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Godzilla 2000

Godzilla 2000

List Price: $9.95
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Get Ready to Crumble!
Review: First, this movie gets my four stars based on its merit as a GODZILLA movie. Anyone who knows Godzilla knows that Godzilla movies are in a world all of their own.

Godzilla 2000 is like a breath of fresh spring air after viewing that travesty of an American version. Godzilla 2000 is everything that the American Godzilla wasn't. Godzilla 2000 brings back the things that made me a Godzilla fan in the first place, and he looks better than ever. The new design of Godzilla rocks, and the coolest part? The new way he spews out his orange-radioactive breath. It just looks fantastic.

Basically, Godzilla fights a huge alien that has been trapped in a meteorite for thousands of years. Naturally, some silly humans unearth the meteorite and set the alien-craft loose upon Tokyo. Who comes to save the day? Godzilla, of course.

The effects are decent by Toho standards, but a lot of them look downright silly. For me, this has become a part of the Godzilla appeal. I WANT to see a guy in a suit crushing and burning little models. Rock on, Godzilla 2000!

The DVD has commentary by the guys who put together the American version of the film. It's runs a little boring, in my opinion. There's also trailers for this film and the American Godzilla. Not enough extras to satiate my Godzilla appetite. Still, I enjoyed the heck out of the film itself.

As the movie states, there's a little bit of Godzilla in all of us.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The return of the King!
Review: At last the REAL Godzilla hasa returned! It it nice to have the King of the Monsters tearing up local movie theatres in widescreen and in digital sound.

That said, there are a number of bones of contention for both die-hards and casual moviegoers alike.

The dubbing is about two miles south of awful. As expected, critics have taken numerous pot-shots at this. It seems to be among the remotest of possibilities for them to consider this to be the fault of the American distribitor, which it certainly IS! Goofy jokes, inane dialogue("crap through a goose," indeed! ) and profanity only serve to cheapen the whole film. Katagari in particular sounds like Snidely Whiplash's cousin and cannot possibly be taken seriously.

The new music ranges from workable(the scenes of the military engaging Godzilla) to dull and uninteresting(the comic scenes and the music heard during the final showdown in Tokyo). It does not compare well with Takeyuki Hattori's original score.

Both monsters have their roars tweaked. At least four times, Tri-Star has added the cry of their own Godzilla(for shame! ). Orga gets a whole new roar that is straight out of Generic Monster Roars 101.

The title card placed over Godzilla incenerating Tokyo is stupid, severely damaging the scene's impact. Perhaps Tri-Star thought it was funny. No one else will, though!

In this era of mega-budgeted spfx extravaganzas, American viewers seem incapable of accepting anything that does not resemble the latest Blockbuster-of-the Week. This film does have its flaws but that does not take away from its many good points. To blindly snub this film as a goofy, cheap, hunk of trash is to miss out on the fun and brings to light a certain amount of ignorance in regard to Japanese films. American viewers are not as sophisticated as they would have everyone believe. They have lost their ability to suspend their disbelief and invest some imagination into a film. That in itself is a tragedy.

See this film. Ignore the critics(Ask yourself this question:If they know so much then why did they all write essentially the same review for this film? ). You won't be disappointed!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: G2K
Review: Thank you TOHO for releasing this follow up from the Mathew Brodhead GODZILLA.This godzilla flick was alright due to the the gap of the monster fights.I mean there really not much going on
just collecting data on Godzilla and focusing on this new UFO or
such that they find.To break a down a alien life force wants to start a kingdom on earth to be there own but first they are drawn to godzilla because of its ability and want to take control over it or so become it to start to new empire they want to build.Pretty much all the real fun is at the end of the movie but in between just a bunch of dialogue.So pretty much this movie was alirght and the new godzilla suit is pretty cool but overal its a good G FLICK.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better than average Godzilla movie
Review: I haven't seen all the Godzilla movies, so I can't say if "Godzilla 2000" is the best, but it certainly has to rank near the top. The acting is good, Godzilla looks more menacing than ever (especially when he's ready to unleash his flames), and the plot is actually quite enjoyable, considering it's centered around a 400 foot lizard. Unfortunately, this DVD does not have the original Japanese dialogue, but the dubbing is well done. The dubbing is certainly much better than the Godzilla movies of the 60's and 70's. The special effects are the standout of the movie, especially when F-15 jets attack Godzilla with missiles. This DVD also has a brief, but interesting behind-the-scenes video of the making of "Godzilla 2000". If nothing else, this movie is certainly far superior to the American version of Godzilla released in 1998, starring Matthew Broderick. I think it proves the Japanese understand the Godzilla phenomenon much better than anyone else.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sony's "Godzilla 2000"
Review: VIDEO QUALITY:
The release presented the film in it's original 2.35:1, and featured anamorphic enhancement. Colours were consistently vivid, and the overall look of the film was much sharper and brighter than any other DVD release. The brightness appeared to have been boosted during the night scenes (in particular the final battle) which helped a lot - the original Japanese print was so dark you could barely make anything out. Sadly, these enhancements also bring about grain that covers every scene of the film, and on occasion some mild artifacting. Overall though, it looks much nicer than any other release of the film.

