Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

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HedorahIsBestGirl
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Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by HedorahIsBestGirl »

Since we already have this thread for the Heisei series I thought I’d go ahead and make one for the Millennium films. Let me say something positive about each of them:

Godzilla 2000 - good characters, interesting new take on an alien invasion, the opening scene of Godzilla emerging in the fog is pretty awesome
Godzilla vs Megaguirus - lovably bizarre plot, cool looking villain, one of the best Kaiju fights in the whole series
GMK - great cast, great effects, great music, great action, interesting themes, cool reimagining of the Godzilla mythology; all in all the best Godzilla movie since 1964
Godzilla X Mechagodzilla - interesting new origin story for Mechagodzilla, well developed protagonist, another strong climactic battle
Tokyo SOS -
Final Wars - I know a lot of you hate this movie but I think it’s fun; lots of good cheesy action and over the top characters; also I’m not gonna lie, love the score for this movie
The wisest words ever spoken on TK: "When I Saw The Showa Movie's white My Friend's They seid WTF is This Your showing Me to Men Fighting In suit's they found At party city Butt when I Showed Them The Heisei film's they thoght They where pritty fun To Watch"

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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Terasawa »

HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:Tokyo SOS -
Ouch!

I'll save remarks for the individual movies for later because I need to rewatch the last three. The biggest positive, IMO, was that it gave me the opportunity to see a Toho Godzilla movie in its initial theatrical release.

On the whole, I don't think the concept of alternate realities really worked, but it was an interesting experiment that provided some notable (if not great) entries in the series. It also gave us the return of some favorite monsters (Anguirus, Baragon, etc.) and iconic and groundbreaking Godzilla designs.

On a technical level, the Millennium Series also returned the franchise to the Scope-sized aspect ratio (although none were photographed anamorphically) and the full-time introduction of multi-channel audio mixes, although neither is necessarily completely a positive. And if the G2K export dub were to ever turn up we'd have the first complete Godzilla series with both a consistent English-language presentation and consistent voice personnel across every entry.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by eabaker »

Although they didn't entirely stick to it, and it didn't always work out perfectly in practice, I loved the basic concept of each movie being narratively disconnected from the others, and allowing each filmmaking team to bring a unique approach to the character/franchise.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by HedorahIsBestGirl »

Now that I'm home from work and not typing on a cellphone, let me expand upon why I love the first three Millennium films.

Godzilla 2000 is one of the first Godzilla films I owned on VHS. Until I was seven or eight and had my first G-Fest, it was just that one, KOTM, Godzilla vs. the Thing, Ghidrah, Revenge, Battle For Earth and Space Godzilla, plus Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. I used to watch it religiously and for a time it was my favorite Godzilla film, until I discovered Hedorah. Even leaving nostalgia out of the mix, I maintain that Godzilla 2000 is stronger than any of the Heisei films and I greatly enjoy most aspects of the film.

For starters, I think the characters are some of the best of any Godzilla film. The relationship between Shinoda and Io is one I enjoy. I'm a sucker for father-daughter relationships, and I think theirs was developed well. The rivalrous relationship between Shinoda and Katagiri, with Miyasaka caught in the middle, is an interesting one, too. I think Katagiri is one of the better villains of the franchise; unlike the gleefully evil bad guys of the Showa era, he's a believable villain: a bureaucrat with noble intentions but ruthless methods and a few screws loose.

Another thing I like in Godzilla 2000 is that it actually has scenes where the human characters are endangered by the kaiju. Seriously, given how many Godzilla movies there are, it's amazing how few actually show their protagonists being directly menaced by Godzilla and company. The scene where Godzilla pursues Shinoda's SUV through the tunnel is effectively thrilling and, while a bit overacted, Katagiri's demise at Godzilla's hand is a memorable scene as well.

