GAMERA MOVIES RANKED

GAMERA MOVIES RANKED

 

With CCC’s Gamera-thon approaching its conclusion, I am going to look at all twelve Gamera movies and decide which ones are my favourites, which ones are my least favourites, and bring some order to this anomalous cavalcade of films about a giant atomic mutant turtle and the adventures he has inspired.

 

12. Gamera: Super Monster

This was one of only three Gamera movies I had never seen before starting the Gamera-thon reviews, and I knew the least about Gamera: Super Monster because it is the least-talked-about Gamera movie out there. Well, it turns out that’s for a pretty good reason. Aside from the fact that the majority of the 90 minute runtime consists of stock footage from previous Gamera movies, the “new” Gamera scenes add up to about two lousy minutes, and the movie is mostly focused on some boring superwomen from space who are joined by the most annoying kid from any of the sequels. Gamera: Super Monster is easily the worst entry in the series—considering it was a last ditch effort for the studio to get out of debt, you could say it shouldn’t be criticized for being shamefully, embarrassingly, incomprehensibly bad because it at least re-uses great moments from previous movies, therefore it isn’t all for naught. But I can’t say that. I had a hard time sitting through it once and don’t want to revisit it ever again.    

 

11. Gamera vs. Zigra

Most omit Gamera: Super Monster from the Gamera conversation because it barely constituted being a “new” Gamera movie when it was released, what with the abundant use of stock footage. As a result, many consider Gamera vs. Zigra to be the last true entry in the Showa era—in addition to being one of the worst in the series. I’ll give this movie credit for at least not stooping to the same low as other Showa era sequels and using stock footage. That being said, it is still a far cry from the high points in the series. The characters, the plot, and the action are all unremarkable compared to other Gamera films, but it isn’t without some merit, and has one of the funniest Gamera moments of all when he plays his theme song on Zigra’s spiky back like a xylophone before burning the villainous monster to a crisp.   

 

10. Gamera vs. Viras

I mainly remember Gamera vs. Viras for its ending, but reflecting on it in the context of all Gamera films, it actually isn’t as great as most others on the whole. The use of stock footage isn’t as bad as in Gamera: Super Monster, but it’s still pretty shoddy, and it definitely isn’t as good of a Gamera film as the one immediately before it or immediately after it (more to come on those ones). The duo of young male protagonists, Masao and Jim, are good enough, but not that memorable, and scenes of them on the space ship go on too long. I think for newer Gamera fans it’s not a bad one to start out with, but for anyone looking at the whole franchise the way I am, it’s not as likely to stand out over many others. The end battle between Viras and Gamera at least elevates it to one spot higher than Gamera vs. Zigra.  

 

9. Gamera the Brave

This is where it gets tricky ranking these movies, because there’s such a gulf between the original generation of Gamera movies and the more recent productions in terms of production quality. Even though the special effects are far superior to several movies above it on this ranking list and the story is much more sound, Gamera the Brave is just not as eccentric as most of the movies before it, and lacks anything that truly stands out about it. It’s not only aiming squarely for younger viewers, but also for family audiences, which makes it successful in that sense, but doesn’t put it above most earlier films, for me. The enemy monster is fairly generic, Gamera himself doesn’t do a whole lot, and in the end this second reboot never went anywhere in terms of sequels, which I think is partly because it just didn’t reinvigorate the franchise in quite the right way. I don’t think it’s a bad Gamera movie, but I do think it’s one of the more average ones.

 

8. Gamera vs. Jiger

The reason I rank Gamera vs. Jiger (and the next movie) higher than Gamera the Brave is because of how much I love the absurdity of the earlier Gamera movies. No, they aren’t as well made, or as thoughtful, but that’s part of why I like them. I want to see a giant turtle fight other weird monsters and make me laugh, and that’s what the majority of the Showa era films do. Gamera vs. Jiger is my least favourite of what I would call the good Showa era entries simply because the monster isn’t as creative and the human characters aren’t as funny. That being said, there are still many inventive ideas throughout, some fun monster fights, amusing special effects, and great Gamera moments.

 

7. Gamera vs. Barugon

Even though I praised Gamera vs. Barugon quite a bit in my review, I still find it pretty middling, which is why it’s right in the middle of this list. It’s cheesy and goofy in all the ways I love, and as the very first Gamera sequel, it’s a pretty good follow-up to the original, but the main thing that knocks it down a few notches is the lack of Gamera throughout and the sub-par monster fights. By this point Toho had mastered the art of making an entertaining spectacle out of guys in monster suits fighting each other, but Daiei’s first attempt, while admirable, didn’t quite live up. Barugon holds the screen on his own, though, and makes up for the lack of Gamera, who is remembered best in this movie for his appearances at the very beginning and very end—not so much throughout the rest of the runtime.

