Gamera the Brave

I was looking forward to seeing movie and at long last have. After Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera trilogy, as well as the Shinsei or Millennium Godzilla films, one was left wondering where Gamera had once more gone. Then came this movie, and anyone who's seen Kaneko's Gamera movies knows there's a lot to live up to. 90s Gamera was dark, bloody and very nihilistic in its tone and this film kind of veers away that. Like the classic films, the movie's central characters are children, but unlike the terribly campy 70s Gamera the acting here is more than solid enough. The story is emotionally strong, despite being slow at times but I rather enjoy the journey.

And the special effects are just top notch thru out. In an era where CGI is over-taking everything, this movie blends the old wit the new quite well. The opening pays tribute to "Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys" quite nicely, while also paying tribute to the vintage kaiju era. The monster designs are quite awesome, myself loving the new monster Zedus, who himself was inspired by Barugon of that classic 1966 film "Gamera vs. Barugon". Gyaos appears briefly in the beginning, but looks pretty damn awesome. One of my few complaints is the removal of Gamera's trademark roar thru much of the movie in favor of the 1976 King Kong roar. To begin with, I do not really care for the 1976 King Kong starring Jeff Bridges, but that's a whole nother review in itself (which I have reviewed if you want to check it out).

Anyways, definitely check out "Gamera the Brave".