Review/Gamera the Brave
Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore
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OK, I have to get this off my chest. What were they thinking?!?
Yes, I know, you're clueless to what I'm talking about, so I'd better elaborate I suppose. *sigh* if I must, I must...
I finally got my copy of Gamera the Brave last week. (Japanese/Chinese languages with English/etc. subtitles.) I watched it last night and my reactions are mixed.
It was a decent film to follow up on the Shōwa era films... but the Gamera universe had finally gotten critical acclaim with the Heisei era films. People liked the Heisei films! (I still contend that Revenge of Irys is probably the best kaiju film ever.) Gamera as antihero kicks some major kaiju butt! To reboot the universe after finally building up public and critical success seems like a move that only movie studio executives could make.
On the other hand... the thing that made Gamera unique from Gojira (Godzilla) was that he was "Friend of all children". The Shōwa films were more kid-oriented, which helped them survive against the ... um ... monster hit, Godzilla. (Pun unavoidable.) In that regard, the reboot to a Shōwa style Gamera was a success. Alas, it is a pity that the movie bombed in the Japanese box office, since that means we'll never get an American release. (Especially with the scenes of Gamera crashing into / embedded in one of a pair of towers. Much too 9/11 for an American audience.)
I like the idea of making Gamera a species name and giving him a proper name, but naming him Toto? Come on! I can't think of that name without thinking "I'll get you my pretty, and your titanic turtle Toto too!"
Overall rating 7/8... It definitely wasn't a 10+ like Revenge of Iris, but I expected as much, knowing ahead of time it was a Shōwa reboot. However, the fact that it didn't even try to retcon the Heisei films into the same universe made me drop it a point from my expectations. Of course, I like that the Heisei trilogy is 'complete' in and of itself. (I liked the dark ending.) I always hate it when a good ending is ruined by a sequel, so I'll leave the rating at 7 rather than dropping down to 5. I suppose they had to reboot the universe somehow after the end of the previous trilogy, but why this low?? I liked seeing Gamera as a baby (although they could have picked a better 'actor' species to more closely resemble the adult Gamera), and the mini Guiron battle was too cute for words. *throat clear* *macho grunts* Sorry.... FeminineTom got ahold of the keyboard for a second there.
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Tometheus (talk) 11:42, 16 March 2008 (CDT) Getting in touch with my inner child and my feminine side at the same time... that has to be illegal!