AUDIO QUALITY:
The disc features three dubbing tracks, English 2.0, English 5.1, and French 2.0. All the of the tracks sound great, and the English 5.1 is outstanding. Sadly, there is no trace of the original Japanese audio. The quality of what you do get is still great though.

EXTRA FEATURES:
First and foremost in my opinion is the audio commentary from writer/producer Mike Schlesinger, editor Michael Mahoney supervising sound editor Darren Paskal, who worked on this US version of the film. It's a great commentary, very fun to listen to, and very informative about the editing decisions that were made for the film's US release. You'll also find 2 minutes of special effects behind the scenes features. Other extras include talent files for director Takao Okawara and Godzilla himself, as well as theatrical trailers for "Godzilla 2000", "Godzilla" (1998) and "Anaconda". It may not be chocker blocked with features, but what's there is excellent.

OVERALL:
Virtually the best video quality you'll find for this film, and the 5.1 audio sounds lovely. It's a shame that the disc lacks the original Japanese cut with Japanese audio, as was promised, though that boils down to Sony, Toho and release schedules. Basically Toho took so long to get off their asses and release it on DVD in Japan (over a year since the film's initial release) that they were reluctant to give Sony the uncut version with Japanese audio in fear that many Japanese would buy the much cheaper American alternative, and at the same time Sony understandably didn't want to miss out on a Christmas release for their disc. In any case you can still enjoy the film for what it is, and packed with the guys audio commentary it's not a disc you want to be passing up any time soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Godzilla movie in a long time!
Review: Produced by Toho as a "take that" to the awful American remake from 1998, I thought this Godzilla movie was really great! I also found it much better than the bloated Series 2 (1984-1995) films, and to be as fun as any of the Series 1 (1954-1975) films! The story was intriguing, the characters were likeable (and thankfully fewer characters, unlike the Byzantine Series 2 characters), the special effects are impressive (almost to the level of the new Gamera movies, and it even uses some CGI!), there was actually more hardcore monster action (as opposed to the in-your-face laser light shows of the recent films), Takayuki Hattori's music was well done for a non-Akira Ifukube score, and the movie doesn't take itself too seriously! Godzilla here looks his best yet, and the Millennian/Orga is one of Godzilla's more bizarre adversaries!

Although the public response to this film was surprisingly positive, I was rather discouraged to hear the same words that US critics used to describe Japanese SF films past, such as "cheesy" and "campy." Although I don't mind poking fun at Japanese SPFX, I just wish they weren't so meanspirited. Besides, old fashioned suitamation FX has been improving in Japanese films, especially with the aid of CGI! You have to give them credit.

I was very happy to see this film in the theater (I saw the Japanese version later on), and that Tri-Star brought this film to the US, partially to apologize to the US fans for that American monstrosity! I think it's time for the US to appreciate Japanese SPFX, and maintain its fandom in the US.

In short, I reccommend this movie! Look for it, especially on DVD!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "bad language"
Review: this movie would have been great if it weren't for the swares. i rated it 2 stars for the "sware free" scenes with godzilla and i would have put in "5" but i think swearing shouldn't be in any movie. in the "a-ok" scenes godzilla looks more like a dinosaur & gets a new color for his fire! and he rampages on! until some guys from the "crisis control intellegence" (cci.) find a strange rock underwater which they decide to take to the suface.and it surfaces itself!!!!! (after the help of some baloons.) and on the surface it "follows" the sun.and then it starts flying! because it's really an alien spaceship.and tries to defeat godzilla! and then later godzilla surfaces and attacks the ship! and when godzilla's stuck in rubble (momentarily) the alien comes out.but he sure isn't small.because he's actually another monster from space!it's name......orga.godzilla rises and it starts!and i can't tell the rest.(if you rent/buy it just fast forward to the end!)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: YOU DON'T KNOW GODZILLA
Review: Any one who gives this lame installment more than 2 stars has not seen the great ZILLA films that have been made in both the SHOWA and HEISEI series.But to think the american version is better than this is simply preposterous.That one gets a zero star rating.I don't fall prey to smoke and mirrors like so many other reviewers do.Special effects are of miner importance.The look of Godzilla and atmosphere of the movie are far more important to me.This is their version of the American version.I think Toho was trying to prove they could make the same movie for a fraction of the cost.If you wanna talk SFX, Godzilla(or that wierd froggy thing they called Godzilla) looked like he was riding an invisible bicycle when he came on shore.And what's up with the John Wayne sounding tall japanese person.I'll blame the american dubbers for that.This movie put such a bad taste in my mouth I've avoided future installments.Everyone's got their "Great Godzilla Films"list Here's mine. Remember these are the english dubbed versions. GODZILLA,KING OF THE MONSTERS, KING KONG vs GODZILLA, GODZILLA vs THE THING(MOTHRA), GHIDRAH THE THREE HEADED MONSTER, MONSTER ZERO,DESTROY ALL MONSTERS,and TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA.That's the SHOWA list.Now the HIESIE series; GODZILLA vs BIOLLANTE, GODZILLA vs MECHAGODZILLA 2,and finally GODZILLA vs KISS oops... I mean Detroyer(GREAT ALBUM) GODZILLA vs DESTOROYAH. KING GHIDORAH almost made the list.The monster stuff was great,but the people stuff sucked.The people stuff can be no less than tolerable to make the list.And boy!!! did this one have sucky people stuff along with the sucky montser stuff.If you have a varying opinion of my list I respect that, but if you totally disagree with me; YOU DON"T KNOW GODZILLA.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Godzilla's REAL Revenge!
Review: Sure, "Godzilla" (starring Broderick) was an average movie, but as a Godzila movie, it bombed. For one thing, Godzilla wasn't in it. Luckily, Toho released this follow-up flick and brought back their star to be in it - the star, of course, is Godzilla.

