Rating: 
Summary: Hey! That's no atoll. That's Gamera! He's back!
Review: "Gamera: The Guardian of The Universe" ("Gamera daikaijû kuchu kessen") brings back the giant flying jet-powered flame-spewing turtle of a series of less than distinguished Sixties and Seventies Japanese movies. But despite the big budget Gamera has the same old problems. All he wants to do is defend Japan and small children from the bad monster Gyaos, a giant prehistoric bird who likes to sit on Tokyo Tower (Hey! I took a whole bunch of photographs from the top of that in the late 1960s; it was monster free then). Apparently the Gyaos are the ancient enemies of Gamera and so he rises up from the Pacific Ocean, the Ocean of Death, and does battle. The special effects are actually better in "Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe" than we have seen in any Gamera film; yes, the monsters are still rubber suits, but the Japanese defense forces moving into position are actually decent this time around and the fireballs Gamera spits out at the Gyaos are pretty kewl. Then again, if you want your Japanese rubber monster movies to have bad dubbing, then this film will certainly meet your needs. So this is better than what came before (ask Kojiro Hongo who plays the Captain of the Nojima because he was in most of those original films), but it is hard to take great pride in that conclusion. But one final warning: you better like techno music.
Rating: 
Summary: Gamera: Guardian of Kaiju Credibility
Review: Long ago, back when there were plenty of Godzilla-ripoffs, there was one series that stood above the rest: Gamera. Gamera was the most popular of these, most likely because it appealed largely to children (outside of Gamera vs. Barugon, which may have been the best of the older series.) By and large, the Gamera series was a joke. With cheap, often-poorly designed costumes, poor and predictable plots, and an over-reliance on Gamera, "Hero of the Children," it's amazing it went on for as long as it did. In 1995, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was released, with a completely different approach. This new Gamera, directed by Shusuke Kaneko, abandons the old plotline, as Godzilla 1985 did with the Godzilla series, and brings the audience into a new, darker Gamera, relying on myth rather than children. The story begins when a Japanese vessel carrying radioactive material runs aground in the middle of the sea. A mysterious floating atoll has been found and is heading towards Japan. On an island elsewhere, Dr. Nagamine has discovered a giant species of "birds" that have eaten the entire population of the island and one of her fellow scientists. Back at the atoll, a science team led by Professor Kusanagi finds many comma-shaped stones on the atoll, as well as a large 2001-esque monolith buried in it. When the professor's assistant touches the monolith, it breaks apart, as does the atoll. Back with the "birds", the Japanese government stages a plan to capture them as an endangered species, but their efforts are thwarted when Gamera, the creature within the atoll, arrives to destroy the creatures himself. The beginning of the movie is very disjointed, thus the shaky plot summary. However, once the two halves meet, the rest is solid, involving the confused Japanese government trying to capture the birds and defeat Gamera, Gamera's origins as a bio-weapon in Atlantis, and professor Kusanagi's daughter, Asagi, who provides a human link to Gamera and an homage to the giant turtle's earlier role. If it's different from the older movies, then it must have better special effects, right? At the point of this film being made, Gamera had never looked better (though the sequels continued to improve his look.) His "flying saucer" flight looks spectacular with CG flames, though his half-jet flying won't look good until the next film. The suit is also a bit fatter than in the old series, which is good, since turtle's don't have flat shells. The birds are based on the old Gyaos from the old series, and while they look very good, they're still clearly hand-puppets and marionettes. There are also several other effects with missiles explosions, and the Gyaos's laser. The music is good as well. While a little hokey at times, the main theme fits wonderfully with Gamera. While the movie itself manages to reach Godzilla's level of achievement, the DVD far surpasses it. Most Godzilla discs are complete bare-bones; some don't even have chapter-stops. ADV has included making-of featurettes, videos of opening night, a Japanese language track with subtitles (as well as the dub), and a multitude of other goodies. It's everything a fan could want. And there happens to be this box set out. While it's a little more expensive than the movie by itself, it's nice to have a small case for when you get all three films. And after seeing this one, you will want the rest. A very good kaiju film , high above Gamera's usual standards, and the best is still to come.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!1
Review: This was a great film, I love Gamera and all monster Kaiju, and I picked this up at Hollywood video out of plain curiosity. I loved it, the final battle scene was amazing and Gamera was very impressive. All in all this is a film for all true giant kaiju lovers, it's great, but in my opinion Gamera is no Godzilla. I highly prefer Godzilla over Gamera but this was a great film.
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Summary: The Only one i liked
Review: Well this one was cool and never looked at it as a Gamera movie. i just can not except a giant Turtle going around saving the world!
Rating:
Summary: Well-Made Monster Movie
Review: As most people know Gamera or Gammera as he was first known was the "friend of children" back in the sixties and the main competitor to Godzilla. Now Gamera is back and better than ever. No longer is he fodder for the boys at MST3K.
Today Gamera is the Guardian of the Universe. In the movie Gamera must protect Japan and ultimately the world from the invasion of 3 flying, flesh-eating lizards. Gamera the massive turtle quickly eliminates two of these, but then fights the third in a massive oil refinery show down.
The primary difference between this movie and the modern Godzilla movies is that the special effects are actually something to look at. For example Gamera flies numerous times and it somehow looks believable unlike the Gamera of yesteryear where you could sometimes see the strings. Every effect is done well including Gamera's flight and fireball, and Gaos' lazer breath. However sometimes it is obvious that effects are CGI.
The movie is a rather basic monster film but its production and special effects are what seperates it from the herd.
Rating:
Summary: The monster hit that redefined kaiju.
Review: When director Shusuke Kaneko and screenwriter Kazumori Ito revived the kiddie kaiju hero Gamera, they also revived the kaiju genre itself. The pair reached back beyond the day glow colored kiddie slug fests of the late 60s and 70s, stretching all the way back to the genres golden era, the 50s and early 60s. Rather than treat the flying turtle as a joke, they drafted an intelligent and mature monster story that builds to the city crumbling battles every fan of the genre knows and loves. This is the movie to show friends and family who think watching man in suit monster movies is strictly for kids. Highest recommendation.
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