In the final installment to the Gamera trilogy, we have high school girl Ayana, played with cold assurance by Ai Maeda, grieving for her dead parents (inadvertently killed in the first Gamera movie and you can call that collateral damage) and hungry for revenge.
As it turns out, in a cave she finds an egg which, legend says, will hatch into a demon. She nurtures the egg, it bursts open, and a cute little monster appears. She decides to name it Iris after her pet cat, also killed in Gamera's first attack. They develop a psychic link with one another and no small amount of affection although one's idea of affection is another's idea of dominance, but I digress.
Meanwhile, giant birds (Gyaos) have decided to invade Japan yet again and Gamera makes its first appearance in Shinjuku and what an appearance it is. He literally drops out of the sky, toasts the entire area with fire, kills a few of the Gyaos...and a lot of the citizenry at the same time. He does save a little boy, though, so that sort of balances things out.
We also have appearances by a shadowy agency monitoring Gamera and the other monsters. It seems that the government still doesn't trust Gamera no matter how many times its helped save the world. You can't really blame the government, though, as they have to consider the ordinary people. There is also a lot more death, and a few genuinely creepy moments, especially when Ayana literally bonds with a partially grown Iris. She opens her shirt, says "It's hot" and it verges on wish fulfillment by some unsatisfied middle-aged dudes who get their jollies out of looking at partially clad (or less) teenage girls. Verges on, but(IMO) never crosses over.
In the climactic showdown between a fully grown Iris and Gamera, the giant turtle comes to the aid of humanity in a thrilling battle at a superbly constructed (and miniaturized) Kyoto Station. While the outcome is never really in doubt, getting there is half the battle and it's a thriller all the way.
The pluses of this film are many. The music is excellent. It conveys menace and suspense. When Gamera first appears, the music underscores its arrival as if to say "Gamera is going to kick major butt". (And it does). The direction is also crisp and sure. Mr. Kaneko (director) understand the source material, uses a number of cinematic techniques showing the action from all participants, and keeps things moving. This is one of those rare kaiju movies where something is always happening.
The acting is fine. Shinobu Nakayama as the lead scientist is as talented as she is pretty, Ayako Fujitani returns to help Ai Maeda understand what's involved when psychically linking up with a monster, and the other parts are also well handled. Ai Maeda, steely-eyed for the majority of the picture, shows how revenge can damage someone in more ways than one.
I have to say that the special effects (models, CGI, people in rubber suits) are all used to their maximum advantage. All in all, this is probably THE finest monster mash ever made and worth seeing.
The only drawback was the script occasionally verging into muddled territory when exploring the government's incompetence (a common theme in the Gamera trilogy) but that's relatively minor. This is one flick you should see.
As it turns out, in a cave she finds an egg which, legend says, will hatch into a demon. She nurtures the egg, it bursts open, and a cute little monster appears. She decides to name it Iris after her pet cat, also killed in Gamera's first attack. They develop a psychic link with one another and no small amount of affection although one's idea of affection is another's idea of dominance, but I digress.
Meanwhile, giant birds (Gyaos) have decided to invade Japan yet again and Gamera makes its first appearance in Shinjuku and what an appearance it is. He literally drops out of the sky, toasts the entire area with fire, kills a few of the Gyaos...and a lot of the citizenry at the same time. He does save a little boy, though, so that sort of balances things out.
We also have appearances by a shadowy agency monitoring Gamera and the other monsters. It seems that the government still doesn't trust Gamera no matter how many times its helped save the world. You can't really blame the government, though, as they have to consider the ordinary people. There is also a lot more death, and a few genuinely creepy moments, especially when Ayana literally bonds with a partially grown Iris. She opens her shirt, says "It's hot" and it verges on wish fulfillment by some unsatisfied middle-aged dudes who get their jollies out of looking at partially clad (or less) teenage girls. Verges on, but(IMO) never crosses over.
In the climactic showdown between a fully grown Iris and Gamera, the giant turtle comes to the aid of humanity in a thrilling battle at a superbly constructed (and miniaturized) Kyoto Station. While the outcome is never really in doubt, getting there is half the battle and it's a thriller all the way.
The pluses of this film are many. The music is excellent. It conveys menace and suspense. When Gamera first appears, the music underscores its arrival as if to say "Gamera is going to kick major butt". (And it does). The direction is also crisp and sure. Mr. Kaneko (director) understand the source material, uses a number of cinematic techniques showing the action from all participants, and keeps things moving. This is one of those rare kaiju movies where something is always happening.
The acting is fine. Shinobu Nakayama as the lead scientist is as talented as she is pretty, Ayako Fujitani returns to help Ai Maeda understand what's involved when psychically linking up with a monster, and the other parts are also well handled. Ai Maeda, steely-eyed for the majority of the picture, shows how revenge can damage someone in more ways than one.
I have to say that the special effects (models, CGI, people in rubber suits) are all used to their maximum advantage. All in all, this is probably THE finest monster mash ever made and worth seeing.
The only drawback was the script occasionally verging into muddled territory when exploring the government's incompetence (a common theme in the Gamera trilogy) but that's relatively minor. This is one flick you should see.