Cheap Gamera 2 - Attack of Legion (DVD) (Shusuke Kaneko) Price

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Customer Reviews of Gamera 2 - Attack of Legion

Amazing, But Not The Best
I got Gamera 2 and 3 for my birthday and I was so happy! When I saw this tape I was very satisfied with it. This movie and DVD is great! I like this movie still, but it never was the best. I mean it was good but the worst of the new Gamera series. One thing that helped it amazingly is that Legion was not just cool looking is very inventive for a space monster! It's like an exact insect version of Gayos. This is my rating for it.
Gamera Costume:A- This suit is great but the head's too small.

Enemy Costumes:A I would put plus but I don't have that key on my computor.
Enemy Origen(s):A Like I said for costumes.
Plot:B Good but has been used before.
Effects:A- Good but the worst in the series.
Actors:A You could really get that feeling from them.
Final Grade:A-

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Good but NOT the Best Kaiju
It's about time ADV got around to releasing Shusuke Kaneko's trilogy of Gamera films. If you want an above-average giant monster fest, by all means check out Gamera 2. Like all other films in this genre including Godzilla, the insistence on using rubber suits and model miniatures limits the believability and increases the campiness.

But if you want to experience the pinnacle of kaiju, you have to wait for Gamera 3, Revenge of Iris. It is, by far, the best giant monster movie made.

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Legion of Quality
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe vastly improved upon the poorness of the old Gamera films. This second film in the new series continues to do that. Shusuke Kaneko continues his work, taking place two years later, with the decision to return to the alien-invasion roots of the older 60's and 70's films. It might be considered a gutsy move, but it pays off.

This film is much less disjointed than the beginning of the first one. It begins with an American weather station noting some unusual activity that they label a freak meteor shower. On the night of the shower, one large meteor creates a trail through the trees and disappears. It's tracks appear to be slowing down. Soon after, various incidents are reported with transmissions problems and sightings of strange creatures, including an attack on a subway car, that culminates in a giant flower-pod emerging in a tall building. The oxygen in the area becomes dangerously flammable, giving the army little ability to stop the strange invasion until Gamera appears to combat the flower, as well as the invaders known as Legion.

There's a lot of science and figuring when it comes to the aliens in this film. While it's very easy for that to become boring, it's very interesting the first couple times through. The aliens are insect-like by nature, and there are both small ones, and a big one, for Gamera and the army to deal with.

Of the trilogy, this is the only one where the plot isn't disjointed at the beginning, and it's also the only one where Gamera and the Japanese military are not disjointed. They actually work together here against a common threat from outside Earth.

The special effects improve upon the previous film. While the full-CG Gamera looks very bad most of the time, it's not used often, and CG is used mostly as an assisting tool, like it should be. The suits look excellent, and they managed to find a way for Gamera's "jet" flying to look better by giving him gliders on his arms that morph away when he no longer needs them. The battles are exciting, with a combination of flashy fights and suit brawls.

As with the first movie's DVD, this one comes loaded with extras. Featurettes, documentaries, etc, and of course, the Japanese language track.

The movie is somewhat less emotional than it's predecessor (or it's follower), but it's still an entertaining movie, a great middle-path in the new Gamera trilogy, and an excellent kaiju film overall.