Godzilla 2000: Millennium

Godzilla 2000: Millennium ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム (Gojira Nisen: Mireniamu) is a 1999 produced by Toho Company Ltd., and the twenty-third installment in the Godzilla series, as well as the first in the Millennium series. The film was released to Japanese theaters on December 11, 1999, and to American theaters on August 18, 2000.

Plot
Godzilla is a literal force of nature to Japan. The Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN) functions independently to study the mutant dinosaur and predict his landfalls. Meanwhile, the scientists of the Crisis Control Institute (CCI) find a 65 million year old structure deep in the Japan Trench. As CCI attempts to raise the object to study its internal power source, it takes off into the sky on its own. Godzilla arrives and battles the Japan Self Defense Forces, now equipped with powerful Full Metal Missiles, but the strange UFO appears, searching for some sort of genetic information that apparently only Godzilla possesses. It fights Godzilla to a standstill, driving the monster underwater, and then lands to replenish its solar power.

Yuji Shinoda, founder of GPN, discovers the secret to Godzilla's regenerative properties (named Regenerator G1), but so has the UFO. It frees itself from the JSDF's attempts to contain it, and heads for Shinjuku. After landing atop City Tower, it begins to drain all the files about Godzilla from Tokyo's master computers. CCI attempts to destroy the UFO using explosive charges, but Shinoda, attempting to find out more about the aliens, is nearly caught in the blast. He survives, and joins the rest of the cast on a rooftop, watching the UFO. Almost in response, the ship broadcasts its message of invasion and a new empire on earth, and Shinoda reveals that the aliens are after Godzilla's DNA so that they may re-form their bodies. The UFO goes on to wreak havoc, after Shinoda and Miyasaka find out that Godzilla's skin cells are very remarkable, with a DNA called "Regenator/Organizer G1" in Katagiri's laboratory. The UFO then tries to drain all of Tokyo's computer data to find information about Godzilla. Katagiri orders the JSDF to use blast cannons to destroy the UFO. Shinoda and his wife almost are destroyed in the building the UFO is one top of draining computer data, but they luckily survive. However, the UFO is alive, and someone tells that Godzilla's entered the bay.

Godzilla arrives and again battles the ship. However, he is subdued by the ship's assault, and it absorbs his DNA, creating an octopus-like body. However, the alien is unable to control Godzilla's DNA and further mutates into a horrible alien monster named Orga. Godzilla recovers and fights the monstrous creature, but Orga eventually gains the upper hand, and drains more of Godzilla's DNA, trying to convert itself into a Godzilla clone. Finally, Orga opens his maw, intending to swallow Godzilla whole, but Godzilla tricks the alien by shoving his head into its throat willingly. While Orga begins to transform, Godzilla destroys it by unleashing his nuclear pulse inside Orga's throat. Godzilla then turns on the Secretary of CCI, Mitsuo Katagiri and kills him. Godzilla then begins rampaging through Tokyo, reminding them not to get in his way and that he has to defend Tokyo.

Monsters

 * Godzilla (MireGoji)
 * Orga
 * Millennian

Weapons, Vehicles, and Races

 * Millennians
 * Millennian UFO
 * Type 90 Tank
 * Full Metal Missile Launcher
 * Bomb Blast
 * Type 96 APC
 * Type 82 Command Vehicle
 * AH-1S Helicopter
 * F-15J Jets
 * Type 74 Tank
 * OH-6D Cayuse

Alternate Titles

 * G2K (Abbreviated Title)
 * Godzilla 2000 (United States)
 * The Return of Godzilla (Powrót Godzilli; Poland)
 * Godzilla 2000: The Dinosaur Mutant (Godzilla 2000: El dinosaurio mutante; Argentina)

Theatrical Releases

 * Japan - December 11, 1999
 * United States - August 18, 2000

U.S. Release
picked up Godzilla 2000 for theatrical distribution in North America. Mike Schlesinger, who supervised the North American release, said, "It [Godzilla 2000] was such a spectacular success in Japan, we decided it was worth taking a shot, maybe the time was right for Godzilla to come back to theaters." Sony spent approximately $1 million to re-edit and dub the movie, and an additional $10-12 million to market. The film was released to theaters on August 17, 2000.

Godzilla 2000 was edited in the process of Americanization. The U.S. version of the film runs 99 minutes; 8 minutes shorter than the Japanese version. Most of these were minor edits done to improve the pacing, and the sound effects and music were also improved and enhanced. The dubbing has a somewhat humorous, tongue-in-cheek tone to it, apparently in homage to Godzilla dubs of the 60's and 70's, with lines such as "Great Caesar's Ghost!", "Bite me!" and "these missiles will go through Godzilla like crap through a goose!". Some fans have criticized the American version of Godzilla 2000 for "camping up" what they perceive as a "serious" movie; however, Toho and Takao Okawara approved all the changes to the film in advance, and various amusing events throughout the story, such as people comically surviving Godzilla's rampage early in the film, make it evident that it wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.

