***** Gamera Saves the Earth from an Invasive Alien Species of Really Big Bugs

As a follow-up to the prequal, Gamera proves that yes indeed he’s here to protect the earth. Highlighting this movie is some rather high production values and a rather descent plot set-up that creates what I personally believe to be the best Gamera movie every made.

A mysterious meteorite lands outside Sapporo, and immediately afterwards strange things start to occur. Glass bottles are eaten, giant bugs attack people in a subway station, and a giant flower appears downtown. After much speculation it is determined that two symbiotic species, one an insect-like creature and another a large plant, landed on earth to spread their kind. To accomplish this, the plant has to store up enough oxygen to send a seed into space, and the bugs conveniently are silicon-based life forms that release oxygen whenever they munch on good ol’ SiO2. Now of course Gamera doesn’t like the idea of invasions on his planet, so he waltzes over to the flower and blows it up. Immediately he is swarmed by the bugs, hurt badly, and flies away. A larger bug creature also flies away to the city of Sendai to plant a new nest and flower. Gamera follows, but is slowed down by the giant bug (dubbed “Legion” along the way), only able to knock the flower over before the whole city blows up (yep, whole city, with Gamera in the middle). The big Legion heads strait for Tokyo, and a military effort tries to stop him. Despite looking a little under the weather, Gamera eventually wakes up and flies off to stop Legion. Gamera takes on the big one, and the military baits the smaller bugs away with some electric frequencies. Eventually Gamera decides to end the fight by sucking up some manna of the earth and releasing it in a large plasma blast, blowing Legion up good.

Overall the plot is such that it keeps you entertained throughout the movie. The first part revolves around the mystery of the alien species, and gives you hints along the way for you to eventually figure out along with the characters what is going on. It’s not confusing but it’s not overly simple either. Like with the previous movie, the emphasis is on the monsters and not the humans, so there is little in the way of character development. You see the characters, you know who they are, you get a few hints on the deeper side of them, but for the most part they are there just to move the larger plot along. Once Gamera finally shows up, he himself proves to be the main character of the story. His battle to save the world, his sacrifices to protect humanity, and his “never give up” attitude are all on display. It does get a little confusing on a few points, but luckily those points are explained in the next movie.

The emphasis really is on the rather nice special effects and how they intertwine with the physical world so terrifically. You almost feel as if you are there witnessing the events unfold around you. Plus you get to see a lot of really cool stuff. The part where Gamera sucks in oxygen to create a massive fireball, the part where Gamera sumo-wrestles with Legion to protect a helicopter, the destruction of Sendai, the military’s battle with Legion and the massive swarm, all of these are highlights for the movie. The biggest highlight though is the final battle. Legion is a truly awesome monster, but so is Gamera. He starts the battle in one of the best ways I’ve seen, landing fast and sliding across the ground to strafe Legion with repeated fireballs. The grapple in an epic struggle; Legion jabbing sharp spikes into Gamera’s flesh and Gamera returning the favor by ripping pieces off of Legion. Eventually Legion unleashes some nifty “laser-whips” on Gamera, making you wonder if the big turtle can still win. Well, he does, in probably the most awe-inspiring way imaginable. Terrific monster battles, terrific scenes of building destruction, and terrific effects overall.

So what we got here is a pretty entertaining plot, with plenty of variety, some terrific special effects, and a spectacular fight between two giant monsters. Great stuff, not necessarily the best kaiju movie ever made, but certainly the best Gamera movie. Some would argue the next one is the best, but I myself like this one better. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Entertaining plot

Terrific special effects

A lot of really cool stuff

A lot of great “human vs. monster” and “monster vs. monster” battles

Legion, one very powerful monster(s) to give Gamera quite the challenge

Human characters tend to be nothing more than observers

Annoying how you have to watch the next movie to understand this one

Although good for the most part, there are times where stuff looks a little fake

The smaller legion bug have a tendency to keel over and die for no good reason

Battles could have been a bit more dynamic; mostly they just grapple with each other

Now why on earth does Gamera suddenly become able to morph his arms into fins?

Credits