Director: Takao Okawara
Year: 1999
Length: 99 minutes (the American version is 8 minutes shorter than the original)
Yuji is the founder of the Godzilla Protection Network. They track, follow and study Godzilla to try and find peaceful ways of existing with the creature, as well as learn from it. Yuji's smarmy tween daughter Io works with him, and they've lately be joined by reporter Yuki looking to get a big Godzilla story and pictures.
Yuji used to work closely with Shiro, but when Shiro decided to work for the Crisis Control Intelligence (CCI), an organization hell-bent on destroying Godzilla, the their friendship fractured.
But a recent discovery of a strange meteorite at the bottom of the ocean unveil the threat of an alien spaceship, one that hacks the entire pre-Millennium internet and steals every bit of data, threatening to destroy all technologically stored information like the Y2K bug manifest into something corporeal.
In reality, Yuji and Shiro, reunited, discover that the alien is interested in Godzilla's regenerative ability called Regenerator G-1 (in the American dub, in the original Japanese it's called Organizer G-1). CCI director Katagiri, who wants Godzilla dead more than anything, also wants to blow up the alien spaceship, and his failed attempt summons Godzilla to Shinjuku district of Tokyo, where the King of Monsters battles with the ufo, only for the UFO to manage to scan Godzilla, discover Regenerator G-1 and morph into a gigantic hulking beast called Orga. The two tussle, and Orga regenerates and mutates at a rapid rate, and at one point tries to swallow Godzilla whole!
Godzilla gets the best of the beast, and in the end comes eye-to-eye with Katagiri. The man and beast stare each other down, Godzilla seemingly knows this man has been trying to kill him over and over. The beast tears the building out from under Katagiri, and the man disappears into the collapsing structure.
Godzilla, Friend or Foe:
Well, the Alien threat is actually the bigger menace, as they both want to use the Regnerator G-1 DNA to themselves adapt and become Godzilla sized beast and rule the planet as well as terraform it to be more habitable to its native species.
The Samesies:
I thought for sure this time we were going to get a real human story out of this. There was such focus put on Yuji, Io, and Yuki at the beginning that I thought a makeshift family comedy/romance was going to happen. And then Yuji runs into Katagiri and there's history there, a palpable animosity. But the reunion of Yuji and Shiro was delightful... all amounting to nothing. As typical for a Godzilla film, it drops the human characters almost completely in the final act. This just had the unusual perk of having good character set up before then.
The Differences:
Godzilla's been reduced in size again, like the size of a 12 story building. So the larger skyscrapers tower over him. He's been redesigned with a lot more jagged edges, bigger spine fins, and a more angular, fanged mouth. His spines have a purple-pink tinge which I liked, which makes me think this is a bit of what the very pink-tinged Godzilla in the new Kong x Godzilla film is pulling from.
This is the first film to employ extensive CGI. Most of it is noticeable but most of it is used in a practical way to enhance live effects or the suit. Using the CG allowed for some really ambitious composite shots where there was activity in both the fore and background (and sometimes in the middle ground). There's three really egregious CGI scenes. The early scene in which the windshield explodes is utterly terrible looking (wondering if this was intended for a 3-D effect), a very brief scene of Godzilla swimming underwater, and the first transformation scene of the UFO into Orga. I was surprised, though, that I wasn't offended or put off by most of the CGI...the attempts to do something new with it in that early time of the technology with a much lower budget than American blockbusters feels kind of quaint instead.
Godzilla, in previous films, when he finished putting whatever invading threat down, would retreat into the sea. Here, when Godzilla finishes off Orga, and then takes Katagiri off the board, proceeds to just absolutely torch Shinjuku. Just fires his breath, moves in a circular pattern, as if just saying "fuck you, humans".
Anyone Worth Caring About?:
No, they really whiffed with Yuji and Yuko's romance. They didn't invest in any of the relationships, really, and also didn't really involve the characters in the third act at all.
The Message:
It's about Y2K panic. And ripping off Independence Day.
Rating (out of 5 Zs):
ZZZ
Sleepytime Factor:
I was surprisingly into it. I only *almost* nodded off during the sequence where the CCI is attempting to stop Godzilla's rampage with their new missiles, but given that the army was *finally* having some effect on the big beast, I managed to stay awake.
I did almost fall asleep writing this recap though.
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