Among the other alterations:
 * Some new music and sound effects were added.
 * Shortened: the scene where Yuki seeks membership for the Godzilla Prediction Network.
 * Added: A few more traditional Ifukube themes.
 * Shortened: Godzilla's destruction of Tokaimura.
 * Some of Zilla's roars from the 1998 film were given to Godzilla.
 * Orga was given more of a low-pitched screech, whereas in the original it was a higher stock roar, originally used for Cretaceous King Ghidorah in Rebirth of Mothra III. The translation team changed "Organizer G1" to "Regenerator G1," on the basis that the word "Organizer" made no sense within the context it was being used.
 * Shortened: the scene where a bewildered taxi driver sees the UFO.
 * Deleted: before escaping the building where the aliens are draining the information (just before the building is detonated), Shinoda sees the word "Millennium" on all the computer screens.
 * Re-arranged: The scene where Shinoda goes down the elevator shaft while the building explodes.

Box Office
Godzilla 2000: Millennium had a budget of ¥1,000,000,000, or roughly $8,300,000. When the film was released on December 11, 1999 in Japan, it sold 2,000,000 tickets and earned ¥1,650,000,000, or $15,000,000.

The American version, Godzilla 2000, had a budget of $1,000,000. When it was released to 2,111 select theaters on August 18th, 2000, it made $4,407,720 on it opening weekend and went on to make $10,037,390 total.

Reception
The North American release of Godzilla 2000 met with mixed to positive critical reaction.

Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle said the film "taps into a now-rare and innocent sense of wonder," and that "its action scenes are well-conceived." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" grade, saying that Godzilla 2000 "lands on an imaginative fault line somewhere between tackiness and awe." Jay Carr of the Boston Globe called Godzilla 2000 "a ton of fun, and then some." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said "it's great to have the big guy back." James Berardinelli of ReelViews said the film "uses the Godzilla formula effectively" and "represents solid, campy, escapist entertainment." Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide praised the film, saying that "fans won't want to miss this addition to the canon."

Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today said Godzilla 2000 "may be dull, but the familiarity of it all makes it feel ceremonial, a reassuring ritual." David Edelstein of Slate said that he "periodically tranced out," but added that "it's fun to see" and "it still manages to dispel some of the lingering stink of Roland Emmerich's 1998 remake." Stephen Holden of the New York Times wasn't impressed, saying that "only a die-hard fan of the long-running Japanese Godzilla series could love Godzilla 2000." Similarly, Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post remarked, "Godzilla, go home."

Among -related websites, Stomp Tokyo said "there are some pretty impressive special effects," and concluded that "Godzilla 2000 delivers fairly well, if not spectacularly." Toho Kingdom criticized the Japanese version, saying "it's not hard to see why Godzilla 2000 was poorly received in Japan," but added that "the US version ... is infinitely better than its poorly paced Japanese counterpart. In all, the US version makes numerous badly needed cuts from the film to tighten it up."

Video Releases
Toho (2000)  (2000) Universal Laser (2000) Madman (2005) Sony Pictures - Japanese & American (2014)
 * Released: 2000
 * Region: Region 2
 * Language: Japanese
 * Released: December 26, 2000
 * Region: Region 1
 * Language: English
 * Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
 * Other Details: 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 99 minutes run time, 1 disc, American version
 * Released: 2000
 * Region: Region 3
 * Released: 2005
 * Region: Region 4
 * Language: English
 * Blu-ray
 * Region: Region 1/A
 * Released: September 9th, 2014
 * Languages: Japanese and English
 * Special Features: Filmmaker and Crew Commentary, Behind the Scenes, Original Trailer
 * Other Details: 2.35:1 Widescreen (Japanese) and 2.40:1 Widescreen (American) aspect ratio, 107 minutes (Japanese) and 99 minutes (American) run time,

Trivia

 * This was the last Godzilla film released in America theatrically until ' Godzilla.
 * This is the only Godzilla film in the Millennium series not released in the 2000's.
 * The true identity of the version of Godzilla in this film has remained a mystery since Godzilla 2000: Millennium was released. Unlike any other Godzilla before it, no explanation for his existence or behavior is ever discussed in the film. It is commonly believed by some that this Godzilla is Godzilla Junior following the events of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, but this has not been confirmed and is unlikely because Godzilla Junior was shown to look identical to his father at the end of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Godzilla.jp confirms that the Godzilla in this film is the second Godzilla of his respective continuity, after the original Godzilla that attacked Tokyo in 1954.
 * This is the first Godzilla movie where Godzilla is green.
 * Unlike previous films, Godzilla's atomic breath is colored a hot orange, whereas it was previously a blazing blue. During and after Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, Godzilla was able to produce a much more powerful orange-colored atomic blast called the Spiral Ray, though it did not replace his original blue-colored Atomic Breath.
 * This film was made in direct response to the poorly-received 1998 TriStar GODZILLA. In fact, when the film was released in North America, many mistook it for a sequel to the 1998 film.
 * In order to "make up" for the 1998 film, an American-made sequel to Godzilla 2000, titled Godzilla Reborn, was planned by TriStar, but was never made, along with GODZILLA 2 and GODZILLA 3.

Poll
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