Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996)

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MothraRocks
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Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by MothraRocks »

Gamera 2: Advent of Legion aka Gamera: Attack of Legion

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So I just watched Advent of Legion, and it exceeded my expectations :mrgreen:

I love the idea of Legion coming from space, and their colony spreading throughout the universe using a giant flower. I also thought it was quite clever on how Legion and her colony were compared to ants and bees.

The musical score, in my opinion, was great. At times, it could set a very eerie mood, like the final battle between Gamera and Legion, and then like at the end of the movie, how easy going and up lifting it sounded, setting the perfect mood for a happy ending :D

And now, the monsters! Gamera looked amazing, his ferocious look (ok, I do kinda miss the puppy eyes) and fighting abilities astounded me, and Legion herself looked quite awesome. It was pretty cool how she was able to make Gamera's signature move useless, and her beam, oh my God her beam, just listen to it, you can HEAR the power! She was possibly one of my favorite villains ever. And let's not forget her little soldiers; they were, as said in the movie, "built for war". One of my favorite scenes was when the conductors hand hits the window and practically explodes with blood!

The human characters were just a little lacking though, and I was a little disappointed that Asagi didn't get much screen time and didn't appear until forty minutes in.

Defiantly one of my favorite monster movies, 9.5/10 :mrgreen:


Go Gamera :mrgreen:
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by KaneLocke »

In my opinion, AoL is the tops of the Gamera Trilogy. It combines a good amount of character development, action, effects... It's by no means a perfect film, but it's the easiest for me to sit down, watch, and enjoy without having to think either too hard or too little.
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by SuperMonsterZero »

MothraRocks wrote:I love the idea of Legion coming from space, and their colony spreading throughout the universe using a giant flower. I also thought it was quite clever on how Legion and her colony were compared to ants and bees.
Always kinda reminded me of the Uchu Kaiju from Gunbuster, who would lay their eggs in stars and blow them up to spread them.
MothraRocks wrote:The human characters were just a little lacking though, and I was a little disappointed that Asagi didn't get much screen time and didn't appear until forty minutes in.
Pretty much.
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by shinmattiathekaiju »

The little Legion jumping in front of the screen scared the living skreoonk out of me.
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Gojira-Fan »

The only 90's Gamera movie I've seen. And it's pretty awesome.

This is one of the few Kaiju movies that I think anyone could watch and enjoy. The screenplay is enjoyable and paced-well. The special effects are the most impressive part of the movie. I'm surprised they were able to make this in less than a year. It's quite incredible.

Basically, I really like this movie.

Although the ending is kind of confusing...

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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by therealmccoy »

Probably my least favorit of the three, but it doesn't mean it's not a great movie. Killer special effects, good story, the Gamera suit is badass, and Legion is an interesting monster with character. The human characters didn't do it for me, though. But as I said, it's still a great movie. :D
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Primevalgodzilla V2 »

I love this one. The human charcater's aren't the best, but well-developed for a kaiju picture, and Legion is a terrifying villain, with the raw evil of King Ghidorah, the intrigue of Hedorah, and the sheer spectacle of Biollante. And unlike most reogues of the other big G it is superbly executed,. Her kids are creepy little buggers, and the flower gives off an eerie atmosphere The fight scenes are amazing, and we get some great forward development and progress in the Gamera trilogy- the humans trust Gamera at last during the climax, Gamera loses his bond with man, and with mana depleted, the stage is set for a Gyaos invasion.
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Gojira-Fan »

Tyler wrote:
Gojira-Fan wrote:Although the ending is kind of confusing...
I think it means Gamera will protect the earth but won't look after people anymore.
No, I'm talking about Gamera firing a beam out of his chest.

I had to read the plot synopsis online to understand that he gathered the earth's mana to fire it. Idk, it just seems odd and random, especially seeing as I haven't seen any of the other 90's Gamera films.

