I honestly feel that this is a great Godzilla film in many ways; but the negative comments written on reflection by some viewers are difficult to dismiss. Many of the negative reviews of "G.: Final Wars" reflect a frustration with that film's radical revision of the very look and feel of the series. Here, the problem is that, despite innovations, "G. 2000" remains narratively and stylistically bound to the traditional series, but can't quite deliver the goods some fans expected of it. This bodes ill for the whole "millenium" series that follows, and indicates why this Godzilla series, while developing a cult of its own, lost the interest of many older fans.<br /><br />I'll approach this by remarking an important point that, oddly, many missed, reflected in the American audio commentary to the US DVD version of the film. What astounded me, right at the beginning of the film, was that the Americans involved in the loop and re-edit of the US release had not the slightest clue that a great deal of the humor of the film develops by spoofing the wretched American "Godzilla" (-in-name-only, or GINO) of 1998; The opening has Godzilla at a light-house, not only as a tribute to the granddaddy of post-WWII dinosaur flicks, "Beast from 20,000 Fanthoms", but because "Beast is the film the American GINO was really remaking. This is quickly followed by a confrontation between our human protagonists and Godzilla in a roadway tunnel - clearly a comment, and spoof, on the tunnel sequence that ends the GINO film. Little digs at GINO pepper the whole film; and along with them, back-handed comments on the previous Godzilla series of the '80s and '90s.<br /><br />Visually, something odd is going on here, and I don't mean the new Godzilla suit some have a difficulty with; actually, performed well and photographed from the right angles, it can be very impressive.<br /><br />What's happening is in the background, but it shapes the whole look of the film. With the enormous development and reconstruction of Tokyo over the past few decades, the city has literally shot up, with enormous skyscrapers tossed together with every little over-all urban design. Let's face it - these buildings very nearly dwarf Godzilla; although technically larger than ever before in the series, he looks smaller because of the urban growth he has to wade through. This also accounts for some of the higher-angled placements of the camera, which have the audience looking down on Godzilla (without the jet or helicopter POV as in previous films).<br /><br />The fact is, the world around Godzilla is becoming ever more complicated; the film-makers are pretty savvy about it, but many audiences, although more sophisticated about such matters than they were in the 1960s, clearly feel uncomfortable with even minor renovations in the series, since these frequently reduce Godzilla in stature, in comparison with the legendary city-stomper of old.<br /><br />As for me, I really like the characters; I find the special effects impressive and the story engaging. And from what I have in the American re-release, I think the film-makers did a pretty good job over-all.<br /><br />Maybe the reason Toho decided to retire the character is because they had to; maybe the era of Godzilla is over and it's time to find new monsters and new heroes. Too bad; it was a pretty good era for vinyl puppet monsters and invasions from outer space. In that regard it was truly a fun ride, and if it is indeed over, I will miss the best of it.