Gamera 3: Jashin kakusei

The only kaiju movie which surpasses this is the original Gojira. This movie has the best Fx of any kaiju movie, rivaling even the big budget hollywood films of that time. Gamera looks better than ever, giving the viewer a sense of fear, but at the same time, you can tell that Gamera is still the good guy. While Guardian of the Universe and G2 were both spectacular, G3 surpasses both of them. This is the definitive kaiju movie. There is one thing I would like to see, though. If at all possible, I would like ADV to advertise this film. Even the mostly anti-kaiju population of North America would enjoy watching this movie. If how well the Tristar film did in theaters is any indication, then a good and well advertised kaiju film can be a blockbuster. The Tristar film did well, and it sucked.

Yes, simply the finest daikaiju eiga made since the original Godzilla. Not only a film that can make you take Gamera seriously, but one that makes you take giant monsters seriously as well. Great story, fine acting, clever script and story, excellent directing, brilliant special effects.... this is the only one (so far!) that has it all.

Until this movie came along, in my opinion the original Godzilla ('54) had the highest production value in terms of reality of the monster. Gamera 1999 sets a new standard in kajyu movies with the new level of believability it brought to the monster's character. The fight scene in Shibuya is absolutely believable, and integration between CG and live humans are tight. Cinematography is beautiful, and there's no artificial quality to the scenery.

If I had complaints about this movie was that special effects director Shinji Higuchi seems to like to design monsters that are metallic looking and doesn't have a mouth (Legion, Iris). I think mouth is one thing that express monster's feelings and there was total lack of communication about the aggression Iris had towards Gamera. Legion at least had eyes, but Iris only has one light bulb inside the head. It looks a bit like a robot which took away from the involvement two monsters had for each other.

They brought back Nagamine (Shinobu Nakayama) to the story which was the right move, but neither she or Asagi Kusanagi (Ayako Fujitani) was at the center of the story. The girl Ayana wasn't strong enough actress to carry the lead and once again, story lacked a focal point as it did with Gamera Attack of Legion.

The '90s Gamera series gets darker and darker as the series progresses and this one is the darkest of them all with Gamera being total engine of destruction. It made the movie authentic but at the same time took something away from the Gamera character. It had no involvement with the human beings. I wish they would make Gamera 4 with plot line returning to like that of the first '90s Gamera movie with strong casting of characters.

This movie, being the last of the Gamera saga, is the best of the bunch. Not only are the effects top-notch, (particularly the scenes in which Gamera and Gaos birds are fighting over the city with no particular regard to human life), but the story of loss and vengeance with a young girl tied to one the first movies in the series brings a more darker theme to the genre. It's not necessarily required to watch all of the movies to catch up, but it couldn't hurt. The newer design for Gamera is the best design for him yet. He should have always been this way, however, since his appearance has changed in all three movies, they never explain how or why that is. I gather that they expect us to believe that he has always looked that way, especially since a flashback scene from the first Gamera movie features his new design instead of the one he had for the movie. The ending is a very clever touch to have fans gasping for more. If you're a giant kaiju fan this movie i would highly recommend.

Gamera is back... For those of you who liked the US version of Godzilla (I hope there aren't too many), this is a movie that you definitively won't like. It is indeed way closer to the original monster movie Spirit than the Emmerich superproduction is. A young girl, whose parents where killed by Gamera when he first fought Gyaos in 1995, finds an egg of a creature (which she names "iris", therefore the title) and raises it in order to kill Gamera. Although nice-looking, Iris is a blood fed creature, and quickly turns to be a danger for Humanity. Fortunately Gamera is still here... I was fascinated by this new Gamera. The special effects are impressive, the destruction scenes are astonishing (the first fight in Shibuya is incredible, but wait to see the Kyoto Station sequence), but in spite of this, the special effects are not the core of the movie (contrary to Emmerich's Godzilla). The human characters are as important as the monsters themselves. Although some are really "cliche" (especially the Dreamcast programmer, though funny, is pretty "useless"), the 2 heroines are well developed. The directing is quite common, nevertheless the flying sequences look very good. If you see it with the eyes of a common US movie goer, you'll hate this movie, as it may look ridiculous in a first viewing. However, the importance of the characters (the "fusion" of the girl with Iris appears to me as the discovery of her own sexuality) and the fact that the monsters are so closed to the natural calamities that strike Japan regularly (just like during the Kobe earthquake, it takes a quite long time for the Japanese government to react, and it's even more striking in Gamera 2) is more relevant that the rubber suit aspect of some closeups. Although it is not a new idea, this new Gamera flick deserves to be seen if you like monster movies and if you have not seen any, it's a good starting point.