 

6. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

The first Gamera film in the Heisei era is better than most Gamera films on a technical level, but in terms of entertainment value, I gravitate more toward the older entries before this one. I’ve seen this movie multiple times, and every time I keep expecting to like it as much as I feel I should, but I never do. I always get bored before the end, but then the climax reels me back in. Overall, though, I always feel like this one pales in comparison to the Heisei era Godzilla films from around the same time, and it isn’t as creative as the best Showa era Gamera movies. Though it remains faithful to what came before despite being darker and more serious, it doesn’t do anything new with the monsters other than re-contextualize their origins. But, it did reboot the giant atomic mutant turtle successfully enough to spawn two superior sequels.

 

5. Gamera, the Giant Monster

This isn’t just nostalgia talking: I think the original Gamera is a more entertaining movie than the first entry in the Heisei era. For being really nothing more than a Godzilla rip-off on paper, the filmmakers made something inspired enough in its execution to eventually stand apart from Toho’s radioactive dinosaur and be its own thing. The pillars of what fans came to love about the giant atomic mutant turtle were built here, even though this is one of very few instances where he is primarily antagonistic and there are no other weird monsters to share the spotlight with him. Gamera gets plenty of moments to shine, and even though the human cast isn’t memorable and the story is somewhat by-the-numbers, all of that is outshined by the old-school effects and some imaginative (and hilarious) moments, including one of the best monster movie endings ever.

 

4. Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

It’s a pretty tight race for the half dozen films in the upper half of this list, but three and four are right next to one another because they are both quite excellent, and I prefer both over the first film in the Heisei era. The conclusion to the trilogy is dark, epic, and grounded in a character-driven story, but what puts it a spot below the second film is the middle portion, which lacks Gamera and doesn’t deliver giant monster action that exceeds or matches what was seen in the previous Heisei films. It’s still a solid ending that feels like the completion of a clear vision, and to me, is far more creative and enjoyable overall than the first films in either era.

 

3. Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

I have to give Gamera 2 a high place on this list just because it’s so skillfully assembled and because of the enemy monster, Legion. It’s a weird monster that somehow feels in tune with the weirdness of early-era Gamera monsters while also not coming off as goofy or cheesy, but rather scary and formidable. Gamera did pretty well fighting Gyaos in the previous film, but he does not defeat Legion easily, or without causing some major destruction. Though this film is more militaristic and lacking in the spiritual reinvigoration Guardian of the Universe brought to the franchise, the stuff that I love most about these movies is on full, high-quality display, and the characters, while not that memorable, don’t get in the way of it.

 

2. Gamera vs. Guiron

For Gamera fans, it might be a surprise to see this entry so high on my list, but remember, my favourite thing about this series of films is how absurd they are, so it makes sense that Gamera vs. Guiron ranks so high, because this is about as absurd as it gets. Even though the pair of child protagonists are more annoying than other kids in other Gamera movies, their annoyingness is also, strangely enough, part of their entertainment value. No other kids claim to know so much about the speed at which giant turtles can fly. Gamera himself has some great moments, and Guiron is one of the oddest villains he has ever taken on. Throw in some alien women trying to eat the brains of the two boys, a brief appearance by a silver Space Gyaos, and a bunch of cheesy effects, and you have one of the quintessential films from the first era of Gamera movies. When I think about Gamera, scenes from this movie are usually the first thing I picture in my head: a knife-headed monster fighting a giant atomic mutant turtle on an alien planet doing completely ridiculous things.

 

1. Gamera vs. Gyaos

Ranking the movies is the name of the game, and picking a number-one-favourite Gamera movie was tougher than I thought. It wasn’t a huge surprise to me, though, when I discovered the third film, Gamera vs. Gyaos, really has everything I could ask for in what I think is the best overall movie that the Gamera series has to offer. My review pretty much says it all: it’s a well-rounded giant monster movie, with plenty of monster action, hilariously cheesy special effects, creative ideas, and most of the Showa era Gamera gimmicks. I might not recommend it to everyone, but if you want to know what Gamera is all about, this is one of the best places to find that out.

 

Well, that's all of the Gamera movies ranked…but as a little bonus to officially bring Gamera-thon to a close, I’ve created a Monster Alignment Chart for the monsters from the Gamera series! Tune in next time to see how the monsters rank amongst each other in the epic conclusion to Gamera-thon!