Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the final Reaction & Review of 2024. Wow, guys, I can't believe we've already made it this far, and I'm very happy about that. And I figured the best way to end this year would be to review something big. And by something big, I, of course, mean a Godzilla movie. And out of all the ones that exist, I decided to pick the one from 1999, which is called "Godzilla 2000".
Now, a couple of things I should mention. I do know that there is technically more to that title, where it''s fully called "Godzilla 2000: Millennium". However, I find that title to be slightly redundant, so I'm gonna go off by what it was called in the U.S. as simply "Godzilla 2000". While we're on this subject, I also am aware that this movie was also released in the year 2000...in the U.S. But with these sorts of movies, whether it be live action or animation, I go off by the international release rather than the U.S. release to try and be slightly more accurate to when it first came out.
Now setting that aside, I really don't know anything about this movie, beyond the fact that it's a Godzilla movie. And you know what? That's perfectly fine by me, because I really don't want to be spoiled by anything here. I really want to see if this thing will be really good, and the only way I'm gonna find out for myself is if I shut up and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Godzilla 2000".
8 minutes later
Well, guys, lesson learned. Godzilla doesn't like it when you take photos of him up close and personal. I think that would be sorta obvious, considering the guy just told her not to do so a minute ago. But still, it is a lesson worth noting.
15 minutes later
OK, I have a question here, and it's one I'm sorta curious about. So, Godzilla's on his way towards the nuclear reactors to possibly destroy them. And the head guy over at the CCI just told this other guy to shut down the reactors. And the question I have in my mind is...why? I mean, what's gonna stop Godzilla from destroying these reactors whether or not they're shut down? Unless they're made up of some kind of super metal, I don't think that's really gonna stop Godzilla at all. I don't know, perhaps I just find the whole idea of shutting down these reactors to be kinda pointless, really.
20 minutes later
So, guys, this movie hasn't really given me a whole lot to work with. I am gonna say that I am still enjoying it, so at least there is that. I'm hoping, maybe, that I'll have more to talk about as the movie progresses. But still, at least it's been decent so far.
17 minutes later
All right, I have another question here, and it's kind of a stupid one, but I still want to ask it anyway. So, this alien spaceship is on the roof of the CCI building, and it's sucking up all the data from it's supercomputer. And Katagiri has ordered the military to set up bombs from inside the building, which is also where the spaceship is at. So my question here is even if they somehow manage to damage the spaceship in someway, wouldn't it still get all the data regardless? Better yet, since this alien ship was able to destroy a few helicopters without even lifting a finger, wouldn't it just destroy the bombs before the military gets a chance to detonate it? I'm just asking, guys, because there are certain lapses in logic here that don't exactly make sense once you stop and think about it, you know what I mean?
20 minutes later
OK, that was a slightly weird edit there. The fireball from the destroyed spaceship landed on a table...yet the impact didn't land on it until a second later on the next jump cut. That was certainly odd, and not something I ever expected to see, especially from a Godzilla movie of all things.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Godzilla 2000". Let me go ahead and shut the film off here...OK. So, where to begin here? Well, I think the best way that I can describe this movie is that it is a genuine popcorn flick. Where you go into it with your brain turned off, and you're guaranteed to really enjoy it. Now, I will say, first hand, that the movie is just OK. In terms of kaiju films, this one certainly isn't the best, but it's nowhere near the worst either. Again, it fits into the mindless popcorn flick category where you can just leave your brain off and enjoy it for what it is. At least, that's how I view a popcorn flick, anyway.
So, with that all said, let's actually get into the review proper here and talk about the writing. Now, in terms of a plot involving Godzilla, this one is probably one of the weaker ones here. Now, when I say it's weak, I am in no way saying that it's bad or anything, but it just feels like there's not much of a story here. There is something, but like I said earlier, it's not trying to take itself too seriously with it's story. I really feel like this was just made so that fans of Godzilla in the U.S. would have a new Godzilla flick for the new millennium. And being that this thing was released after the 1998 American Godzilla movie that a lot of people fucking despised, fans were wanting something better. And this was how we got this movie. Now, mind you, this is all just a theory, and I have no proof about any of this whatsoever, so you just have to take what I said for what it is. It's just a theory that I came up with, so again, make of it what you will.
Now as for the plot itself, what little there is, is that there's this alien spaceship that was sleeping beneath the surface for about 60 to 70 million years at the bottom of the sea, and when it was finally shown light, it finally resurfaced up to the surface. And the thing about this ship is that it doesn't really make a move until sunlight is exposed to it. And we find out later on in the movie that the spaceship is there to collect data from Godzilla so that it can reform itself into a giant monster. There is technically more to this that I'm leaving out, and I'll mention a little more about it in a second. But the abridged version of it is that there's a giant alien spaceship that is able to reform itself into a kaiju monster and thus we have Godzilla there to stop it.
Now, as for characters go, most of them are actually pretty likable, with the exception of Katagiri, who's the head of the CCI, which in case you don't know what that is, it basically stands for Crisis Control Intelligence. And the reason why I'm excluding him is because he kinda comes off as a little bit of a stale douchebag, because he really doesn't have much of a personality beyond that. Our heroes, though, are pretty likable though. In fact, they run something called the "Godzilla Prediction Network", which is basically them chasing Godzilla while trying to get photos of him so that they can study him for knowledge. Essentially, they're like tornado chasers, but only for Godzilla. Which makes me want to ask a bunch of questions about it, but I feel if I did that, then I would just be trying nitpick this story more than I should.
