Gamera - Attack of the Legion

I must say, I picked this one up expecting it to be just another Japanese rubber suit monster movie and thought it might be a bit of a laugh in that 'so bad its good' type of way. I was surprised however to find a very decent film which kept me engaged from the beginning, with a logical and 'plausible' storyline (if you can suspend disbelief when it comes to pre-historic flying turtles stomping their way through miniature cities etc.) and a decent script. The special effects are also pretty good, even though the main protagonists are of the 'men in rubber suits' variety. The only problem is, I'm now going to have to go and hunt down the other 2 installments! I've watched many worse Hollywood films recently and would recommend this to anyone who likes a good 'creature feature'.

...at least IMNSHO. It was high time someone thought up an insect kaiju that could be tough,scary,and interesting(Kumonga,Mothra and Kamacuras? Give me a break.Only Megaguirus came close to being interesting.) There was so much to like about this movie-intelligent dialog(even after the dubbing),great fight scenes,and the fact that the emphasis was placed on the monsters,and not the actors. No silly new "ultimate monster fighting weapon that gets trashed in 30 seconds"-just get those idiots from the JSDF out of the way,and let Gamera take care of business.But the big G had his hands full here-the Legion swarm were bad enough,but the mother creature was awesome,and didn't roll over when she got hurt. The mandible blasts were great,but those red "whip" beams that went right thru Gamera were awesome. I even liked the Legion's voice-it sounded like a rusty gate opening! Gamera was incredible,and that fireball slide trick he did was the bomb. With a new Gamera movie coming out next year,and Toho making it plain from the ending of Godzilla:Final Wars that they have no intention of waiting 5-10 years for a new Godzilla movie,I,along with many other kaiju fans,demand that Toho and Deiei quit fooling around,and make the deal-Godzilla vs.Gamera.What else is left?

Gamera 2: Advent of Legion is really good. Not perfect, and not as good as Gamera 3, but still pretty good. The movie uses several innovative techniques new to the kaiju world. For example, the movie introduces the human-sized legions as a horror element. They attack (and actually kill, something rare in kaiju films), the people on a commuter train. And it has pretty good marionetes. The mother Legion itself looks pretty good and has remarkable mobility for a creature of its size. If you compare it to Destroyah...well, no contest. Gamera looks different too, and has a new mode of flight. His hands transform into flippers when he flies. This is a controversial change, to say the least, but I think it looks ok. Anyway, I think there is enough good stuff about this movie to purchase it. A step up from Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe and a step up from the Godzilla series. Don't worry Godzilla fans, Godzilla can still make the best destruction films, but for an actually GOOD kaiju movie, check this one out. But if you want the best go for Gamera 3...

The second part of the new gamera-series offers the same advantages of the first movie only with improved quality. The design of legion is well done offering a mean, foreign but interesting looking villain that threatens earth (especially Japanese cities :) The story is convincing, revealing the nature of legion step by step (meaning the film is very interesting even if there are humans instead of monsters on screen, which is, in my opinion is very important to a film based on special effects).

An amazingly well done film you'll surely want to watch more than only one time.

Now this is what I call an excellent giant monster film. There's a plot: which concerns an invasion by alien insects who wish to turn Japan into a nest so they can spread their colonies all over. There are characters that are well-defined and interesting. There is suspense. There are realistic special FX, cool-looking monsters, and brutal kaiju battles. This film expertly shows Japan in panic and the effects of a kaiju on the country. It's also good to show how the military handles the situation. This film far surpasses the first movie in the series. Legion was a far more formidable villain than Gyaos. There are many classic scenes, including Legion's demise, Gamera getting covered with insects, and the destruction of Sendai. This can be either a great introduction to the genre or one of the quintessential giant monster films. Great fun throughout.