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Godzilla 2000
Columbia TriStar

Godzilla 2000 reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 41 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.0 out of 10
based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 7 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG for monster violence and mild language

Starring Takehiro Murata, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki, Hiroshi Abe, and ShirĂ´ Sano

Godzilla faces a formidable new foe in Orga (a.k.a. Giant Alien Millennian), a gigantic and lethal creature which is slowly transmuted from a UFO believed to be dormant for 6,000 years. (Columbia Tristar)


GENRE(S): Sci-fi  
WRITTEN BY: Hiroshi Kashiwabara
Wataru Mimura
 
DIRECTED BY: Takao Okawara  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 26, 2000 
Video: December 26, 2000 
Theatrical: August 18, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Japan 
LANGUAGE(S): Japanese (dubbed in English) 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
TNT RoughCut David Poland
About as much pure fun as you'll have in a movie theater this summer.
75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
A ton of fun, and then some.
75
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Lands on an imaginative fault line somewhere between tackiness and awe.
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63
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
This is camp, pure and simple, and unless the translators have taken far greater liberties than is apparent, the filmmakers know it.
63
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
An enjoyable throwback to the way monster movies used to be made.
63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Heck, it's great to have the big guy back.
58
Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Amusing, funny (intentionally and unintentionally -- it's dubbed, so many lines come out ludicrous) and, by the ending, exciting.
50
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
For all the high-tech allusions and middle-tech illusions, the movie--the 23rd in an immortal series--draws its power from its grittiness and unresolved allegory.
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50
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Fans won't want to miss this addition to the canon.
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50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Its one saving grace is Godzilla himself, the James Bond of giant monsters.
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50
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
May be dull, but the familiarity of it all makes it feel ceremonial, a reassuring ritual.
50
San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
A strange mix of the campy, at least in the English dubbing, and the awesome.
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50
Slate David Edelstein
It's fun to see.
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50
Village Voice Mark Holcomb
Offers some interesting twists for connoisseurs.
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50
Baltimore Sun Ron Dicker
Gives aficionados what they want and is surprisingly kid-friendly.
50
LA Weekly Chuck Stephens
Dumb, fun, out of this world.
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40
Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
It's all pretty goofy, which I assume is the point, but it's also pretty dull.
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40
Variety Joe Leydon
A classically low-tech monster mash.
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40
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Another traditional Japanese production, weakly plotted, woodenly acted and indifferently dubbed.
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40
Film.com Robert Horton
Has its dull spots, and is unintentionally laugh-out-loud funny at times -- but isn't that what we expect?
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25
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
For devout fans of the greenish monster and for those looking to shoot fish in a barrel.
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10
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Godzilla, go home.
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5
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Brand-new and uproariously unimproved.

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Riren gave it an8:
Don't bother to see this movie if you don't like Godzilla-type movies. Also, don't bother to see this movie on anything than a big screen television. This is all about scale and nostalgia. In terms of giant monster movies starring rubber suited monsters, with a human cast that's mostly there to explain the beasts are going to tangle, this is a real treat, especially in a theatre. It's big, old goofy grin of a guilty pleasure movie, and once the fights kick in, you know which side you're on. The American importers redid the soundtrack to include the classic Godzilla tunes, which significantly helps its fan-value.

Bill S. gave it a 9:
Godzilla is one of those things you either look back on fondly from your childhood, or you don't. For those who 'get' Godzilla and have that fascination for the rubber suits, the elaborate pyrotechnics, the pounding musical theme and imperfect dubbing, GODZILLA 2000 was a milestone and a blast to experience in the big theater. If there's one lesson to be learned here, it's that a giant monster movie looks best on the giant screen. Most critics are rather ignorant of Godzilla 'lore', so little of why this film was made comes out. A quick check of the Meta-score of Tristar's farcical GODZILLA (1998) failure gives you the answer you need. Toho wanted to reclaim Godzilla and rebuild the character/mythos after the embarrassment by the former ID4 creators. GODZILLA 2000 (called GOJIRA MILLENIUM in Japan) is a lively and well paced mix of 'monster vs. monster' and 'Godzilla introduction' style storylines. A large portion of the film sets up Godzilla as the occasional rampaging force of nature, while a smaller part is spent setting up conflict with a techno-alien menace (called Orga in Japan but not specifically identified in this film). Many original ideas keep this film from falling into too many plot device cliches for monster flicks (a tough balancing act given all the similar films that have come out of Toho before this). One such nice touch is the blackout when Godzilla first make land with scampering people and emergency vehicles in the foreground. So while the dubbing will earn some sneers (it was intentional, if you check the DVD commentary), overall "G2K" ushered in a new era of Toho Godzilla films that have continued to keep a high standard going for those of us who enjoy this genre. Subsequent entries have gone straight to DVD, but are just now becoming available: GODZILLA X MEGAGUIRUS, GODZILLA-MOTHRA-KING GHIDORA and soon GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA.

Mark M. gave it a 9:
GREAT!!!!! I'm not a fan of the japanese rubber menace as a matter a fact I despised him but then my brother made me see it and I became a godzilla fanatic and now after seeing 15 godzilla movies I now hate,thats right HATE!!! godzilla1998 cgi version godzilla flick. My only complaint to godzilla 2000 the ending speech which is the king of cheesy speeches of all time.

Matt M. gave it a 0:
Easily one of the worst films ever made. Stupid, lame, dumb, and cheesy as all hell! Avoid it at all costs!!

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