Gamera 3: Jashin kakusei

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris is quite unlike any other kaiju film ever made. It sees the filmmakers taking the lessons learned from their previous experiences and delivering what is possibly the most satisfying conclusion one could ask this epic trilogy.

Revenge of Iris takes the story full circle. It has the greatest strength any monster film could have, a compelling human story. This one taking a look at the impact the genre's larger than life creatures have on the world around them. Ayana and her monster Iris serve has the perfect foil against Gamera. It's a spiritual film that ultimately asks one to have faith. To have faith in Gamera and what he represents, a force of good that will never surrender no matter what.

The special effects are absolutely marvelous. I highly recommend you get a hold of some behind the scenes footage because the sheer effort and creativity at display is simple fantastic. The film has a interesting mix of cgi and practical effects that, while might not always be perfect, nonetheless delivers a sense of wonder and awe. It may have less monster action then the previous films, but the exchange is some of the most exemplary and intense monster spectacle out of any kaiju film.

Gamera 3 is a testament to the talent of its filmmakers. While they may have had smaller budgets and less resources than the Godzilla films of the time, their work on this trilogy exceeds them by far. Kaneko's trilogy is one of the most unique and well done monster films you'll ever have the pleasure of seeing.

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.

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.

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.

This movie goes down as the most powerful, haunting, well-scripted, and compelling kaiju film since the original Gojira. This film has well-defined, three-dimensional characters that actually develop over the course of the film. The special FX are truly awesome and even surpass the best of the Godzilla series (Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II). Iris is a cool looking design for a villainous monster. The monster scenes are sparse, but realistic and memorable. The fights are among the most brutal kaiju battles ever filmed. The plot of the movie revolves around a young girl who hates Gamera and wishes to seek vengeance against him for the death of her parents. She finds Iris, raises it, and even begins to fuse with it. There are many classic sequences in this film: the fight in the air between Gamera and Iris, the battle in the train station, and the destruction of the city during a battle with the Gyaos. There are only two aspects of this film that prevent it from being the perfect kaiju film: the kaiju fights are not that long and the roles of Asakura and Kurata in the film are confusing and out of place. However, this movie is still one of the greatest, most well-made kaiju films ever.