| There are many words that describe
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. The words
"magnificent" and "amazing"
just barely scratch the surface. Yes, these are
strong words, but do they really suit this film?
The answer is a resounding yes! Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris is pure cinematic gold.
With few, if any, visible flaws whatsoever, this
movie is truly one of the best kaiju movies ever.
Ayana Hirasaka wants nothing more
than revenge on Gamera. The enormous creature
killed her parents and cat when Gamera first fought
Super Gyaos.
Gyaos suddenly start appearing
all over Earth, and Gamera begins to attack them.
Gamera defeats two Hyper Gyaos, but the monstrous
turtle has obviously become more relentless, causing
massive damage to the surrounding city.
Soon, Ayana finds a mysterious
egg, which hatches to reveal a mutated Gyaos.
Ayana cares for the creature, calling him "Iris",
in memory of her late cat. Soon, Iris tries to
merge with Ayana, but fails in his attempt. The
creature soon grows to full size, revealing itself
to be a huge monster, with saber-like arms and
four tentacles of a mind-boggling length.
Iris takes off to the sky and begins
to head toward a nearby city. Gamera intervenes
and begins to fight Iris in the sky. Soon, Iris
gains the upper hand and knocks Gamera away. It
continues on until it lands in the city. Gamera
arrives back on the scene and fires some plasma
balls at Iris. Iris merely swats them away, showing
to the world that he will not go down easily.
The two then stare each other down, until Gamera
finally charges. The epic battle begins!
The two fight until Iris once again
gains the upper hand. The malicious monster impales
Gamera through his shell with his saber-like hand.
He then shoves Gamera into a train station, causing
him to crash into the ground. Gamera is apparently
down and out. Iris then merges with Ayana and
begins to show her the truth about Gamera: he
didn't mean to kill her parents. Ayana seems
trapped, left in the endless abyss inside Iris.
Though Ayana seems to be lost forever,
Gamera suddenly shoves his hand into Iris's
stomach and pulls Ayana out. Iris strikes back,
stabbing his saber-like hand into Gamera's
arm. Iris begins to absorb the life energy out
of Gamera and his tentacles suddenly begin to
move to his head. They reveal small plasma balls,
which gradually grow until they become the size
of Gamera! Gamera has no choice but to escape.
Unfortunately, he sacrifices his hand in the process,
blasting it off. Iris proceeds to shoot the plasma
balls! As they are about to hit Gamera's
arm, Gamera pulls out his arm and forms a plasma
fist. He shoves it into Iris, killing the demon
forever.
Gamera then puts down Ayana and
lets Asagi Kusanagi try to revive her. It doesn't
work. When all seems lost, Gamera lets out a roar,
and Ayana wakes up. Everyone is ecstatic that
she has survived.
Meanwhile, the military has been
warned of an ominous event. It turns out that
large numbers of Gyaos are flocking and converging
on Japan. The military orders an attack to aid
in Gamera's upcoming fight. The giant turtle slowly
advances toward the Gyaos flock, ready to battle
for the planet yet again...
The plot of this movie is excellent.
It is crisp and well thought out. The conflict
between Ayana and Gamera is one very excellent
example. Luckily, this movie spends a good amount
of time on both the human and the monster aspect.
Unlike many films that sacrifice one for the other,
this film has found a perfect middle ground. The
conclusion of this film is nicely done, as well.
It seems as though Ayana is dead, and this is
absolutely heart-braking. The situation may seem
hopeless, but ultimately resolves. Clearly, this
movie has a nearly flawless story.
The character development is well
executed too. The characters are likeable and,
unlike many kaiju movies, are quite memorable.
One can easily feel Ayana's emotions: her anguish
and thirst for revenge. Tatsunari Moribe's love
for Ayana is also quite emotional and heart-wrenching,
and it is clearly and expertly portrayed. Asagi
is kind and caring as always. She never gives
up, as shown during the conclusion when she tries
to revive Ayana. The humans aren't the only characters
to whom development is given. A good example is
Gamera. At the beginning, he seems ruthless, and
not very caring. Later on, he returns to his old
self. As for the monster Iris, he is shown to
be pure evil. Though it shows affection early
in the movie, it later shows its ruthlessness
and selfishness.
The acting in this movie is also
great. The actors have a very excellent grasp
of their characters, and there are no scenes that
really remind one that these are just actors.
Ai Maeda is very good at capturing the emotions
of Ayana. Yuu Koyama expertly shows his character's
love and compassion for Ayana, and it is very
believable. This movie truly excels at portraying
an emotional human journey alongside the central
monster war.
The special effects are also amazing.
The effects used on Gyaos are executed with far
greater success than those used on the monster
in Gamera:
Guardian of the Universe (1995). Gamera's
plasma fireballs also look much better this time
around. His plasma fist is also a great eye-catcher.
Iris has some truly amazing CGI effects as well,
mainly during the scenes where he is flying. Probably
the scene with the best effects is the fight scene
between Gamera and Iris in the sky. The CGI and
graphics as a whole are easily the icing on the
cake for this film.
The music is, in a word: wonderful.
It is well made, and the music is particularly
at its peak during the ending theme that accompanies
Gamera's advance toward the Gyaos swarm. Another
excellent piece is the fight between Iris and
Gamera in the sky. Those are just two examples
of music in a film that promises not only to appeal
to the eyes, but also to the ears.
Overall, this movie is perfect,
or at least within a few angstroms of perfection.
It has a well thought out plot, excellent characters,
great effects, and enjoyable music. If you haven't
seen the third installment in the Heisei Gamera
series, what are you waiting for? This is a great
movie that will never fail to disappoint.
|
(5/5)
