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The giant flying turtle is back for this 1995 Japanese feature where once again Gamera's intentions are misinterpreted by the military. All Gamera wants to do is take on his old enemy, Gyaos, the giant prehistoric bird who has nested atop Tokyo Tower. (Arrow Films)
Reviews (3)
The film brings nothing new, revelatory, different than what Godzilla, or Rodan, or Varan have done 22 times before in their spin-offs. But complaining about it’s as useless as complaining that 90% of all Shaw-Brothers fights are also one-note. You have to take it as it is, as its own unique subgenre that has its own rules and deviating from them is not desirable in conservative Japan. In a cursory comparison I have to say that it has much worse effects than its contemporary Godzilla, the budget was probably lower, you can see that Gamera doesn't have such a big name as an overgrown lizard after all. Writing about the plot is pointless, it's like discussing a soap opera. In the end, the door is clearly open for two more sequels, with the same filmmaking team.
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Gamera didn’t really grab me. While his design is cool, his mythology didn’t seem all that special. The Gyaos, though they look decent, weren’t particularly impressive as adversaries either — so I didn’t enjoy the film as much as I hoped. I do appreciate the quality of the production and the fairly decent destruction scenes, but I probably won’t be rushing to watch another Gamera film anytime soon. I think I’ll stick with the Godzilla series.
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Sure, it's still sometimes quite straightforward when it comes to the special effects and the simplest possible method is chosen, but all the scenes here are new. And let's face it, that's quite an improvement in the series. It's not a groundbreaking film, but it tries to deliver exactly what the viewer expects within the genre. Monsters are here, battles too, and on top of that, explosions are added, so for me, it's definitely a nice progression within the series.
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