Gamera the Brave

I was able to catch one of the last showings of Gamera this week in Hachioji, Tokyo, and I can say that the experience was a good one.

In 2004, as many already know, Toho announced that the king of kaiju, Godzilla, will be taking an indefinite vacation. This of course has happened before, but in Godzilla's absence someone needs to take the reigns. So, like before, the torch was passed to Godzilla's younger brother/rival Gamera.

Gamera took the torch, and ran with it. Hard. Here are some of the good things about this movie:

-Characters: The main human is a young boy (as always, after all, Gamera IS the friend of children). His mother is dead, and he lives with his father on an island fishing community. Gamera has a history on the island, so when the boy finds a fast-growing baby turtle which flies, some eyes are opened immediately... Other characters include a female neighbor with heart problems, the boys' friends, his father, and some evil government people. All are likable (or hateable), and the acting as far as I could tell was spot-on.

-Story: Its there, so this is not just the full-on kaiju fightfest that characterizes many Godzilla and Gamera movies. But we do have full-on kaiju fighting...

-Full-on Kaiju Fighting: This is probably the reason most people will see this movie, and it doesn't disappoint. The enemy monster this time around is a man-eating dinosaur named Jidas, and while he is not as charismatic as some of Gamera's other foes, he exudes evil and you will be rooting for the big-eyed turtle the whole time. The special effects are absolutely top-notch, in fact I think Jidas is one of the most convincing dinosaur suitmations I have ever seen.

-Music: Powerful when it needs to be. Exactly what it should be in a kaiju movie: it aids the awe that someone should feel when watching 30-story monsters duke it out.

Why I didn't give it a ten: The only thing that disappointed me about this movie was the fact that they replaced Gamera's signature roar with a stock roar, which I believe has been previously used for various incarnations of King Kong. But, this is a very minor complaint. Go see this movie when you can!

While the latest Gamera film is more "kid friendly" than the 90's trilogy, it still maintains enough death and destruction to be a watchable film for adults. I was also impressed with how well the special effects turned out. It is refreshing to see a film where CG isn't used as a catch all for effects. As good as CG has gotten, there is still a very tactile realism to model and make-up effects that can still look good when done well. As mentioned earlier, the story is aimed at children but it is taken seriously and doesn't spare the audience from the carnage that would happen when giant monsters fight or why a monster would be so bad that we would put up with Gamera's usual "bull in a china shop" style of heroics. The main character does get a bit annoying with his protectiveness of and failure to accept that his "Toto" is Gamera. The monster fights were done well enough to painfully leave me hungry for more. With as well as this one turned out, it really deserves a sequel.

The original Gamera series quickly aimed for the 5 to 8 year old set after two attempts at the standard "adult" monster film typified by the Godzilla series (although these kept lowering the age bracket with each film). Gamera films usually revolved around turtle loving children put in peril by aliens until their rescue by Gamera. The children sometimes would help Gamera either by cheering him on or in a more disgusting case, going into his body and fighting a parasite infection. Strangely, the original Gamera films features more gore and gross damage to the monsters then the Godzilla films ever attempted. The revived series directed by Shusuke Kaneko featured a more mature approach although Gamera had a psychic connection with a teenage girl. Kaneko also introduced a more integrated approach to the kaiju genre and raised the bar for all kaiju films. The re-revived series has aimed to return to Gamera's roots in the 1960's, once again presenting Gamera as "friend of all children".

Director Ryuta Tazaki comes from Japanese sci-fi action television with quite a resume with the Japanese Power Ranger Shows and never ending Kamen Rider series. This film shows little of his TV roots as this film is very well directed, well photographed with some modest experimentation with visuals and sound design. The film has a sort of naturalism that you don't usually get in a kaiju film. The hero just lost his mom to a car crash and his friend is afraid she won't live thru a heart operation in the hospital. THe parents are working class shop owners. A few moments of over-sentimentality and cuteness are here but the rest of the film makes up for it. The special effects live up to the level of the Kaneko Gamera films with a couple of shots that are excellent. Tazaki doesn't have Kaneko's dramatic flair for the action scenes but they are well done. As a note, this film does have some rather gross green gore when Gamera is hurt during the fights, this may upset children here in the west.

Once again Gamera sets a high standard. Recommended.

I must say, this was an unexpected twist to the famous giant turtle. After having his successful run with the 90s trilogy, Gamera seemed to have taken a break. He returns in 2006 while his older brother/rival Godzilla is taking a vacation that ends in 2012. An all-new storyline is created for Gamera, once again gearing towards kids but with a more serious tone.

About thirty years after the first Gamera destroyed a flock of carnivorous Gyaos by blowing himself up to save humanity, a young boy named Toru finds an egg resting on a mysterious red stone. The egg hatches and out comes a cute baby turtle, who Toru finds companionship from. Named Toto, the turtle starts growing and exhibiting all too familiar powers: flight and fire-breathing. When Toto disappears one day, a giant sea monster called Zedus is going around eating countless victims. Toto arrives to the scene as the new Gamera to face this adversary, but it will take the intervention of Toru and his friends to help the giant turtle conquer this deadly foe.

This movie is surprisingly well done. None of the kids are annoying unlike the ones from the old films that make you wanna slap them in the face. All the characters have depth to them and emotions are conveyed very well. I was slightly moved by all this. The effects and creature designs are excellent and the battles between Gamera and Zedus are great.

I don't see much that's wrong with this installment of the Gamera series. I would like to see how they plan on continuing this cool saga. Check out this family/monster film and see for yourself.

I was looking forward to seeing movie and at long last have. After Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera trilogy, as well as the Shinsei or Millennium Godzilla films, one was left wondering where Gamera had once more gone. Then came this movie, and anyone who's seen Kaneko's Gamera movies knows there's a lot to live up to. 90s Gamera was dark, bloody and very nihilistic in its tone and this film kind of veers away that. Like the classic films, the movie's central characters are children, but unlike the terribly campy 70s Gamera the acting here is more than solid enough. The story is emotionally strong, despite being slow at times but I rather enjoy the journey.

And the special effects are just top notch thru out. In an era where CGI is over-taking everything, this movie blends the old wit the new quite well. The opening pays tribute to "Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys" quite nicely, while also paying tribute to the vintage kaiju era. The monster designs are quite awesome, myself loving the new monster Zedus, who himself was inspired by Barugon of that classic 1966 film "Gamera vs. Barugon". Gyaos appears briefly in the beginning, but looks pretty damn awesome. One of my few complaints is the removal of Gamera's trademark roar thru much of the movie in favor of the 1976 King Kong roar. To begin with, I do not really care for the 1976 King Kong starring Jeff Bridges, but that's a whole nother review in itself (which I have reviewed if you want to check it out).

Anyways, definitely check out "Gamera the Brave".