Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe

pd1875.0

no joke i love gamera's characterization in this

CinemaVoid 🏴‍☠️3.5

Some of you have never seen a grown man in a rubber suit pretending to be a giant spinning turtle fight another man in a rubber suit pretending to be a googly-eyed pterodactyl and it shows.

Kaijuman4.0

A Walk Amongst Monsters #70“The last hope, Gamera. We bestow it in the cradle of time. May it awaken with the shadow of evil, Gyaos.”After Godzilla came out of retirement to revitalize his career it only made sense for his old-time rival to do the same.This time though Gamera is determined to avoid the “friend to all children” label that followed him throughout his later career. Needless to say, he succeeded.Unlike the Heisei Godzilla films, which were all very sci-fi, this went heavily into fantasy. It gives the film a unique vibe for the era. Stuff like having Gamera be an ancient creation from the lost city of Atlantis, having a slab with a prophecy imbedded into Gamera’s shell, having him spiritually bond with a teenager who takes on the same damage that Gamera suffers, it’s all stuff like this that give this film its own identity.Gamera’s look is very reminiscent of his original design just with updated effects. The suit looks great and isn’t stiff at all. They finally gave him some eye drops so he’s got these big googly eyes that allow for more expression. Even though this is much more mature that the Showa films I’m glad they didn’t ditch his iconic roar or his ability to fly like a flying saucer. I smiled the first time each happened.Gyaos is a much more animalistic and savage creature than before. It’s no longer a single Kaiju but a species that awoke from hibernation due to earths pollution (the same reason they originally awoke when they destroyed Atlantis). They keep the general look of Gyaos but make it much more fleshy and streamlined. It even has a flexible neck now! They start out big but keep growing as the film goes on until the final one is on par with Gamera. Also they keep the laser beam from the Showa films too.Even with these giant “birds” eating dogs and poor bastards on a train, the real monster of the film is inner government politics. From wanting to capture the Gyaos to ordering the JSDF to attack Gamera even though he’s there to help, this unstoppable monster causing countless human casualties. Terrifying.While most of the Gyaos are easy prey for Gamera (he enters the film by bitch smacking one into an oil refinery), eventually one of them gets big enough to take him on solo. Which leads to an explosive finale.Seriously a lot of the final fight is effects guys gleefully setting off explosions inside miniature buildings. There’s so much impressive pyrotechnics at play. Building erupt into beautiful fireballs as debris rains down to the streets below. God, you love to see it.But that’s nothing on the big money shot. After Gamera free falls from space (yes they fight in space at one point) he smashes into an oil refinery that simply evaporates into a series of massive explosions that engulf the screen until it becomes a singular fireball of pure destruction. It’s. So. Fucking. Cool. Best part of the film, the pyro in me loses it every time.Outside of that the final fight is full of what makes a Kaiju fight fun. Shit gets destroyed, Kaiju get brutalized, and everything’s a smoldering mess by the end. I also appreciate having Gamera enter the fight by emerging from underneath the city instead of the typical “emerging from the ocean”. Plus I like how they gave Gamera a retractable elbow shiv simply because it looks cool as hell.Don’t know where to put it in my review but the shot of Gyaos nesting in the ruins of Tokyo Tower as the sun sets behind it is an amazing shot. Real kickass stuff.The only real issue with the film is how bad the green screen effects have aged. They like to use then whenever Gyoas flies and it’s pretty laughable all things considered. But it also has its charm so I’ll let it slide.Gamera returning to cinemas with such a good film is a feel good underdog story. But it only gets better from here.