I have to say this movie does ALMOST everything right:
- you've got the outrageous dialogue ("Great Caesar's Ghost!!!")
- good Godzilla scenes (even the scenes where the JSDF is getting trashed)
- monster-on-monster action (Godzilla vs. Orga)
- the scenes flow
- both the Human Scenes and the Monster Scenes are interesting
- and you have the hilarious finale at the end where the actors make their conclusions on Godzilla known to the audience

But as well as the movie gets most things done, there really should've been MORE monster action. The film's huge flaw was that no monster action occurs between minute 37 and minute 69. Because of that, I can't give this movie 5 stars.

There are three Monster Scenes in the movie:
1) Godzilla trashing random things at the beginning of the movie
2) Godzilla vs. the military (one of the best one's I've seen involving the military actually); later, the UFO comes in and trades shots with Godzilla
3) Godzilla vs. the UFO (which later transposes into Godzilla vs. Orga)

[note: there is only one monster-on-monster scene]

In any case, here are some hilarious situations from the movie:

SITUATION 1
When the scientific team discovers the meteor's amazing buoyancy, Miyasaka immediately speculates that the rock is probably a vessel from outer-space. (ONLY a scientist in a "Godzilla" movie could've jumped straight to that conclusion!)

SITUATION 2
During the climactic fight between Godzilla and Orga, he (Orga) starts chewing Godzilla's body. Shinoda says "Look at that! He's trying to become a Godzilla clone!" Katagiri says nothing, but looks away with a hilarious "WTF" expression.

And here is some hilarious dialogue from the movie:

DIALOGUE 1
When the military are drawing up their strategy to defeat Godzilla, the general reveals his plan to lure the giant monster into the bay where many underwater mines will be waiting. One officer asks the general what his backup plan is (in case the mines don't stop Godzilla). The general explains that he has new Armor-Piercing missiles that will go through Godzilla like "crap through a goose." (LOL where do they come up with this stuff?)

DIALOGUE 2
After the initial battle between Godzilla and the UFO ends, Miyasaka speculate about the rock's origins again:
MAN 1 - "...Therefore I'm convinced that this vessel came from another galaxy."
MAN 2 - "A visitor from outerspace? My God, it's just too crazy to believe." (I guessed these people hadn't seen any 'Godzilla' movies before)

DIALOGUE 3
Katagiri is about to detonate City Tower where the UFO is hacking into the city's computers. Katagiri then learns that his old collegue, Shinoda, is still inside. Katagiri decides to proceed with the detonation on schedule, then says:
"Looks like I'm gonna have to send more flowers." (very cynical indeed!)

(when Shinoda survives, and sees Katagiri later, he announces to Katagiri: "nice try ***hole")

DIALOGUE 4
After Godzilla defeats Orga, Yuki points this out:
"Boy, that's ironic. It woke up after 60 million years and then Godzilla destroyed it."
Shinoda pauses for a second and replies "Uh...yeah."

DIALOGUE 5
Here are the hilarious conclusions that the human stars come to at the movie's finale:

MIYASAKA: "We scientists produced this monster, Godzilla. And ever since, we tried to destroy him. [Godzilla proceeds to trash the city]

YUKA: "Then why? Why does he keep protecting us?" [Godzilla continues to demolish buildings]

SHINODA: "Maybe because Godzilla is inside each one of us." [Godzilla then sprays his atomic breath at every building he sees]

All in all, "Godzilla 2000" brings back the REAL Godzilla. This movie is entertaining all-around. Yet, it won't get 5 stars because of that huge gap in the middle of the movie where no monster action occurs.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: YEAH! Godzilla is back!!!
Review: After a HUGE dissapointment of the 1998 version of Godzilla, the TRUE king returns to the screen! I first saw this film in 2000 of August, and I actually like this film, even on DVD! The music was nice, Orga was cool, and Godzilla, well, he's BACK!!! A star was taken away, because there were some of the cheesy dubbing, but that's alright! Welcome back, GODZILLA, THE TRUE KING OF THE MONSTERS!!!


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