Godzilla has been a pain in the neck for years. A volunteer organization called the Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN) studies Godzilla trying to determine when and where he will show up to wreak havoc. Professor Yuji Shinoda is the founder of the GPN. He and his daughter Io travel Japan monitoring Godzilla’s movements. Yuki Ichinose is a reporter who is looking to get some pictures of the beast. She has been riding with Yuji and Io hoping for some good shots.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior and head of the CCI, Crisis Control Intelligence, Mitsuo Katagiri is looking to find a way to stop Godzilla. Yuji and Mitsuo have a history. While Yuji wants to study the monster, Mitsuo just wants to kill it. While Yuji is chasing Godzilla around Mitsuo and his assistant Professor Shiro Miyasaka find a rock at the bottom of the Japan Trench. The rock has unusual properties so the CCI raise it to the surface to study it. The rock begins to rise all on its own and rises up so that most of it is out of the water. It begins to follow the sun.
Godzilla appears and heads for Tokai looking to snack on a nuclear reactor. The rock levitates and heads toward Godzilla. The rock turns out to be a UFO. It scans Godzilla’s genetic make-up. It then knocks Godzilla on his butt. Yuji goes to where the battle occurred and finds some of Godzilla’s genetic material. After analyzing it he discovers that Godzilla has regenerative properties. He calls it Organizer G1 in the Japanese version and Regenerator G1 in the American dubbed version.
The UFO wakes up and heads for Tokyo. It lands on Tokyo Opera City Tower and starts to suck up all the information it can. Yuji discovers that an alien force wants to change the Earth’s atmosphere to accommodate its race. They are interested in Godzilla’s regenerative process. Godzilla is just plain old pissed off that he got his butt kicked and wants some revenge. The alien life force is also ready to rumble.
“Godzilla 2000: Millennium” was released in (1999) and was directed by Takao Okawara. distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 24th film in the Godzilla franchise, as well as the first film in the franchise's Millennium period. The film was also the 23rd Godzilla film to be produced by Toho, and was Toho's second reboot of the Godzilla franchise after the 1985 film The Return of Godzilla. The film, along with the subsequent Godzilla films in the franchise's Millennium era, ignores continuity established by any previous films with the sole exception of the original 1954 film.
I have to say, it’s a pretty cool looking alien. Nick named Orga it changes shape as the occasion warrants. For some strange reason it reminded me of the mushroom people in “Matango”. I was actually pleased with the movie. The look of Godzilla and the look of the Orga pretty much did it for me. Good monsters all around. Plus decent acting and great special effects, added to an interesting plot, made it very enjoyable.
This is the first Godzilla movie where Godzilla is green and the first Godzilla from Toho Studios that contains a full CGI Godzilla. It still has a ‘guy in a suit’, played by Tsutomu Kitagawa, for some scenes. Four suits were made for the movie. The main suit had animatronics inside the head to make the head and mouth move. There was also an oxygen hose attached to the tail so that Tsutomu could breathe. Even so, it’s still not a job for weaklings.
This Godzilla is only sort of a reboot. It ignores all the other Godzilla movies that came before it except the original 1954 movie. Even then the reference is in passing.
As for differences between the American dubbed and the original movie there are a few scenes that were shortened a little. Also some scenes were rearranged.
English dubbed