Godzilla 2000

Godzilla 2000 (Gojira Ni-Sen Mireniamu) (Actually, 1999)

Runtime: I saw the version that was 99 minutes. An explanation is forthcoming as to why this was a mistake

Directed by: Takao Okawara

Starring: Takehiro Murata, Hiroshi Abe, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki, Shiro Sano

From: Toho

I dun goofed!

Last night, this film played across the country as a Fathom Event. Not knowing any better, it seemed like the prudent decision to save some money and just stream it via a rental instead. Oh, no! What I streamed was an American cut that Sony “Weinstein’ed” (I am ONLY referring to editing a foreign film for no valid reason), this was what they released in cinemas back in August of 2000, and that cut is the only version available for legal streaming. What Fathom played last night was the original Japanese version, and subtitled.

I could go ballistic and rage out that the advertising done by Fathom never made this clear… except that even if I hadn’t seen an edited version dubbed in English where they went with a campy tone (e.g., a weapon will go through Godzilla “like crap through a goose!”), my opinion may still be of disappointment. After all, I’ve thought many things about the Toho Godzilla films and some I rate even lower than this. However, I never found them to be lethargic & dull, and yet this is the label I hang on Godzilla 2000. I just did not give a damn about the first two acts of the picture. More than good or bad, it was indifference.

A shame, as on paper the lead duo of a single father and his young daughter wasn’t bad, and without doubt the practical destruction of miniature sets was still pretty sweet. Regrettably, most of the composite effects did not look great and holy crap did the CG look TERRIBLE… and there was quite a bit of it. As for the opposing kaiju, what it turned out to be was rather different, as was what was first believed to be “a giant rock.” It also was the oddest-though not the best by any means-kaiju battle, granting that the final act was better than the first two.

For many, they enjoy the film more than moi; I’ll just shrug my shoulders and move on; I know finding the “right” version subtitled is not that difficult… yet probably isn’t worth the effort on my part. One last point: viewing a trailer for this film just yesterday made me thankful that the memories I had of Sony advertising this release in America by using the Rob Zombie song Superbeast wasn’t a false memory or even worse, me unknowingly spending time in the multiverse.