REVIEW DATE: 11:21:9:9
'Twas a glorious day for the Chosis home office. My new monitor had arrived. So, as I began to adjust my eyes to this new marvel of technology (hey, I've been slaving away on a 13 incher for the past 11 months, let me be) I asked myself, Dude, how can I let one of the best damn daikaiju movies of our time go unreviewed?
The answer was simple, I couldn't.
So I plugged in my new monitor (15 inches, ladies) and set to work on this nugget of the modern age.
Regarded favorably and debated hotly, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe exploded onto the scene in 1995 just as the modern Godzilla series was winding down. Inspired by the success of the modern Godzilla, Daiei studios decided to resurrect their own terrible terrapin for today's audience. We love Daiei, oh yes we do.
Fun begins when two ships carrying nuclear fuel collide with a
mysterious atoll that seams to float all by its lonesome. Eyebrows are raised, and a navy
team is dispatched to investigate. Felling a bit responsible for the incident, Naval
officer Yonemuri (Tsuyoshi Ihara) beseeches team leader Kasamagi to let him join up. He
gets his wish only after cooking dinner for Kasamagi 
and his trés cute
daughter, Asagi (Ayako Fujitani, Steven Sagall's trés cute daughter).
Meanwhile, on an offshore island group, ornithologist Dr. Nagamine (Shinobu Nakayama) arrives to investigate the disappearance of one of her friends, only to find massive destruction, huge bird droppings, and no people what so ever. After some exploring, she and a team of police officers find a trio of huge winged reptiles. The creatures (whom everyone calls birds, even though Nagamine herself voices facts to the contrary) have wingspans of about 50 feet, and a taste for human flesh.
Eager to feed their need, the "birds" make a b-line for Japan. The Self-Defense Force, in quite an about-face from the norm, decides to capture the birds for study, with Nagamine doing everything but jumping up and down and shouting "kill, kill, kill". Usually in these situations, you have a scientist claiming that the deadly monster must be studied, while every grunt with a gun is just itching to carve himself some daikaiju hide.
Back at sea, our intrepid band finds the atoll and several strange things. The island is covered with weird coma shaped beads and a huge monolith with strange writing on it. Yonemuri makes to mistake of touching the monolith, which causes the island to fall apart and release none other then (dun, da, dun, da, dun, dun) Gamera! Who, it just so happens, also makes a b-line for Japan.
There, a plan is underway to capture the 3 "birds". Gamera shows up, trashes the city, and blows the plan all to hell (killing one bird in the process) before taking flight under his own power. Leaving all our characters to stand around and drop some jaw.
Pissed that their plan was disturbed by a giant turtle, the SDF decides it wants to mount Gamera's head on the wall, and sets about trying to make that happen. He is the more dangerous creature here, right?
Wrong, dog breath. Translations of the monolith found on Gamera reveal that the "birds" are a species of asexual, man eaters called the Gaos. Biological war machines created about 10,000 years ago by an advanced civilization (probably Atlantis). In response to this threat, the civilization created Gamera, but he proved to little, too late. The Gaos soon destroyed their creators and then turned on each other, leaving behind one clutch of eggs. Now both are back, and it's Deathmatch time!
When it comes to giant monster movies, only 2 things are truly
required to satisfy the masses: monsters and destruction. 
Gamera
goes us 2 better, providing both those things (and making them work) as well as
interesting characters and an engaging plot. It's not everyday I feel threatened by a
giant monster, and certainly not one as weird as Gaos. Yet, there is a sense of menace
around these birds, for they could very well wipe out humanity for a second time. And,
since conventional weapons prove useless (boy, what a shocker) only Gamera can stop them.
Surprisingly, the human actors actually get something to work with, and construct likeable characters out of what they have. It isn't much, but its better then half the Godzilla flicks I could mention. Ayako Fujitani has more talent in her eye balls then her dear old dad has in his whole body. She gets to show it, too, as she spends half the movie psychically connected to Gamera through one of those little bead things. Not only is it a good way to tie Gamera to humanity, it's also a nice twist on the old "friend to children everywhere" theme.
Making Gamera the victim of military persecution was a stroke of genius. I've always had sympathy for Godzilla because the big G never really deserved to be shot at by every jar head with a gun, and that sympathy goes double for Gamera. Godzilla stomps things because they're in his way, with out a care in the world for the humans at his feet. Gamera (at least, this Gamera) was created to save humanity, yet still gets shot at when trying to reach that goal. "Sympathy," it's a word everyone trying to make a Godzilla rip-off should get into their vocabulary.
The redesigned Gamera suit is quite a piece of work. Totally bipedal now, Gamera no longer looks ungainly to the fourth power. Plus, Gamera's fire balls are now computer generated, so no more nozzle sticking out of his mouth. Ka-CHING! Gaos unfortunately suffers from being a wire puppet. I find it interesting to see both the cutting edge of FX technology, and the rock bottom in the same movie. You, however, might find it silly.
Seeing Gamera: Guardian of the Universe should be a fun ride for fans and non-fans alike. Steering clear of the silliness of its source material, Gamera still delivers the goods when it comes to giant monster movies. I own a copy. And, by God, I think you should, too.
Gs (out of a possible five)
MOCK O' METER
