Gamera 2: Advent of Legion Talkback

[king_ghidorah]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[lhb412]

Just finished this.

For a while now I've considered this to be the strongest film of the trilogy, the strongest Gamera film, and just one of the strongest kaiju films period. Sometimes a rewatch can cause me to reevaluate and change my opinions... I don't think it'll be the case this time. This movie rocks.

A film that, yes, goes back to Honda - but not back to the somewhat whimsical formula that Shinichi Sekizawa cracked unleashed in the '60s and redefined the genre. The last film was a tribute to those. With this film we go all the way back to the straight sci-fi, monster-on-the loose mold of Rodan, The Mysterians, H-Man, Gojira, and Them! It's goes back to the original formula and does it again, but does it through the perceptions of the new talent. That is how these things should carry on, not via halfhearted retreads (sorry Godzilla!).

I love, love, love the special effects of this movie. Probably more than the slicker Gamera 3 effects. Yes, those are technically better, but the ones in this film still look a bit old fashioned, but done extraordinarily well. The end result is a charming kind of magic. The suits are fantastic. I love both Gamera and Legion. Gamera looks the best he ever has, and Legion is one of my favorite kaiju, and certainly my favorite Gamera villain. I love the way the kaiju move in this movie. I love the way they fight. I love the way they explored how Gamera could land quickly while still moving because of the momentum from his flight.


And I'd just like to say just how much I like the human characters in this film, or, to be more specific, I love how every scene with them is purely functional - every damn scene has to do with the alien invasion and what do about it! - but even with the lack of straight character development scenes we learn so much about them (Honami's home life with her parents, Obitsu's desire to impress the other characters when he discovers something about the Legion and his momentary panic at being unable to grasp the practical applications of it, is Hanatani gay? ect. ect.). Honda was a master of this, too, and it's great to see someone do it so well again in the modern era.

[metal_bryan]

You summed it up pretty well. This is by far the best Gamera movie and one of the best kaiju films ever made.

[MekaGojira3k]

[king_ghidorah]

[Gojilove]

[metal_bryan]

[MekaGojira3k]

[Gojilove]

[kiryugoji04]

[MekaGojira3k]

[kiryugoji04]

[MekaGojira3k]

[kiryugoji04]

[king_ghidorah]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[metal_bryan]

[jellydonut25]

[metal_bryan]

[jellydonut25]

[metal_bryan]

[kiryugoji04]