Gamera l'héroïque

When I recently saw Ultraman Mebius and the Ultraman Brothers on the internet I was slightly disappointed. The effects were too over-the-top ,the acting was kind of cheesy, and the ending was unsatisfying. But Gamera: the Brave was another story. I recently bought this DVD off of Yesasia.com and I was thrilled, the action was superb, the story was touching and the characters made you care. This new film was nothing like the 90s predecessors that had a much darker, serious approach. This is not to say this movie was cheesy or corny, in fact the opening scene was awe inspiring and intense. I still felt it was a great way to introduce this to children. This Gamera isn't your typical monster, he has heart.

The special effects of this film were also more believable than Ultraman Mebius, certain scenes, like a battle that takes place on a bridge between the main bad guy (Zedus) and Toto (Gamera) ensues that really makes you go "WOW! That was cool!" All things considered I went away from this movie with practically tears in my eyes, the resolution is wonderful. Even though this film wasn't the most successful movie (it's equivalent to the small popularity "Eragon" enjoyed) there are rumors of sequels in the works, AND I WELCOME THEM! TWO THUMBS WAY UP!

Decades after watching Gamera sacrifice himself to destroy monsters threatening the world, a recently widowed man's son finds a strange glowing stone with an egg nestled in it, and when a baby turtles hatches he decides to secretly keep it as a pet. But the boy soon discovers that his cute but seemingly normal little turtle is anything but that as it learns to fly, breath fire and grows at an astonishing rate. Suspecting his pet is in fact a descendant of the legendary Gamera he begins to worry if it will ultimately meet the same fate, and when a vicious giant monster begins to attack Japan he is unable to stop his friend from rising to meet the challenge, however unprepared.

Very well written and endearing semi-reboot to the Gamera franchise is far from perfect, having plenty of plot holes and gets a little too silly towards the end, but for me being someone who grew up watching the original films in all their cheesy splendor it hits all the right cords.

I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10 though IMDb doesn't allow 1/2 votes so I gave it an 8, not for everyone but veterans of the originals will almost certainly appreciate it.

I was never a fan of this flying turtle in the old days. However, they have completely repurposed him for the 21st century and the results are stunning.

Silly effects are supported by a strong, but simple, story and a little depth of characterization. The visual style of the film is what really shines. The Director's skillful use of camera moves and angles and a strong sense of composition really raises this film.

I would love to see what this Director could do with Godzilla (if he ever returns).

For once, a film's title accurately describes the film's content.

This movie is made as the 40 th anniversary movie of the Gamera series. The movie is made by Kadokawa Herald movies instead of the now defunct Daiei movie studio that made all previous Gamera series movies.

In 1973 Kyosuke (Kanji Tsuda) witnessed Gamera defeating a herd of Gyaos by exploding itself. People at the time thought Gamera sacrificed its own life to save the people. 33 years later, Kyosuke is a recent widower with young son Tooru (Ryo Fujioka) who is in fifth grade. One day Tooru sees a red glow on the neighboring island. When he gets there, he finds a sea turtle egg. The egg hatches and he finds a small turtle inside. He names it Toto and raises it secretly in his bedroom. One day little Toto is found flying above his father's head. The suspicion arises that Toto is actually another Gamera. Soon Toto disappears from Tooru's home. In the mean time, there are mysterious shipwrecks in the ocean. The culprit turns out to be a monster called Jidas. Jidas comes ashore and threatens Tooru's home town. Toto reappears, now grown into a monster sized turtle, battles Jidas to protect Tooru's family.

The movie was conceived to appeal to preteen audience, and the team work between Tooru and his friends and Toto becomes the central theme of this movie. Tooru backs Gamera saying "Toto is still a baby. So I need to give hims support.".

In this 40th anniversary movie, Gamera goes back its roots as friend of little children. Watch the teamwork between the children and Gamera to fight their nemesis Jidas. There're more emotion in this movie compared to the "Heisei Gamera Series (1995-1999)" and the battle between Gamera and Jidas is not the central theme, but communication between Tooru, his friends, and Toto becomes the focus of this story.

This movie is more story driven than any of the previous Gamera series movie, and is recommended for viewing.

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.