I didn't expect much from this at all, a Gamera movie that seemed to be nothing more than a cheap "megamix" of past encounters, apparently made just to help a studio get out of some financial trouble. I am sure that many others will dismiss this, and perhaps it barely counts as a Gamera movie when considered alongside other, more original, instalments in the series (but really . . . how original is any Gamera movie after the first one?), but I ended up really enjoying it.
An alien enemy is threatening Earth, and they also hope to reveal the identity of some superheroes living here, the Spacewomen (played by Mach Fumiake, Yaeko Kojima, and Yoko Komatsu). Unable to work as effectively as they would like, especially while trying to keep themselves hidden away from the searching alien presence, the Spacewomen end up enlisting the help of a young boy, Keiichi (Koichi Maeda), who can himself enlist the help of Gamera.
Although every main kaiju battle here is lifted from previous movies, that doesn't matter so much when the film is so much fun. Gamera ends up battling Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron, and Barugon, all familiar creatures to those who have watched the previous movies, and the end result of each fight isn't made any less enjoyable by being a foregone conclusion. The developing relationship between Keiichi and the Spacewomen is done well, and entertaining enough to keep things well-paced in between the giant battles.
Surprisingly, the main cast members work really well in what some may view as nothing more than "filler" scenes. Young Maeda is as lively and optimistic as the young children in these movies usually are, and even a bit more likeable than usual, and Fumiake is very good as Kilara, the leader of the Spacewomen.
Director Noriaki Yuasa is working again with writer Niisan Takahashi, and working again with stock footage (of course), and he does well to make this seem even occasionally like a film that has been put together with some thought and care. I'm not saying that Yuasa and Takahashi didn't bother at all about what they were doing, but they certainly had limitations on what they could stitch together. The fact that the final product is as coherent and entertaining as this is quite extraordinary.
I could see myself watching this again, ahead of some other weak Gamera movies. It has a selection of highlights, a fun sub-plot with the humanoid characters, and none of the plodding pacing issues that some of the other Gamera movies suffer from. And maybe my poor memory helps me to enjoy sequences that still feel exciting and fun, despite the fact that I've already watched them, in a slightly different context, over the past few months.
8/10
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