Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

 

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (ガメラ 大怪獣空中決戦)
Release Date - 1995
Country of Origin - Japan
Directed by - Shusuke Kaneko
Starring - Tsuyoshi Ihara, Naoya Kusanagi, Shinobu Nakayama, and Ayako Fujitani

It’s a little weird to think about the evolution of the monster movie. In the 1930s and 1940s, a monster movie was mostly related to the horror films Universal Studios was putting out. Stuff like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and the rest of the gang. But when the 50s came around the term changed some. It still refers to monsters; however it became the brand for science fiction B-movies, and has stayed that way sense, though it a movie doesn’t have to be a B-movie to utilize the monster genre. Yet now a days when we think of monster movies we think of Kaiju; monsters from Japan wreaking all kind of havoc. The genre started with the king himself Godzilla (or Gojira as he is referred to in Japan, yet they still call the movies Godzilla, go figure) and carries on today, it recent becoming more mainstream in the United States due to the success of Pacific Rim and the 2014 American Godzilla film. You could say the Kaiju are at their most popular now (though they were still uber popular before now, just in Japan). Old time fans of Kaiju and tokusatsu films are relishing in the exposure and new fans are discovering films. There are a lot of monsters out there and today we’re going to take a look at one that doesn’t get a lot of exposure, the giant rocket powered turtle himself Gamera: guardian of the universe and friend to all children.

Gamera got his start in 1965, created by Daiei Studios to try and cash in on the success of the Godzilla films. Like Godzilla, Gamera started as a serious character, he an ancient prehistoric creature that was unleashed after a nuclear explosion release him from suspended animation in ice. As the series went on Gamera, like Godzilla, became more family friendly. But whereas Godzilla still maintained some of his ferocious anti-hero like characteristics while still morphing into a friendlier family product, Gamera became the friend of all children and his films became very colorful and kid friendly. The films went on into the 1970s, however due to bankruptcy they were forced to cease production. A new film was made in 1980 (Gamera Super Monster), however it was mostly a rehash of old footage. After the movie was released Gamera stayed dormant, his series ending. Ironically whereas Gamera slightly outlived Godzilla in the old Shōwa Series of films (1954-1975 for Godzilla and 1965-1980 for Gamera), Godzilla returned four years after the end of the Gamera films with Godzilla (Godzilla 1984/The Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985). But that wasn’t the end of the (ironic) rivalry of Godzilla and Gamera. For in 1995 right before Godzilla took another break with the finale of his Heisei series in Godzilla VS Destoroyah, Gamera returned in today’s film: Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.

The film was a call back to Gamera’s origins, it being handled in a very serious and slightly dark fashion. It changed up the Gamera mythos, brought back one of his classic rivals, and kick started a new series of films (well a trilogy). It’s a very highly regarded film with in the tokusatsu community (myself being one who champions the film, but I’ll still be able to look at it fairly and critique it) and considered one of if not THE best Kaiju film. Does the flick live up to its reputation? Well we’re going to find out right here, right now!

When a ship off the east coast of the Philippines collides with an atoll they soon discover it wasn’t an atoll at all. For in fact what they hit was a giant monster resembling a turtle named Gamera, an ancient creature who rests in the sea and is covered with orihalcum a prophecy in ancient runes. Meanwhile an ornithologist named Mayumi (played by Shinobu Nakayama) investigates the appearances of giant bat like creatures that leave destruction wherever they go.

Soon the team of scientist Kusanagi (played by Akira Onodera) and Marine Officer Yonemori (played by Tsuyoshi Ihara) translate the runes and reveal the truth behind Gamera and with the help of another scientist, Gyaos. Gamera was in fact a creation of ancient people, as is Gyaos. When the originally created Gyaos’ went on a rampage the people created Gamera to combat them, Gamera becoming the guardian of the universe. Along with this revelation comes a new piece to the predictament; Kusanagi’s daughter Asagi (played by Ayako Fujitani) has developed a psychic relationship with Gamera after touching an amulet from the creature’s body, she now feeling how and what he does.

Both monsters are on track to meet in Tokyo with humanity (once again) in the middle of the monstrous conflict. Can Gamera defeat Gyaos and save the world again? Will Gyaos in the end win and defeat the guardian? Will another city be crushed in the battle (spoiler alert: yes)? The battle for the universe is about to start and for once, you may not want a ringside seat.

As I openly admitted in the beginning I am a huge fan of this movie. I think it’s one of the best movies I have ever seen and to me at least is tied as the greatest Kaiju movie ever (it being tied with 2001’s Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack). However as I also mentioned in the beginning I will not let my personal thoughts fill up the review. It is easy to look at a film you like from a critiquing point of view, and that is what I did here. So I say let’s just dive right into our analysis.