I do want to talk about one thing that I mentioned a little while ago, and it's something that I'm trying to avoid spoilers here on, though I don't know how to approach this angle. Well...the best way I can say this is that our main character, Shinoda, has been doing research on Godzilla, and found out, after an encounter between Godzilla and the military, that Godzilla has the power to quickly regenerate his blood cells, despite taking heavy damage. And he treats it like it's some huge discovery. But when I think about what he just discovered, I could've sworn that this kind of thing was already established from one of the earlier films. And when I say "earlier", I'm referring to the first Japanese Godzilla movie. Now, mind you, it's been years since I last watched that movie, so I may not remember all of the details, but I seriously could've sworn that they had already talked about that kind of thing from way back when. Now, if it's possible that I got this information wrong, then so be it. But to treat this kind of thing as it being a "new discovery" in this movie, it feels kinda off to me. Now, I kinda know why they wanted to bring it up here, as it entails a plot point in the movie, but still, the whole discovery behind it just seems kinda weird to me.
But aside from that, guys, the writing here is perfectly OK, as long as you go into it with your brain turned off and you don't think about the potential issues that this movie kinda suffers from. Mind you, they are very minor issues, but it could become bigger if you tend to think about it for too long. At least, that's the best way I can put it anyway. Now, what about the acting? Well, I went off by the film's English dub, and the dub here is a little bit on the weak side as well. Part of the reason why is because some of the acting here feels a bit wooden, and I don't know if that was done intentionally or not, but it is something that you're bound to notice. The other thing that I have to comment on is the actress they got to voice Io, the reporter for the "Godzilla Prediction Network". Because it's here where I have to warn you guys ahead of time that the accent she puts on for the character could be seen as rather offensive. Now granted, it was something I got use to as the film went on, but I do still have to put that warning there, just in case you're somebody who's not use to that sort of acting. Now that being said, there is, of course, the option where you could switch it over to the Japanese audio with English subtitles. So if you're not into English dubs, then the option is there. As for myself, it really isn't a good dub, but I have heard much worse, too. So, make of that what you will.
Special effects here, for the most part, are pretty good. Now, when I say that they're pretty good, I'm mostly referring to the practical effects, where it's things such as the suit-work on Godzilla, the pyrotechnics, and the miniatures, (what little is used here), and sets. All of it that is really good. What isn't really good, however, is the CG. The CG in this movie is kinda shit. Now, I will try and not be too harsh here because, from what I've read, this was the very first Godzilla movie to ever implement CG. And I will say that the way that they had to use chroma key to fit Godzilla into the backgrounds shots looks really good. However, the CG that they do use here...could've been better. The CG shots they use on Godzilla don't look as bad as it could've been, but the alien spaceship doesn't get a pass here because it genuinely looks terribly rendered. Like, *every* shot that you see the spaceship being used in CG looks terrible. Almost to a point where it probably would've looked terrible if this movie came out in 1989 rather than 1999. But again, it's really only the alien spaceship that gets the shaft when it comes to truly bad CG. Like I said, most of the practical stuff still outweighs the negatives here when it comes to the special effects.
Camerawork here is really good, though there is a slip-up in editing that I did notice. I mentioned it beforehand, but it bears repeating. So, after Godzilla destroys the alien spaceship, it's blown into chunks. And one of them is coming right towards our heroes like a meteorite. And just as it makes impact, it hits a table, and blows it up like a crater. And that would've looked great, if not for one thing. See, it does make impact, *but* there is a split second where you get to see the fireball glitch through the table, as if it was rendered in terrible CG. Either that, or it was just a slip-up in editing and someone forgot to look over it. I'm gonna go with the latter on this one, because I really think that, had it impacted like normal, then the slip-up most likely never would've happened. But I did happen to notice it, and unless you're a sad bastard like me that notices this kind of thing, then you're most likely not gonna notice it, or even care. So, it's really just something that you have to take for what it's worth, but it was something that I *did* notice, and I just had to make mention of it.
Other than that, guys, the camerawork for everything else is really good. The lighting is lit very well. Our sound-mix is mixed fine. And the music here is fantastic. It honestly is a great score for a Godzilla flick. And if anything else, I would say that the music is usually rather top-notch when it comes to these sorts of films.
Ultimately, guys, when all is said done, can I recommend "Godzilla 2000"? Yes, of course I can. Granted, the story here is rather weak, as is the dub, but I still think the movie is still worth checking out, especially if your'e a fan of Godzilla. For myself, I still really enjoyed this movie, flaws and all. So, I'm definitely going to be holding onto it. And also, again, as long as you go into this movie with your brain turned off and you enjoy it as a mindless popcorn flick, then you're probably gonna love it even more. Granted, I'm not sure how well that will hold over with longtime Godzilla fans, however, as someone who's barely dipped their toes into this genre of film, I'm gonna hold my ground on that. So anyway, yes, I can recommend "Godzilla 2000" to you guys, as long as you go into it with what I already said about it. Now, with that being said, I'm gonna go and rewatch my copy of "Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe". I'm in a bit of a kaiju mood, so I'm gonna continue the trend with that one, because it is really fucking good, as is the sequels.
And with that, guys, that wraps up the last Reaction & Review of 2024. For better or worse, the year has come to an end, and I hope next year will still keep this series going strong. So until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all for the start of a new year and a new "Tales of the Longbox" marathon. Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment