The original run of Gamera films of the '60s and '70s have always been second-rate compared to the Godzilla films they mimicked. Godzilla movies are not good movies from a story perspective, but they have always been reasonably successful in delivering the spectacular. You always got a feeling like Japan was in danger, whether it be from Godzilla or the nasty beast he was battling. This has never been the case with Gamera. Gamera has always been difficult to appreciate. He is a jet-powered, flying turtle, after all.

Gamera protects children from harm. The most annoying part of the Godzilla run of the '70s is when Godzilla interacts with children. Turn the kid-knob up to eleven and you've got the original Gamera films. Add to that the fact that the movies have almost always been made for kids and you've got lots of reasons to ignore Gamera as a respect-worthy kaiju.

Now for whatever reason, 1995 sees a new beginning for Gamera. He still has an ESP deal going with children, but this time it's with a teenaged girl. This is also free of little kids yelling "Gamera! Help us! Here we are! Gamera!" every 30 seconds.

The story is actually pretty good. Gamera's old nemesis Gyaos is back and while I'm not a Gamera expert, this time it's different. There are a number of Gyaos (plural: Gyaoses, Gyoai???). One of them does manage to survive Gamera's efforts to police them and it grows to a great size. All of this is standard kaiju stuff, but Gamera himself is an impressive beast this time around. I still chuckle at the silliness of a giant turtle with jet power, but the Gamera effects are pretty terrific. There is some unconvincing green screen, but the final battle between Gamera and Gyaos is impressively done. The explosions at the refinery are fantastic and really pop on the Blu-Ray release (Arrow Video).