I had some trepidation when I picked this film for my latest "kaiju-watch", having not been a big fan of one or two of the films preceding it, but I'll be damned if I allow myself to be beaten before I've even managed to get about halfway through this journey through the world of giant Japanese monster movies. Thankfully, Gamera vs. Viras is a lot of fun.
A couple of boy scouts, Masao (Tôru Takatsuka) and Jim (Carl Craig), get themselves aborad a small submarine and spend some time getting up to mischief underwater. Gamera appears, spending some time racing them and generally playing around, which is only a precursor to a potential alien plan to cause havoc on Earth. The aliens find out about Gamera's weakness, how he will always try to protect children, and they end up capturing Masao and Jim until they can get Gamera in their clutched, placing a controlling device on the back of his head, and then using him to start destroying cities. This eventually leads to a battle between Gamera and the aliens, who merge together to form the giant Viras.
It's hard to sound intelligent and critical when discussing this film, as it can be with a lot of the kaiju movies, but the main thing to convey to other people is just how goofy and endearing this film is. Director Noriaki Yuasa and writer Niisan Takahashi make great use of what makes Gamera stand out from other well-known kaiju figures, and it helps that there's a sense of real joy and playfulness throughout, even as things start to get a bit tricky for "our hero' as we move fully into the third act.
Takatsuka and Craig are enjoyable in their roles, the design of the aliens makes them an interesting onscreen presence, and Gamera is allowed to keep busy doing Gamera things, which is what you want to see in any Gamera movie.
This won't please anyone looking for scenes of mass destruction, those are just a very small part of the runtime, but it should please Gamera fans. It's in line with the films that have come before, it stays true to the character, and it's a highly enjoyable and brisk 75 minutes. Best described as knockabout fun, with the emphasis on the second word in that descriptor.
7/10
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