| The first time I saw Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, I was sold on the
Heisei Gamera series. True, Gamera lacks the indestructibility
of Godzilla, or the umpteen zillion beam attacks
of Mothra Leo. But what he does have is character.
And in Revenge of Iris, we see a
part of his character that is usually not shown
in his movies. His destructive side. But before
I digress further, let us get down to the brass
tacks.
Like in its predecessors, the Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris has a heavy human element in it.
However, unlike the previous movies, where the
focus has been humans who are favorably inclined
towards Gamera, this movie takes an interesting
turn in that three of the main characters, namely
Ayana Hirasaka, are decidedly against him. The
actress who played Ayana did a masterful job of
relaying the girl's melancholy and dour attitude,
as well as her hatred of Gamera. Ayana's relationship
with the movie's villainous kaiju, Iris, is almost
completely reverse of her feelings towards Gamera.
When Ayana finds Iris, she claims to feel a kinship
of hatred for Gamera with the strange creature.
This kinship of hate draws the two together, and
allows Iris to bond to Ayana like Gamera did with
Asagi Kusanagi in the first movie. Each of the
other characters are also quite well developed,
from the paranoid inspector Ogata to the love
struck Moribe, each person brings quality acting
to the screen.
Story wise, the authors created
a compelling and enthralling tale of melancholy
hatred and shattered perceptions. I don't remember
a single moment when I thought, "Gods above, I
wish they would get on with it." The plot is compelling,
and the development of the characters, both human
and kaiju, was masterful. The melancholy mood
of the story, and the layering of truth under
perception are rampant in this film. Thus, even
though we see Gamera as being almost completely
insane in the beginning, and Iris as a newfound
guardian and friend for Ayana, as the film progresses,
the truth behind the mater is slowly revealed.
Gamera, it turns out, is trying to compensate
for the damage he did when destroying Legion,
and Iris is kind to Ayana simply for his selfish
desire to get stronger, by feeding off her hate
and eventually merging with her. And in the end,
when the story is left hanging in the wake of
Gamera and Iris's fight, with the impending Gyoas
flock approaching, Gamera's undying determination
shines through, making the viewer want to cheer
for the big turtle and take up arms to aid him.
Musically, I have a hard time finding
fault in the score of this movie. The music helps
to re-enforce the somber mood of the movie, or
enhance the drama of a moment, like when Iris
and Ayana first meld. The battle music is also
quite marvelous, with the aerial fight between
Gamera and Iris being a particular favorite. Kow
Otani did a marvelous job orchestrating the
symphonic in this piece, and greatly helped set
the tone of the movie.
As for production values, the movie
looks crisp. Now, I'm not usually a fan of CGI.
I personally think it looks kind of tacky, like
its just been pasted onto the screen with no thought
about how it blends with the rest of the background,
particularly in U.S. CG. Yet, the suitimation
and CGI are all well rendered into the scenery,
and blend with the movement of the movie. In Ayana's
nightmares, Gamera looks positively demonic, and
Iris, the movie's antagonist, is amazing. I am
a fan of kaiju, in particular original looking
ones, so long as they don't look too flashy or
overdone. Let me tell you something; to this date,
I have yet to see a Kaiju that looks as fantastic,
and down right cool, as Iris. His design is truly
inspired, and the way that he flies, by opening
his tendril arms and using them as energy sails.
Wow. Gamera, ever changing in this series, almost
seems to have a fiercer, more feral look to him
in this installment. His shell is spinier, his
elbow spines look longer, and his eyes seem more
ferocious, almost feral. And the Gyaos, who also
make appearances, are wonderfully rendered in
CG. I might even go as far as to say see the movie
simply for the special effects, because, quite
frankly, they are incredible.
However, the part of this movie
that I liked the most comes from the character
not of the human players, but of the kaiju themselves.
In most kaiju movies that I have watched, I felt
that there was a distinct absence of character
in the monsters. Admittedly, Godzilla is a primal
force of nature in most of his roles, and the
saintly Mothra's are embodiments of protectivity,
but they seem almost like cardboard cutouts when
it comes to the personality that Gamera and Iris
bring to the screen. Gamera, unlike in his previous
roles in the first two heisei movies, seems almost
blatantly destructive, having gone slightly insane
in the previous movie (getting killed would probably
do that). In his first appearance in the movie,
he completely levels a city, killing hundreds
of people, all in the name of destroying two Gyaos.
Yet, in the midst of the devastation, Gamera still
shows signs of his beginning nature, protecting
a child from the sonic attacks of one of the Gyaos,
even as he's destroying buildings with his explosive
plasma fireballs. Latter on in the movie, Gamera's
never give up attitude also comes into play. First
when he is fighting Iris, even after he has been
run through the stomach by Iris's harpoon like
arms, and having every attack of his fail to seriously
damage his foe, Gamera simply refuses to stay
down. Or in the end, when he decides to face an
approaching Gyaos swarm, even thought Iris has
mangled him. His compassion also manifests itself
again when he pulls the sack containing Ayana
from Iris's stomach, even though it means he has
to sacrifice his own right arm.
Iris, conversely, is down right
diabolical. When he is first introduced, he seems
caring, almost affectionate towards Ayana and
Moribe. However, the twisted nature of the beast
manifests when he goes on a rampage through the
town Ayana and Moribe live in, killing both families
and more than half the total population, all in
response to Ayana's strong feelings of dislike
for the other people in the community. When he
matures, he kills another young woman and a platoon
of soldiers, all while trying to reach his Ayana.
When he reaches her, he acts on her wishes, and
tries to kill Gamera. Yet, when he is about to
merge with her, and Moribe gets in the way, he
reveals his true nature by almost killing Moribe
and forcing Ayana to merge with him, simply to
become stronger. In addition, while Ayana is trapped
in him, he seems to taunt her with the result
of her hatred, namely his actions in the village,
as well as the truth about Gamera and the circumstances
of her parent's death. So in the end, Iris is
revealed to be almost a manifestation of Ayana's
hatred as much as his own being.
Overall, I have to say that this
movie is one of the finest I have seen in a long
time. True, it's not revolutionary, and isn't
going to change the face of entertainment, but
it still must be applauded. The characters are
superb, the actors are competent, the story is
compelling and the music helps to make the mood.
When it comes to the kaiju, it doesn't get much
better, as both Gamera and Iris are incredible.
Over all, I would recommend this movie highly,
and urge any fan of kaiju to go out and find a
copy. It will be well worth your dime.
|
(4.5/5)
