"Godzilla 2000," actually completed in 1999 (and was released during the summer of 2000 in America), was the first Toho-backed kaiju-eiga film to receive a major theatrical distribution in the U.S. since 1985. I saw "Godzilla 2000" at the theater and wasn't disappointed, even though a lot has changed since Toho killed off their iconic monster at the end of 1995's "Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah."<br /><br />I'm 19; I've been a hardcore "G"-fan since I was four years-old and of course, I was quite hesitant about seeing a new "Godzilla" film, being that the Americanized 1998 version wasn't that good. The Toho logo that appears during the opening credits reassured me that "Godzilla 2000" was taking me back to the good old days when Godzilla wasn't afraid to knock down a building or stomp down the military when they threatened him.<br /><br />With their third generation of "Godzilla" films being kicked off with this flashy new movie, Toho continued a trend that was seen in generation two, where they discard the events of the previous Godzilla incarnation and instead start with the original 1954 "Godzilla" and work from there.<br /><br />Toho took full advantage of this new series by designing a distinctly reptilian Godzilla, who as the film opens, has already popped up on the radar of some brainy scientist who argues that Godzilla should be studied, instead of destroyed.<br /><br />And Toho didn't skimp on creating a new monster either, which is a giant UFO that yields something a lot more than just martians. This new foe is actually a nasty little creature that's never given a name, though subsequent debate about the film has concluded that its name is "Orga," who proceeds to try to consume Godzilla and his powers, thus creating one powerful monster.<br /><br />"Godzilla 2000" has a lot of problems too, which may or may not mar an otherwise decent stomping experience. Though on the whole, it's nice to see Godzilla back in form (somewhat) and this Toho production firmly returns their most beloved creation to dominance, it also suffers a lot from the problems that have plagued its predecessors, and some of those problems may have been due to Roland Emmerich's 1998 Americanized version of the big green guy.<br /><br />Of course, since I never really cared for the people in a "Godzilla" movie and those feelings haven't changed, it must be pointed out here that the people have been drastically short-changed in favor of the all-out monster showdown that is the film's climax. You're really given a reason to not care about humans in this picture, whereas any previous "Godzilla" movie may have made you have an inkling of feeling for them.<br /><br />Godzilla himself has changed a lot, with massive plates that line his back and he's also been given a pretty nifty set of fangs. But the thing is, this Godzilla looks and behaves quite... different. Though it's evident with this production that Godzilla is the bad guy (pending on your view), this was one of the things that really struck me as unique about the previous generation of kaiju-eiga films - in that you never really knew if he was the bad guy or not - this movie makes that pretty clear to you, even though the new monster Orga is clearly the bigger problem for the people of Japan.<br /><br />The special effects in this third generation "Godzilla" film seem to actually be a step back too. The previous generation (the first two movies at least) had really beautiful and thoughtful effects that put you into wonder about how they were achieved. This series doesn't have that level of wonder for some reason. You'd expect their effects to improve over five years or so, but these effects look rushed and unrealistic.<br /><br />Aside from these quibbles, "Godzilla 2000" doesn't suffer a whole lot, but I was glad to see that it firmly reestablished Godzilla back to his good old, stomping self.<br /><br />7/10