Looking at the film’s story reveals one that is one of the tightest and most compact of the Kaiju genre. It’s able to introduce and give a backstory for its two main character (let’s be honest, Gamera is the star of the show, the humans are kinda just the backup singers) without leaving anything out (yes we don’t see how Gamera and Gyaos were created but I don’t think we need to) and it also is able to give some meat to the human side of the story. Because of this the films is able to balance both sides equally and doesn’t over use either scenes with only the humans or only the monsters. The main human story is handled well and while I could have done without the whole psychic priestess thing I don’t think it brings it down and, considering Gamera’s origin makes some sense. Also I think this is one of the few Kaiju films where we see the military and government acting realistically. Their reaction to the existence of giant monsters is logical and so is their objective: capture them or if they continue to cause destruction, kill it. Most monster movies portray the military and government like this, however I feel as if this film does it much better. You actually see the progression on how they think of both creatures and the weight their decisions make. Surprisingly for a movie that runs a little over an hour and half, the movie is kinda slow. However this is not a bad thing (though it is a bit weird). It takes it’s time to work through its acts and to the climax, it even building genuine tension. It’s basically the right kind of slow pace. Another little surprise is that the movie is rather dark. Now when movies like this take the time to become more realistic and serious there is always at least a small bit of darkness to them, but here it’s a little more than a little bit. Probably the biggest example is Gyaos’ attack on the train. As for any cons, the only one I have is that the film never really explains why Asagi is the only one who after touching the stone can communicate with Gamera. It’s one of the major plot points and it never really is explained why this is, and because of this it brings the story a bit down, but not by a whole lot. Overall though this is a really good story and one of the best in terms of Kaiju flicks. Yes it sports a flaw in it, but I firmly believe that it can be overlooked due to how good and well handled the rest of the story is.

Moving on to characters, we have a nice bunch here. All of the characters come off as nice and genuine, they portrayed by their actors superbly. They may be a little overacting here and there (mostly from Ayako Fujitini), however it isn’t rampant as it can be in other films of both this genre and others. Unfortunately the humans do suffer in the realm of character development. None of them really develop throughout the film, I’d dare say at all. They change their opinion on something every so often, but they never change in any main way. This can be said for a lot of Kaiju movies, and to be fair it is true. Very rarely will a single character let alone all of the important ones develop in full throughout the film. If you’re somebody who isn’t use to this then it is easy to dismiss the film because of this. However if you’re use to Kaiju films then I don’t think there’s reason to be in arms over it, it simply comes with the territory unfortunately (it should be noted that the character of Asagi does appear in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, but as of this review I have not seen the film and thus comment if she develops any in it). So while are characters are rather nice and well acted, they suffer from lack of any real development.

As for cinematography, music, and special effects, we return to the neighborhood of really nice. Starting off with cinematography there is some great stuff here. The film is shot beautiful and while it doesn’t get too fancy with its shots, they’re still pretty impressive (I will note though that the film does have graininess to it). The music is perfect and fits the film so very well. It builds up a great atmosphere and sense of both excitement and dread. As for the special effects, they’re amazing. From the suits (and suit acting) to the miniatures and the rest of the practical effects, they are simply amazing. Some of the computer effects look a bit dated, and the compositing effects…yeah, they kind of suck (hell I’d say Darkman’s compositing effects are better, and that film is older than this one). Yet even with that the effects are still great. If you look past the crappy compositing though then you’re in for a treat as these are some of the best effects and miniatures I’ve ever seen in a Kaiju film. When it’s said and done, the cinematography is great, the music is fantastic, and despite one area being bad, the special effects are superb.

Even though there’s no bullshit here, let’s cut it anyways. I love this movie, love it to death. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is one of my favorite movies ever and rightfully so. It’s a great movie. Now I’m sure somebody is thinking that this is just personal feelings right now that are affecting my critiquing. And personal enjoyment does play a big part of my enjoyment of the film. But everybody judges a film on how much they enjoy it. So when you can find good in a movie on both a critical and laid back fun level then it’s all gravy. To put it bluntly this movie has a very good story which only sports the blemish of not explaining one of the major plot points, nice characters that while not greatly developed are fun to watch, beautiful cinematography, amazing music, and astonishing effects (with a side order of cheesy/bad composite ones). Everything about this movie just oozes greatness.

So yeah, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is amazing. I highly suggest you watch it. Do so after you read this review. Seriously, do it.

A +