Prime Time: Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)

Many people who review/critique movies for a living (or even, like myself, because of a need to keep myself mentally stable and happy with my own OCD approach to my own viewing selection) don't like to give immediate reactions. Some believe that it can take at least two viewings to fully form an opinion. Some believe that you need to let things sit with you a while before you put pen to paper (metaphorically-speaking). I don't think that way. I think that it can be good to dive into your own thoughts about a movie as soon as the credits have stopped rolling. That isn't to say that your opinion then will remain your opinion forever, but it's as good a time as any to take a snapshot of your feelings.

In saying that, however, I have to note that I ended up watching Gamera vs. Zigra twice. My first viewing wasn't great. Life threw a number of interruptions my way, and I was pretty unhappy by the time I got through to the end. I then waited too long to get my review written, which made me find time in my schedule for a second watch. I'm glad that happened, because the second watch was much more enjoyable. Maybe it was due to a lack of interruptions. Maybe I was just in a better mood.

The IMDb summary for this movie says this: "Space aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark and intend to take over the planet but they must first destroy Gamera". I guess that's correct, but it actually doesn't do justice to the fun you can have with this one. Gamera once again pops up to remind us all that they are a friend to all children, which is handy when young Kenichi (Yasushi Sakagami) and his father, Dr. Yosuke Ishikawa (Isamu Saeki), encounter a female alien (Reiko Kasahara) who plans the aforementioned takeover of our planet. The alien has a handy spaceship that can transform into a giant monster, more like a swordfish than a shark, and the second half of the movie features a number of battles between Gamera and this dangerous creature.

Once again in the hands of director Noriaki Yuasa and writer Niisan Takahashi (credited here as Fumi Takahashi), this is a fun time for fans of Gamera. As long as you aren't a newcomer, and you know that these always tend to be more child-friendly adventures, this delivers what is expected. Gamera may seem to be offscreen for most of the first half, but they are given enough to do to ensure that presence is still felt keenly enough until it's time for the fighting to properly start.

Sakagami is fine in his role, as is Saeki, but Kasahara is a highlight, whether explaining the plans for planet domination or wandering around Japan in very little clothing as she searches for the two humans that escaped her clutches. As ever, it's all about the creatures though. While  Zigra may not be the best of the opponents that Gamera has had to battle, they're well-designed and threatening enough to feel like a worthwhile creation. Zigra makes things very difficult for Gamera, as expected, and the ongoing fight leads to a final moment that is kind of hilarious and brilliant.

If you saw this film some time ago and didn't like it then I would recommend giving it another go. You may still feel the same way about it, but you may end up finding it a bit more enjoyable than you remembered. I'm glad that I ended up giving this a second chance, and it also served as a nice reminder that people should bear in mind the fluidity of personal opinions whenever browsing through the many movie reviews available here, there, and everywhere.

7/10

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Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)

You would think that sending Gamera into space would have been enough to keep Earth safe, but Gamera vs. Barugon quickly shows that not to be the case. First of all, there are always new creatures that can suddenly come along and cause panic. Secondly, a travelling rocket being hit by a meteorite is enough to send Gamera back down to our planet. And that's really all you need to know.

There's a bit more to the plot, of course, and Barugon is a creature hatched from an egg that people mistakenly think is a large opal, but things only ever liven up when people are trying to figure out how to deal with a new monster menace. Barugon looks a bit goofy, Gamera still looks great, and the humans feel even less significant than ever.

Directed by Shigeo Tanaka, and written by Niisan Takahashi, this follows on from the first Gamera film in a way that is simple enough, and also a bit disappointing. The contrivance to get Gamera back on our planet feels a bit lazy, Barugon is far from the best big beastie we've ever seen onscreen, and there's a major void in the cast that isn't filled by anyone we can empathise or sympathise with.

Kôjirô Hongô, Kyôko Enami, Yûzô Hayakawa, Takuya Fujioka, and Kôji Fujiyama are the cast members I will mention here, but they're just there to look on in awe as the creatures do their thing, when people aren't squabbling over the "opal" that leads to the appearance of Barugon. They do what they're asked to do, but they're just not asked to do anything that helps them to feel worth spending time with.

Gamera is still great, and the reason this is worth your time, which makes the fact that the rest of the movie is so weak seem even more disappointing. It needed either a better foe for our "hero" to battle or just some more scenes showing Gamera doing what Gamera does best. All the rainbow rays and mirror traps in the world aren't enough to make up for the disappointing sidelining of Gamera in one of their own movies.

Knowing how much better the later Gamera movies are (the 1990s films, referred to as the Heisei era) is enough to keep me powering through these, but I am worried that I'll end up slogging through a lot of lesser fare until I get back to those more enjoyable features. I've watched a lot worse though, and every film has the inherent plus of the second-best kaiju in cinema (a point I am sure could be argued over by fans for a long, long time). There's also something about kaiju movies that somehow makes it impossible to rate even the lesser films as a complete waste of your time. There may be less moments of absolute brilliance, but there are always some small treats here and there.

5/10

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