro Sano), determines that the object is 65 million years old and remained dormant until it was exposed to sunlight. The object flies out of water and scans Godzilla, reaching a conclusion that he is the most powerful being on the planet. The UFO plans to invade Earth by replicating Godzilla’s DNA...

Predestination
After the emotional finale of the Heisei series, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Toho wanted to retire the Big G and make way for a (supposed) string of American movies produced by TriStar Pictures. Godzilla producer and the president of Toho, Shogo Tomiyama, was convinced that the American Godzilla series will last up until the year 2005; however, after the disastrous release of the Emmerich’s movie, Toho wanted to protect the legacy of Godzilla, so they greenlit a new Japanese production almost immediately.

Godzilla 2000: Millennium was undoubtedly made in a rush and by a team behind the Heisei movies. Takao Okawara was brought back as the director, Shogo Tomiyama produced, and Hiroshi Kashiwabara (scriptwriter of Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla (1994)) and Wataru Mimura (scriptwriter of Godzilla vs. Mechogodzilla (1993)) wrote the screenplay. What is more, the main lead, Takehiro Murata already appeared in a supporting role in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992).

This is not to say that the movie is an uneventful, tired leap of the King into the 21st century. The filmmakers clearly wanted to reintroduce as well as update the iconic character. Godzilla was given a new look and a remixed roar. To me, this is my favourite Goji-suit out of all movies. The film also marks the first appearance of the suitmation actor, Tsutomu Kitagawa, as Godzilla.

In terms of special effects, these were helmed by Kenji Suzuki who opted for the usage of digital compositing rather than traditional models. The result is kind of a mixed bag. Some of the sequences look absolutely great, but others are visibly outdated. Still, huge respect goes to the F/X team for trying to push the envelope so early on in the franchise.

As for the screenplay, we get a traditional monster rumble, but in contrast to previous entries of the series, the human drama is fairly enjoyable. I liked the chemistry between Shinoda, his daughter, and Yuki. There’s also the character of Miyasaka who seems to have a bromance attraction to Shinoda, but he restrains himself because he works for villainous Katagiri, a guy hellbent on annihilating Godzilla. Some of the technobabble in the story is barely understandable, but I liked the twist involving an alien race attempting to create their “own Godzilla”.

The music score was composed by Takayuki Hattori (who also scored Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla). Like I said in my editorial series on Godzilla music, the OST for this particular movie is fine, but I prefer Hattori’s compositions for the anime trilogy.

With regard to performances, all of the main leads do a fine job, but the real show-stealer is the awesome Hiroshi Abe as the baddie. His “Godzilla!!!!!!” moment in the finale has engraved itself into the hall of fame of the most iconic Godzilla scenes. I’m also happy to see Naomi Nishida because she does not normally do tokusatsu flicks at all.

Interestingly, Godzilla 2000: Millennium was re-released in the U.S by Sony. Producer Mike Schlesinger and his team tried the best they could to re-cut and dub the film in a way that will not be disrespectful towards Toho and Godzilla fans. Consequently, the English version is indeed watchable, but I still prefer the original cut. Originally, the English movie ended with a cartoonish “The End?” card, but it was removed from subsequent releases. However, if you happen to own Godzilla 2000 on Spanish VHS, then you can enjoy this piece of lost cinematic trivia.

Recommendations
All things considered, this was my look at Godzilla 2000: Millennium. For many young fans in the early 2000s, this was their first introduction into the franchise (well, this and the Emmerich movie…). I personally have a soft spot for it. It is a decent monster flick that can be enjoyed even by non-kaiju viewers.Overall score: 8/10

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