Terrific entry that missed it's audience...
I saw GAMERA THE BRAVE with an open mind. From the get-go it appeared I was in for a kiddie film along the lines of Toho's uneven REBIRTH OF MOTHRA series-somewhat forgettable. However, seeing it... Gamera The Brave exheeded expectations. The thing it had against it was how can another Gamera film top Shusuke Kaneko's terrific 90's trilogy of films? Well, it doesn't top it and doesn't need to-you don't have to make comparisons-it's apples and oranges. GAMERA THE BRAVE is it's own little film, that happens yet again, in another timeline, another "Gamera Universe" as it were. The film opens with a terrific "retro" battle, in 1973, with Gamera and several Gyaos flying monsters-witnessed by among others, a young boy(All of the cast here are dressed appropriately in 1970's clothes and have 70's haircuts-a nice detail). Gamera, shown full grown in 1973, is re-imagined and much more of a gnarled-looking giant tortoise. This takes place all during the credits with some fantastic and unique...
The subtitled Japanese version is awesome!
If you are a fan of the recent Japanese run of Gamera movies, this rendition is a can't miss! They covered all the bases; there was character development, there were cute and cuddly baby turtles, there were giant monster fights with the correspondingly gratuitous eye-candy/collateral damage.
The Evolution of Kaiju...
If you heard of the previous, and fantastic, Gamera Trilogy (Guardian of the Universe, Attack of Legion, and Revenge of Iris) from the 90s... it would appear that this movie actually re-boots the mythology *again* to make a new series. I would disagree with that, however. While it is definitely a different narrative world then the "Heisei" era movies... this one could actually be seen as a direct sequel to the original Showa-era films that ended in the 70s. (In fact, the opening scene takes place in the 70s before flashing forward to modern day)
While Gamera himself (herself?) looks more "cute" then his previous bad-ass incarnations, it works in context because he's essentially a kid. And along with the story, it ties very nicely into the old idea of Gamera being "The Guardian of Children", re-interpreted for a new era, and getting that title more organically then in the original series (which never really explained that part... he just was). And you still get the...
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