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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Space Hunter M »

Gojira-Fan wrote:I haven't seen any of the other 90's Gamera films.
Y'know, all of the Gamera films (except Gamera the Brave) are legally being streamed free of charge down over at Goohead.com:

http://goohead.com/category/movies/gamera/

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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Gojira-Fan »

Space Hunter M wrote:
Gojira-Fan wrote:I haven't seen any of the other 90's Gamera films.
Y'know, all of the Gamera films (except Gamera the Brave) are legally being streamed free of charge down over at Goohead.com:

http://goohead.com/category/movies/gamera/
I know. I just don't want to watch them dubbed.

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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Space Hunter M »

Gojira-Fan wrote:I know. I just don't want to watch them dubbed.
From SciFi Japan:
In response to demand, the GooHead.com Internet Channel will add the original Japanese (with English subtitles) versions of the Gamera films to their lineup, beginning with GAMERA vs GYAOS (English dubbed versions are already available).

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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Gojira-Fan »

Space Hunter M wrote:
Gojira-Fan wrote:I know. I just don't want to watch them dubbed.
From SciFi Japan:
In response to demand, the GooHead.com Internet Channel will add the original Japanese (with English subtitles) versions of the Gamera films to their lineup, beginning with GAMERA vs GYAOS (English dubbed versions are already available).
They haven't for the Heisei films (yet) sadly...

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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by tymon »

^Otherwise I would have already watched Gamera 3 (I still haven't seen a release date for the Mill Creek Blu-Ray of this).

Gamera: Advent of Legion is great - not as much fun as Guardian of the Universe, but almost as fun. Some of the special effects are jaw-dropping, I couldn't tell if Legion burrowing at the airport was CGI or not at first.

Looking forward to G3!
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by MothraRocks »

Oh, u won't be disappointed, G3 is AWESOME
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by therealmccoy »

It's my personal favorite; maybe because of the darker tone of the movie, plus Gamera is a total and complete badass in that movie. I think it's better than this one, but many people would disagree with me due to the slow pace of the movie. You'll have to decide for yourself. :D
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by therealmccoy »

Thanks, Dragon. Nice to see someone share my opinions.

The characterization of Gamera to me was superior to his Showa counterpart, and for that matter, going out on a limb here, maybe even Godzilla's character. They kept his friendly protector attitude, but made it almost a responsibility, not just his choice. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and does anything to accomplish his goals. Gamera Two and Three really fleshed out this aspect of his character. He went up against two monsters of superior strength and got his ass kicked and nearly killed both times, but refused to quit no matter what. In my opinion, these three movies are at least in the top ten monster movies of all time. Some may disagree, I'm sure, but they deserve to be, if nothing else.
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by Tom Servo »

The worst of the three but not a bad movie thing is we only got a cameo form one of the older characters and Asagi the newer ones did not intrest me.
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Re: Gamera: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by mechag125 »

This is my favorite Gamera movie in the whole franchise.

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Re: Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by JAGzilla »

Just got done watching this one for the first time. I wouldn't say it was quite as good as GOTU, but it was still very enjoyable.

The Legion were a suitably intimidating villain. Not quite as scary as the maneating Gyaos, but they certainly felt like a threat. The soldiers had some really great scenes early in the movie; I particularly liked the attack on the subway train. Much like with Rodan, I think the tension and mystery surrounding the buildup of the threat was my favorite part of the movie. The big one wasn't as exciting, but she made up for that by being very well-executed and powerful. Those beams and laser-whips... damn. The fireball-neutralizing forcefield was very cool, too.

Characters were likable enough, if not quite as much as those from the first movie. Pacing was a step down from GOTU, being somewhat slow at points and overall not as exciting as GOTU. The Mana Beam could've done with some explanation, too. Hopefully the next movie does that.
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Re: Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996)

Post by three »

i am dying to see this movie but i cannot find it anywhere. i won't watch iris just yet either -- i'd like to see them in sequence, and since guardian of the universe was such a treat with the reinvention of Gayos, i'm hyped for this. it looks killer.
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