| Gamera: Guardian of the Universe | |
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Official Japanese poster |
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| Directed by | Shusuke Kaneko |
| Produced by | Hiroyuki Kato Shigeru Ohno Yasuyoshi Tokuma Tsutomu Tsuchikawa Seiji Urushido |
| Written by | Kazunori Itō |
| Starring | Shinobu Nakayama Ayako Fujitani Yukijiro Hotaru |
| Music by | Kow Otani |
| Cinematography | Junichi Tozawa |
| Editing by | Shizuo Arakawa |
| Distributed by | Toho ADV Films (USA) |
| Release date(s) | March 11, 1995 |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (ガメラ 大怪獣空中決戦 Gamera: Daikaijū Kuchu Kessen, Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Battle), is a 1995 Kaiju film directed by Shusuke Kaneko. It is a reboot of the Gamera film franchise. It is the ninth entry in the Gamera film series and first in Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera trilogy. It was followed by Attack of The Legion and Revenge of Iris.
It was a co-production of Hakuhodo/Daiei/Nippon Television, and was the first Gamera film not to be released by Daiei Pictures. It has been widely acclaimed by fans and critics alike, and is considered a classic of the genre. Due to his change, it is also considered to be the first complete reboot of a film series.
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Ten thousand years ago, an advanced civilisation created the Gyaos to eliminate rampant pollution. However, the Gyaos grew stronger, started breeding and began feasting on humans. For protection, the Gameras were created to fend off the attacks. The onslaught of the Gyaos was eventually halted, and they were forced into hibernation. Despite the best efforts of its people, the advanced civilisation was ruined. So, the scientists preserved the last remaining Gamera and bequeathed him to the next civilisation, should the Gyaos ever return.
The year was 1995, off the eastern coast of the Philippines, the Kairyu-Maru was trudging through the darkness of night. Its crew, and the crew of its Marine Safety escort, hoped that nothing would go wrong. The ship was carrying plutonium, and even a small leak would be disastrous. Without warning, the Kairyu-Maru ran aground on a mysterious floating atoll. The atoll moved away from the vessel and passed underneath both the ship and its escort. Fortunately, no plutonium was leaked, but the crew was shaken up, and reports of similar events started occurring throughout the area. A team of scientists landed on the atoll as it approached Japan. There, they found several small stone amulets, and a stone slab at the center of the anomalous formation. A strange writing was engraved on the slab, which was later deciphered. It revealed the names of Gamera, the Guardian of the Universe, and Gyaos, the Shadow of Evil. The atoll suddenly started to quake, and the slab was destroyed. As the scientists were thrown into the water, one was shocked to witness the eye and tusk of a giant turtle.
Meanwhile, three Gyaos were lured from the Goto Archipelago to the Fukuoka Dome baseball stadium. With its retractable domed roof, the stadium would be the perfect area to trap and study the pterodactyl-like creatures. However, one of them escaped and flew toward the harbor, where Gamera suddenly burst from the water and killed it. Gamera waded through the town towards the stadium, intent on destroying the final two Gyaos. However, they escaped, and Gamera left the city to gather strength. One of the amulets found on Gamera's shell was given as a present to a young girl named Asagi Kusanagi. Through the artifact, she found herself spiritually connected to Gamera, and also discovered that she was able to bestow him power he needed to fight his enemies.
The Gyaos found a place to hide and feed in the Kiso Mountain range, but Gamera soon arrived and blew one to smithereens with a plasma fireball. Gamera flew in pursuit of the only remaining Gyaos, but he was shot out of the sky by the Japanese military, whom the self-defense force saw as the greater threat. Gamera eventually escaped, but was forced to find a place to gather more strength.
The last Gyaos had grown into Super Gyaos and was now besieging Tokyo. It landed atop the ruined Tokyo Tower, inadvertently wrecked in a military strike against the kaiju, making the landmark its nest. The following day, Gamera burrowed into the metropolis. He destroyed the nest and chased Gyaos across the city until the two began battling in the heart Tokyo. Gamera cut Gyaos' leg and took off into the sky, where Gyaos chased him into the outer atmosphere. As the two monsters endured the immense pressures of re-entry, Gamera sliced off Gyaos' wounded leg and shoved himself away. Gamera crashed into an oil refinery, and the resulting explosions surrounded him with flames. Gyaos furthered the explosions with its sonic beam and landed nearby, but Gamera absorbed the raging fire and recovered. He then destroyed Gyaos with a massive fireball, and gave a final glance to his human companion, Asagi, as he returned to the sea.
The film has been highly praised by fans and critics alike. It has been regarded for its darker tones, ground-breaking special effects, and successful reinvention of the franchise and character. The film has been noted to be far more darker and edgier than the original series, which was often criticized for being too campy.
Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, saying: "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is precisely the kind of movie that I enjoy, despite all rational reasoning. How, you may ask, can I possibly prefer this Japanese monster film about a jet-powered turtle to a megabudget solemnity like Air Force One? It has laughable acting, a ludicrous plot, second-rate special effects and dialogue such as, 'Someday, I'll show you around monster-free Tokyo!' The answer, I think, is that Gamera is more fun."[1]
Peter H. Gilmore of MonsterZero.us said, "All in all, this is a vibrant and energetic film. The monster battles are full of physical grappling as well as energy weapon exchanges, and the excellent suitmation is well augmented by judiciously used CGI."[2] Popcorn Pictures said, "This is just a great, fun kaiju film. ... Gamera finally has a film to rival Godzilla (but he's still second best to the Big G, though) and rid the infamous legacy that has dogged him throughout his motion picture life."[3]
Blu-ray:
Mill Creek Entertainment
DVD:
ADV Films
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