Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Ok guys we've reached the end of this run of Gamera talkbacks. I don't plan on doing a talkback for Gamera the Brave as the Gamera the Brave Appreciation thread I already created pretty much does the trick.

It's been fun.

So let's get this party started..

The Basics:

Gamera continues to wage his war against the Gyaos all over the globe. Gone is the kid friendly Gamera, and now we have a battle scarred, grizzled Gamera.

Also, there's a young girl who finds an amulent like the one used to sync up with Gamera in the first two movies...cept this one is evil, and allows her to link up with a super evolved form of Gyaos that she names Iris.

Also, Also... there's some stuff about a weird conspiracy, a villanous computer hacker that make no sense...

Kind of a lot of things going on in this movie...a little too much if you ask me

The Plot:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamera_3:_ ... ng_of_Irys


The Kaiju:

Gamera:

Gamera here is more of a horror icon than a friend to all children. This is easiliest the "scariest" form of Gamera and a fan favorite. I used to love this design, but I'm just kind of meh on it now...I prefer for Gamera to be a tiny bit more kid friendly in appearance.

Hyper Gyaos

Well, I love the Hyper Gyaos design. To this date, I think this is the best depiction of a flying kaiju on film.

Iris

Another win in the design department. Iris is easily the most unique kaiju design since Gigan.

The Acting:

Pretty good. Some of the villains overact...especially the computer hacker guy.

Yukijirō Hotaru remains one of my favorite Japanese actors ever in this film.

The SPFX:

What can I say that hasn't already been said about this....the most advanced FX ever in a kaiju film. Nuff' said.

The Other Stuff:

-Most people consider this one of their favorite kaiju films...me...I prefer GOTU or G2, not to mention Gamera The Brave

I dunno...I'm not really the one to talk about this film. It's been talked about so much that I honestly don't know what to say. It's a great film. See it.

For the die-hards....sound off below on what makes this film so special if you feel inclined to do so

Wow, not a single person has responded yet. I don't know what to make of that lol. Maybe a lot of you have soured on this film too..

The only thing that bothered me about this film was that there wasn't enough monster action. If it would have been like the previous film, where Gamera shows up, does battle and loses, and then comes back later I think it would have been much better. And I thought the existing fight scene was kind of lame. The final few minutes of it were great, but the rest left me with an empty feeling. I also think it would have been best to leave the computer genius and the fortune-teller out of it. Those two were my least favorite aspect of the story. They were pretty pointless filler material in my opinion. And the guy was annoying.

But see, The "computer guy" was integral to the plot. He was the one who figured out that the drop in Manna was what was leading to the appearance of Gyoas. And the "fortune teller" was a priestess from an ancient house who were connected to the Gyoas. In fact, it was supposed to be her that found the jewell and released(and bonded with)Irys. But, as the "computer guy" said, her royal blood had become thin, making way for a child to control the monster(or words to that effect). And yes, I enjoyed both characters immensely and felt that they both brought a legitimate sense of mythology to the film.

Years ago, when news that ADV would finally bring this movie to the States was announced, I read some sort of promo or review that proclaimed this film the greatest Japanese giant monster movie since the original Gojira.

Call me typical, but I'll go with that.

Fin.

Absolutely blew me away when I first saw it. Watched it recently saaaay.... earlier this year? (I forget when) and not to long before that when me and Jared introduced a newcomer to the whole trilogy. It was probably my best memory of watching that movie, because our friend kept saying, "wow, Gamera 2 was awesome! No way three can top that!"

Then his jaw was on the floor for the next 90 minutes.

But really, this movie is so beautiful, just about perfect on the SFX side, the story is engrossing and tense, who cares that there's "not enough action?" I hate it when people say that.

I love this movie, but I really do feel that part 2 is the best of the trilogy and by far the most solid film of the three. Gamera 3 is fantastic, but the mythology gets a little too convoluted and some things aren't given enough attention... for example, what Iris actually IS is left incredibly vague... we get the idea that its a Gyaos mutation... but... ? It goes nowhere after that. And the whole idea that the monsters have to a have connection with humans is one that is pretty underwritten.

And speaking of vague, we also have the game designer and the fortune teller characters who... well, I don't know what... I've seen this movie TONS of times and still get kinda confused about who they are or why they are there. The movie attempts to tell us this information, but it never comes across as a cohesive part of the story. It honestly feels like they could have been taken out of the script altogether. They are hollow plot devices, nothing more, nothing less. The biggest problem with this movie is that this is the one that gets up its own ass with the mythology and doesn't bother to elaborate on it. It just mentions things and drops them.

Convoluted/unexplained plot points aside, this is still one of the best looking and most epic of all kaiju films. The pros GREATLY outweigh the cons. And I love the idea of an old, battle weary Gamera who is losing his connection with humans and how he overcomes it in the end. Gamera is a monster that truly has an arc in these films, and that's one of the most appealing things about this trilogy.