A little boy is
having trouble coming to grips with his mother’s death. One day he finds a baby turtle and makes it
his pet. He soon learns that this is no
ordinary turtle as it can fly around his room.
At first, he is able to keep Gamera out of sight, but that becomes a
problem once it starts growing rapidly.
Meanwhile, a lot of ships begin disappearing off the coast of
Japan. Do you think a giant monster
could be responsible for the disappearances?
You bet. Do you think Gamera is
going to grow up and kick the monster’s butt?
Damn right!
The scenes of the kid
bonding with the little Gamera are the best ones in the movie. Usually in these films we have a giant turtle
befriending a little boy, but in this one, they reverse their roles. It’s a clever little twist on the conventions
of not only the Gamera series, but of giant monster flicks as a whole.
My favorite scene
directly rips off E.T. where the kid is out and about while Gamera stays at home
and whatever happens to the kid happens to Gamera at the house. While he’s out skateboarding in a skating
bowl, Gamera is narrowly avoiding being cooked alive in a wok. It’s corny, sure, but I dug it.
The monster fights
are solid. The villain looks like a
reptilian version of the bad guys from The Dark Crystal and he has a
retractable tongue like the Alien. I
also liked the new Gamera costume. He
looks more wide-eyed and spry, a look that was perhaps inspired by the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The movie itself never
really takes off and achieves the heights of the newer Godzilla movies, but it’s
fun for the most part. While the ‘90s
Gamera series was highly touted, they more or less left me cold. This one is an improvement in just about
every way. I’d say it’s about on par
with the ‘60s Gamera films. While it’s
not exactly impressive or memorable, it gets the job done. Gamera fans will be pleased, although others
may be left wanting more.
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