Moving onto Godzilla himself, I love the MireGoji design. I think the suit is usually pretty convincing and the jagged purple spines add some nice flare to the character. I also feel that G2K captures Godzilla's anti-heroic portrayal better than a lot of films do. As for Godzilla's adversary, the Millennian UFO is an interesting new take on the alien invasion story. Instead of a race of aliens who look like people in goofy get-ups, it's a mysterious, amorphous being that needs to use another's DNA just to survive on Earth. That's cool, fresh take; just a little better than space apes and cockroaches. ;)

Let's move onto Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, the one I'm sure no one else will say anything positive about. I should really just copy and paste what I already said in this film's thread, but the movie needs more love so I'll reiterate briefly. While the execution is far from perfect, from a conceptual standpoint I feel that Megaguirus is the most interesting Godzilla film since 1989. We've got giant prehistoric bugs, black hole guns, a flooded Tokyo and a revenge-driven heroine in the mix. That's a low of fun new ideas for a franchise whose "Big Nuclear Dinosaur Fights Other Big Ugly Thing" formula had started to grow annoyingly repetitive.

Megaguirus is one of my favorite kaiju. After Biollante, she's my favorite post-Showa kaiju without a doubt. Her design is pretty awesome, my personal favorite of all Toho's insect kaiju (though Legion tops her in this category). She exhibits a cruel and cunning personality during her battle with Godzilla and that battle... damn. I can say without a doubt that it's my favorite kaiju fight of the whole series. When I bought a bootleg DVD at my first G-Fest, I didn't much care for the movie but I would watch this battle over and over again. After all of the sparky, sluggish body slams and notorious beam wars of the Heisei series, and the rather pedestrian climactic fight in G2K, we get a contest of strength and speed that's a lot of fun to watch. We see Godzilla adapting to his enemy's strategy in order to overwhelm her, which is cool. Often these fights just go on and on until one monster gets chicken or pulls out some deus ex machina attack (looking at you, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla '74).

And now for the big one: GMK. I could gush about this one for hours. It's probably my favorite Godzilla movie, and without any doubt my favorite since 1975. The characters are well-written and likable and, as in G2K, they're effectively placed in the middle of the kaiju's battles to create suspense. The effects work is possibly the zenith of the whole franchise (excluding Ghidorah's transformation scene, which looks frustratingly fake thanks to the bad glowy CG work). The music is downright epic; I have more tracks from GMK on my Godzilla playlist than any other film. The action scenes are well-constructed and paced; never do they end too quickly or overstay their welcome. I also find this one of the more thematically interesting Godzilla films. The idea that Godzilla is a product of Japan's negligence in remembering the atrocities committed both by and against the nation people during WWII is a fascinating one, and a cool new take on the character.

Finally, let's give a shoutout to Baragon. I always like the little guy, but this movie made me love him. His one-sided fight with Godzilla is one of the better kaiju battles in the series, and stands as proof that Godzilla's opponent doesn't need to be strong to give him a great battle.

The first three Millennium films, and especially GMK, are among the Godzilla films I hold in the highest regards. While I almost never revisit the Heisei films, I still pull out all three of these at least once a year. Obviously, all have their flaws, but I see a lot more positives than negatives, even in the much-maligned Megaguirus.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Gigantis »

HedorahIsBestGirl wrote:
Let's move onto Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, the one I'm sure no one else will say anything positive about.
The black hole gun is a cool weapon and Megaguirus is an okay antagonist... thaaat's about it from me. :lol:

Godzilla 2000 is still a film i think is sorely underratted. Like you said, the humans are really compelling, Godzilla looks great, and Orga, despite being just, another clone, is a wonderful antagonist.

GMK is... well, i feel like it doesn't really even need to be said how good it is. :P

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla: Kiryu is a really intriguing update on old MechaG, with a wonderful design to boot (i would've prefered him looking more like the 54 Godzilla but whatevs) and Akane is pretty much Tsujinori done better. Still, could've been a lot better in execution.... and less of an Evangelion ripoff.

S.O.S...... Um, uh, Kamoebas has a nice cameo?

Final Wars may be not too good of a movie but i can't deny it's balls to the walls action makes it a joy to watch every time, and i really got a man crush on Captain Gordon! Monster X is pretty skreoonking awesome too, just wish he stayed as himself and didn't turn out to be a three headed golden unicorn that's pretending to be Godzilla's arch-enemy.
Last edited by Gigantis on Thu May 14, 2020 7:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by HedorahIsBestGirl »

tyrantgoji wrote: S.O.S...... Um, uh, Kamoebas has a nice cameo?
I almost said that in my initial post but thought it would be more fitting to leave that one blank, since I think it's the blandest film in the whole series. In all seriousness, Kameobas's post-mortem cameo and Mothra's Showa-esq design are about the only good things about Tokyo SOS. Beyond that any compliment I could give that slog of a film would be something along the lines of "<insert thing here> is passably okay".

