Gammera the Invincible

Gammera is almost as fun as the famous Godzilla - it's not quite as good as Godzilla but it is a blast to watch. Silly looking special effects that will get you to smile, over-the-top story, the dialogue is sometimes hilarious but that is what makes a film like this one so much fun. And the theme song is so laughable... "Gammera! Gammera!"The film is watchable if you are into the "big monster" type of flicks.

If you liked Gammera the Invincible or Godzilla then you might like to make this movie a double feature with another fun Japanese film called Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967)... it's on the same wave-length as the other two films.

5/10

Due to the inability of America and the Soviet Union to get along, nuclear disaster strikes, unleashing the titular turtle! GAM(M)ERA THE INVINCIBLE is yet another Japanese monster film with new, westernized footage wedged in to appeal to American audiences. Admittedly, some of the inserted material is pretty good, especially the TV panel show, humorously discussing the giant turtle phenomenon. Very funny!

Of course, some of the original story is equally absurd, including a young boy with a "disturbing" turtle obsession. As for the Great Shelled One himself, he's awesome! This is where the titanic terrapin first proves that he's both "the friend of all children" and "the potential doom of all mankind". Can the brilliant Plan Z stop him?

BEST SCENES: #1- Gammera's assault on the nuclear power plant! #2- His fiery escape from certain death! #3- The -rather cramped- UN meeting, apparently held in someone's garage! #4- The band playing the Gammera theme song, in spite of impending annihilation! #5- The Tokyo demolition scene! Oh yeah! #6- The full implementation of Plan Z!

Gammera shows why he's a suitable rival of that OTHER giant reptile from that OTHER studio!...

This movie was in a sci-fi 50-pack a friend of mine got me for Christmas. It is very similar to the first Gozilla movie, and like that movie, has scenes with American actors inserted for no real reason. One interesting thing about the inserted scenes is that there's a Cold War tension portrayed between America and Russia. Like in Godzilla, Gamera is awakened by an atomic explosion and rampages across the world, paying close attention to Tokyo because no big monster movie is complete unless Tokyo bites it. All in all, this is an okay movie. Some of the scenes involving Gamera, particularly the scenes in Toly, are quite spectacular and have special effects that were pretty decent at the time. If you like Japanese giant monster movies, you'll really get a kick out of this one. I give it a 4 out of 10. Had this been the unedited Japanese version that I watched, it probably would've gotten a 5.

The original 1965 Japanese film "Gamera" http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0059080/ was essentially an updating of the darker, less kid-oriented Gojira (Godzilla)for 1960s sensibilities. Gamera, of course, is a giant, flying, flame-throwing turtle who literally consumes energy - not quite as big as some versions of Godzilla, but generally similar in most ways.

This version of the original film was edited and recut by the notorious Sandy Frank. And just like the Americanized version of Godzilla ("Godzilla King of the Monsters"), "Gammera the Invincible" gets more than just the spelling wrong. The American scenes are not nearly as ludicrous and annoying as those added to the great Gojira, but don't really add much to the story either because there is little follow up on them.

The film starts off promising, there are a few scenes worth of character development, and there are enough personalities to create some tension outside of the main plot. Once Gamera appears, however, the film begins to descend into a fairly run-of-the mill kaiju film.

The acting is good enough- even the American add-ons are OK. The directing is pretty good for this period and genre, and the special effects are not bad at all for their time (all miniatures). Some of the sets and backdrops are actually very good.

The biggest problem here, of course, is that there is little to nothing original about this film. Gamera, however, develops a much more unique personality in his later films - most of which are worth watching if you are a kaiju fan.

Gammera the Invincible (1966) is a Gamera classic that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a series of nuclear testing that awakens Gamera and he starts bearing down on Tokyo. Does Gamera plan to destroy Tokyo, teach the human race a lesson or both?

This movie is codirected by Sandy Howard (King of Africa) and Noriaki Yuasa (Gamera, Super Monster) and stars Albert Dekker (The Wild Bunch), Brian Donlevy (Impact), Diane J. Findlay (The Producers), John Baragrey (The Loves of Carmen) and Dick O'Neill (The Jerk).

The models used for this picture are fantastic. I loved how Gamera emerged from the snow to open the movie as well as the depiction of New York City. The toy boats and military equipment are fun and the lighthouse conclusion is fantastic. I'll always complain that the storyline is too close to Godzilla and Gamera looks like a toy turtle, but I still find these movies fun.

Overall, this is another fun Gamera addition to the monster genre that's an absolute must see. I would score this a 5/10 and strongly recommend it.