Having exhausted my list of Gojira movies, I dipped into the well of Gamera flicks. This one did not make me want to return to that well. A giant turtle that can both blow and suck fire from it's mouth and fly like a spinning flying saucer should have been more entertaining. In the end I ended up laughing in all of the wrong places.

The problems I had with this movie were twofold. One, it took itself far too seriously, trying to mimic the original Godzilla filmed in black and white. Like Godzilla, Gamera is clearly the bad guy, despite saving a child at one point. He goes on to kill countless others and causes enormous damage. A message about countries at the height of the Cold War working together is pasted into the story. A giant turtle who walks on his hind legs doesn't make the most menacing of monsters.

The second problem I had was that the most prominent human in the story was a child. Quite possibly the most annoying child from any movie ever produced and in the end his presence was pointless.

The special effects weren't bad for this era. And the story does keep going at a nice pace with lots of Gamera shots.

After going through several weapons to kill Gamera the solution at the end to deal with Gamera is one of the funniest I've seen in a Kaiju movie.

Strictly for Gamera and/or Kaiju enthusiasts.