#4- "Godzilla 2000" (1999)

Enter Godzilla 2000, the last Japanese Godzilla movie to be released in American Theaters and the number four Godzilla movie ever. This is a rock solid G movie that really doesn't stand out in too many regards, but is strong in each category. I saw Godzilla 2000 in theaters as a youngster with my Dad and was spellbound. It was such a treat to witness a brand new G movie on the big screen, especially at seven years old, and that was something I did not experience again until this past May when Godzilla 2014 was released. Godzilla 2000 was Toho's response to the worst film in the series, Godzilla 1998, the first and worst entry in my countdown . It came out shortly after the 1998 film, and even though it grossed only a fraction of the earnings that the 1998 film did, it is by far a superior Godzilla movie. In my opinion, Godzilla 2000 has one of the top two or three best opening sequences of a Godzilla movie ever. Within the first 10 minutes, Godzilla is quickly revealed and shown marching across Japan, destroying everything in his path in several awesome scenes of scale. The damage and destruction, and especially the audio to go with the explosions and carnage are all fantastic. On top of this all is the radical new design to Godzilla, which thinned him down slightly from his monstrous Heisei series form, while making him much more gnarly and "sharp" looking, especially in the design of his dorsal spines and teeth.

Godzilla arrives in Japan and a special Godzilla research unit led by Yuri Shinoda and his daughter Io track him down. Along with them comes reporter/photographer Yuki, who is attempting to get some close shots of Godzilla for her paper. Yuki does just that when the group comes unknowingly too close to Godzilla. Yuki snaps some shots of the monster up close and they barely escape alive. They continue following Godzilla across Japan as the monster makes his way to a power plant and destroys it. Meanwhile, another research team led by a devious man named Katagiri (who opposes Yuri) discovers a strange rock deep in the ocean, and they bring it to the surface, although it seems to rise on its own. Yuki joins the CGI with Yuri and Io, and Godzilla soon surfaces again although this time the military is prepared to meet him with tanks, underwater mines, and some new special armor piercing missiles, although little can slow Godzilla's advance. The large rock begins tipping upwards, following the path of the sun, and soon takes off, much to the surprise of Katagiri and his right hand man Shiro. The rock flies towards Godzilla and blasts him with a powerful energy beam, after using xray vision to check Godzilla's cells out. Godzilla releases his atomic ray, now a full time orange beam, and melts the rocky outer shell off the rock, exposing a silver metallic form underneath.

By now it is apparent the rock is a UFO. Godzilla is blasted back into the ocean and the UFO crashes into a nearby bay as clouds roll in, blocking out the sun. Yuki notices her laptop has been hacked and all the information concerning Godzilla has been stolen. Yuri collects some Godzilla cells and studies them with Shiro, who acts as a sort of middle man between Yuri and Katagiri (who used to work together before Yuri left Katagiri's team). Together, they discover the regenerative properties of Godzilla's cells, allowing him to heal at an incredible rate. They name their discovery Regenerator G-1. The UFO awakens and flies to Yuki's news building, resting atop the skyscraper as bystanders gather to watch. It is discovered that the UFO has extended some tentacles into the building to absorb all of its information. Yuki tries to find out what exactly the UFO is after before Yuri tells her to escape the building, since Katagiri is planning to destroy it to stop the flow of data. This theme was likely inspired by the Y2K scare of the time. Katagiri destroys the building before Yuri can escape, but somehow he survives and finds that the UFO is after information pertaining to Godzilla's regenerative capabilities. Godzilla arrives and battles the UFO before it drops a skyscraper on him. Momentarily subdued, the UFO steals some Godzilla DNA and creates a monster to battle him, named Orga. Godzilla destroys the UFO and begins battling Orga, which is massive grey beast that appears clumsy and inept in battle. It can however suck energy from Godzilla by biting him, and eventually Godzilla-esque spines begin to form on the beast. It is trying to make itself a clone of Godzilla, the perfect being. Godzilla's atomic ray is too powerful and severely injures Orga, who then attempts to eat Godzilla whole by expanding its mouth like a snake.

Godzilla dives into Orga's exposed throat and heats up his body to a glowing orange level, burning Orga from inside before blasting the alien monster with his atomic ray, destroying it for good. The cast of characters look on in awe as Godzilla releases his victory roar, but the King isn't done. He approaches them all, and Katagiri for whatever reason doesn't run. Godzilla kills him and spares the rest of the characters. Katagiri (and his English dubbed voice actor) by now is one of the top five worst actors in the Godzilla series, so it's not a terribly emotional loss, considering his evil intentions towards the King of the Monsters. Godzilla then destroys some of Tokyo before the credits role. This is also one of the greatest ending sequences of any G movie, as an angelic voice sadly hums a tune as Godzilla silently marches through Tokyo in a brilliant display of power. The final line of dialog: "Godzilla is in each one of us."

Godzilla 2000 was one of the more successful films of the franchise, taking in over twenty five million dollars between Japan and the United States, although its success didn't continue into the next movie Godzilla vs Megaguirus (2000), the #26 G movie. The excellent design of Godzilla featured in those two movies was abandoned after that, not that the following designs were bad. One thing that sticks out in in my mind is the dialog of Godzilla 2000, or atleast the dubbing that has been done in the version that I watch. There are purposefully corny lines throughout the movie, such as when the military officer is talking up the new armor piercing missiles, "Like crap through a Goose!" or when the UFO barely misses hitting a passenger train as three men (one wearing what appears to be a snorkel) exclaim in unison "Holy Crap!" with Australian accents. I personally do not mind dialog such as this as you will see in my next entry my favorite line of dialog ever in a Godzilla movie, however I can understand how something like this would turn off some viewers. Godzilla 2000 overall is a serious movie especially considering the theme of Y2K and computers throughout the plot line. I think the correlation of the quote Godzilla being inside each one of us and Y2K is relevant because Godzilla made short work of the aliens and their plans and I think this was meant to be a sort of confidence booster in a way, that we should not be afraid. If you ever want to kick back and enjoy a Godzilla movie, without having to skim through a ton of filler material or subliminal messages, this is one of the most rock solid G movies to do so with. A simple story, lots of Godzilla action, great effects, its simply put, a masterpiece of Godzilla Cinema.