Gamera the Brave- a great return of the friend to all children.

Hey folks, just sat down and watched the region free Hong Kong release of Gamera the Brave. The latest, and what I can only hope will be the first in a series of Gamera films. And in spite of the occasional shotty FX piece that one just has to accept in the foreign market, this is a brilliant return to classic kaiju eiga. Gamera is set up as self-sacrificing hero, but also a menace that wreaked havoc in the seventies. Now the son of a Gamera survivor comes across an egg that hatches a small turtle that...well, can fly.
It almost sounds silly. And in certain respects, it is. It's a little turtle...hovering around on a pocket of warm air and blowing fireballs. But it's done so well that none of the silliness bothers you- it's quite endearing. Think of the relationship between Elliot and E.T. and you're going in the right direction. This boy learns to love his troublesome turtle, and refuses to believe that his pet Toto could grow up to become the violent Gamera. Anyway, in beautiful Kaiju tradition- another monster shows up and (here's the BEST part) starts devouring villagers! It's downright terrifying, and this is a kid's film! God Bless the Japanese. You don't need to know much more, one monster versus another, helpless humans in the middle. And the relationships built up throughout- the Boy and his monster- pay off rather well.
I usually find myself slightly disappointed with the final results on recent kaiju flicks. I'm always left wanting just that little bit more, always thinking, "Wouldn't it have been cool if they did this?" And Gamera the Brave was just enjoyable-through and through. I really can't wait to see what they do with this franchise. I'm just giddy. Now if I can just my hands on Konaka's remake of Mirrorman.....


watching: Layer Cake
listening to: DJ Shadow