I would like to add that while my opinion on it has lowered significantly over the years, I still have some nostalgic fondness for GFW. Seeing it on the big screen at G-Fest was genuinely one of the most exciting moments of my childhood. To this day, I enjoy it for what it is. Like Godzilla vs. Megalon it's a film that shouldn't be watched sober or taken seriously; as long as one is willing to embrace its absurdity and excessiveness, and inebriate oneself, I think it makes for an entertaining viewing experience, which is more than can be said for the film preceding it...
Last edited by HedorahIsBestGirl on Thu May 14, 2020 8:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.
The wisest words ever spoken on TK: "When I Saw The Showa Movie's white My Friend's They seid WTF is This Your showing Me to Men Fighting In suit's they found At party city Butt when I Showed Them The Heisei film's they thoght They where pritty fun To Watch"

:Godzilla68: and :Anguirus: were never really friends.

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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by JAGzilla »

I'm also in the camp that gets a lot of enjoyment out of vs. Megaguirus. It's not an intelligent film, not by a mile, but for sheer dumb fun value, it's one of the best outings Godzilla's had since 1975.

And Tokyo SOS is very dull and uninspired, I won't sugarcoat that for a second. That said, people are sometimes too hard on it. The opening sequence deserves to be held up as one of the most exciting in the series, and at least Oshima brought her A game. I loved the fanfares in the Main Title track. The Mothra effects were also very good, probably the best she's ever looked. And Kiryu finally defeating Godzilla by drilling a hole through his chest... come on, that was cool. There is definitely some entertainment to be gleaned from this movie, if you're willing to look past its flaws.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

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Akane is one of the best female characters in kaiju cinema
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

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G2K = The millennians are best aliens.
GxM = Megaguirus is best gurl.
GMK = Baragon is best boi.
GxMG = Akane is best (human) gurl.
Tokyo SOS = Mothra is best moth.
Final Wars = I got nothing.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

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Kaiju-King42 wrote:G2K = The millennians are best aliens.
GxM = Megaguirus is best gurl.
GMK = Baragon is best boi.
GxMG = Akane is best (human) gurl.
Tokyo SOS = Mothra is best moth.
Final Wars = It's a beautiful meme movie with a lot of ham and cheese.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Saansilt »

Final Wars is the best Godzilla movie to come out of Japan, It perfectly encapsulates everything loved about the series and it was blessed with the presence of DON FRYE.

Memery aside, I really do like the millennium movies I have seen.G2K was a fun romp, GvM has a really neat beast and the joyous nonsense of a black hole gun, GMK was a kaiju slasher movie, something I never thought we'd see. Have not watched the duology of Kiryu but I heard it is at least decent.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Gigantis »

Guess i should say Tokyo S.O.S has a pretty okay soundtrack. Although, that ain't saying much for the rest of the film. :lol:
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by kingkevzilla88 »

They are very fun movies.

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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by ShinGojira14 »

I think the suits and special effects look better than ever in the Millennium Era (except for the very poor CGI in G2K and GXM).

Plus- Michiru Oshima.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by edgaguirus »

I liked the depiction of Megaguirus. It was well designed, and had a sinister and sadistic personality.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Voyager »

GxMG as a whole.
GMK as a whole.
Oshima.
Great special effects (aside from trash CGI in G2K and GxM, and the lesser effects in GFW).
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

Has some of the most kino Godzilla designs across any era.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by JAGzilla »

Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote:Has some of the most kino Godzilla designs across any era.
Agreed. The actual suits don't always execute those designs perfectly, but the '99, '01, and '02 designs are up there with the best.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

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It has the best designed Mechagodzilla. Showa is still the best though.
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Re: Say Something Positive About the Millennium Series

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

Generally has a pretty good track record in terms of engaging or at least entertaining fights. Especially when compared with the later Heisei stuff. Balanced out close quarters combat with beams and weaponry.

Also, for Tokyo S.O.S., the special effects team deserves praise for how well they brought Mothra to life on screen. Best practical effects for Mothra since the 60s.
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