I rate this a 7 for fans of the very earliest Godzilla movies. For everyone else, it's going to rank 1 or 2 points lower depending on you're comfort level with tacky special effects and dubbing.

If you're a fan, forget timelines and developments from previous movies. This movie is basically Godzilla vs. both Japan and another monster. Sound familiar? It's basically a throwback to a 1970s look and feel (even though it takes place modern day). Toy buildings, dubbing and obvious "man in a monster suit" special effects all give it a special nostalgia charm.

But that's not all that's good. The fast paced plot keeps the viewer well engaged at all times. Something is always happening. The basic plot is simple: during a failed attempt to destroy Godzilla using exotic means (creating a mini black hole), another creature enters this realm. It is eventually learned that it is a winged creature. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before there's a showdown between the two.

If you liked early 70's Godzilla movies, you'll like this one. If not, you're probably better off looking for a different movie.

After Tristar failed to impress with its infamous 1998 "remake", Toho wanted to redeem their beloved kaiju's honor by starting the Millennium films. This series started off pretty strong with "Godzilla 2000" but then went downhill with this next installment. How so?

Plot: Set in an alternate history where Godzilla was never killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, the King of the Monsters has Japan living in terror in his shadow for years. Fed up with his destructive antics, the military force known as G-Graspers recruits a few of the most brilliant minds to create the ultimate weapon Dimension Tide, a cannon that fires miniature black holes. During one of DT's tests, however, a wormhole is formed, causing giant prehistoric dragonflies to come forth, chief among them being their parasitic queen Megaguirus. When Godzilla suddenly reappears, it becomes a three-way struggle between man, reptile, and bug.

Positives: Godzilla retains his look from "Godzilla 2000", a radical but cool design, but this time he is actually green instead of charcoal grey/black. He's also given a bit of personality with simple but subtle movements giving the viewer an idea of what he is thinking. In an interesting move, Toho brought back the insects (Meganulons, based on an actual extinct species called Meganeura) from "Rodan" and gave them a modern update. They're legitimately creepy and Megaguirus is a nice foe for Godzilla, being not only brutal but pretty sadistic. I have to admit using a black hole gun against Godzilla is creative, proving once again that there is still room for imagination in a series about a giant city-smashing, monster-bashing dinosaur. The film's central theme is an interesting one to say the least, how man seeks newer and hopefully cleaner sources of power but somehow keeps failing with Godzilla and Megaguirus being dark parallels/antitheses of that concept. The music is also decent, the main theme of which gets carried on in future films, and the action is entertaining enough with a few unexpectedly funny moments.

Where this film falls flat is ultimately the execution of every aspect of it. While some of the practical stuff looks fine, a majority of the effects are terribly outdated, especially when compared to other Godzilla films like "Godzilla 2000"; the predecessor manages to hide its flaws as most of the kaiju scenes happen at night while most of this film occurs during the day where the flaws are far more noticeable. The suits/puppets, despite having decent range of motion, tend to feel stiff and the CGI+green screen are far too obvious and not well-rendered. The movie really does seem cheap because of these shortcomings. While some effort was put in the human characters, most of them don't leave that big of an impression. Technician Kudo is at least amusing in that he's a bit egotistical in his talents but is still willing to help others, especially his crush Major Kiriko. As the female lead, an attempt was made in making Kiriko compelling but she fails to pull any heartstrings and almost comes off as a b****, plus her vendetta against Godzilla doesn't hold much weight when you really consider her choices within her backstory. Hell, some of the human characters make decisions that don't have any legit sense of logic. Finally, the film has many great ideas but doesn't go far enough with them, especially when you get down to the insects, which seem more of an inconvenience to the humans rather than a serious threat rivaling Godzilla, therefore there's this lack of presence to them from time to time.

This is by far the weakest of the Millennium films, a good concept hampered by an underwhelming execution. This may be worth a watch, but it would be best viewed with low expectations. Not the worst in the franchise (*cough* "Godzilla's Revenge"), but not the best either.

This is one of the best Godzilla movies ever!!! The first Millennium G-film I ever saw ( on Sci-Fi). It is a huge improvement over "Godzilla 2000" and in my opinion should've been released in American theaters instead. This movie gives the feeling of the classic Godzilla films, but at the same time still has that modern awe that is much better than in disappointing "Godzilla 2000".

The characters are fantastic and deliver great performances. It was good to see Yuriko Hoshi return to the G-franchise, and Kirko and Kudo both kept the emotional side going with some actually funny humor. I LOVE the whole conspiracy idea with Sigiura, all thanks to the marvelous screenplay. We can understand the characters and why they do what they do, even Godzilla. Mazaaki Tezuka directs the film amazingly, and I love the opening scene with the original "Gojira" footage, but with the new Godzilla added to it. The plot was an excellent piece of writing by Wataru Mimura and Hiroshi Kashiwabara. Dimension Tide was a very cool new weapon that was nicely done. Kenji Suzuki's work is great and the flooded Tokyo is totally convincing. This leads to our spectacular monsters.

Godzilla looks mostly the same but is much better characterized as the symbolic anti-hero. The nuclear message is a nice part of the story. Both the Meganulon and Meganula look incredible, and the metamorphism scenes look just as good. One of the film's best shots is when the whole side of a building is covered in Meganula, who metamorphize and begin to wreak havoc on Tokyo. Megaguirus is an excellent villain, much better than Orga. We finally see a true battle of speed and the battle between Godzilla and Megaguirus is one of the best ever!! Megaguirus' energy vacuum needle was a clever attack and the fight is interesting because the Monster King is forced to fight without his heat ray. Another nice touch is the 'camp' that fits in great during the final battle. The island battle with the swarm of Meganula was an excellent display of modern Toho effects at work and the action is superb in this film. The dramatic final climatic showdown between Godzilla and G-Graspers is a nice ending that ( stay tuned after the credits) gets even better! The film would be truly incomplete without Michuru Oshima's excellent score.

All together this is one incredible G-film that I'm glad to have seen. If you haven't seen it, you definitely need to buy yourself a copy. Now!!