Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

A guardian who has seemingly severed all ties to a race he once protected. The global reappearance of a winged predator thought extinct. A young girl with a deep-rooted hatred of the beloved flying turtle. A creature that understands her pain, and promises her revenge. An unholy communion that can spell doom for all of humanity. Truly dark days indeed...

Here's a little back story for the uninitiated: Thousands of years ago, the lost continent of Mu engineered Gamera in order to extinguish a species known as Gyaos, creatures with a savagery matched only by their appetite. In 1995, Gamera was found cased inside rock, along with a comet shaped jewel capable of forging a psychic link between Gamera and the owner of the jewel, who in this case, a teenage girl named Asagi. Years later, when Earth was buckling under the might of an extraterrestial intelligence known as Legion, Gamera was able to summon the Earth's spiritual energy (more on this later) in order to vanquish the threat. Unfortunately, the strain produced by such a summoning shattered Asagi's jewel. As well, as we would learn later, no good deed goes unpunished...

What is Gamera, you ask? Well...er...he's a giant turtle that has rocket jets in his legs and arms, withdraw all his limbs in order to fly like a UFO (how he manages to navigate is beyond me), and can expel molten fire. Worry not, gentle reader, you have not happened to lose your mind, and no one in the vicinity is on too many drugs. Or not enough, depending on how you look at it.

The year is 1999, and as previously stated, things aren't looking too good for humanity. For reasons unknown, the winged Gyaos have begun to appear all around the world, striking with a savagery and speed that leaves the respective militaries unable to co-ordinate a counter-attack. Even worse, worries Dr. Mayumi Nagamine (Shinobu Nakayama, repsrising her role from the first film), the creatures may be evolving. Meanwhile, the Big Green Guy's public relations with the people of Japan is seriously damaged when a seemingly insane Gamera engages in an aerial dogfight with two Gyaos. Doesn't sound too bad, until one takes into account the fact half the city was destroyed, and Grama wracks up a death toll of between 15,000 and 20,000. Despite having their asses saved by the turtle not once, but TWICE, the ungrateful bastards elect him to Enemy Number 1 in the course of a day. Bad news for all the vendors making a living selling the "I Heart Gamera!!!" t-shirts...

Elsewhere, there is Ayana. Years ago, she witnessed her parents crushed to death by Gamera, although the exact circumstance of their death is withheld until the end of the film. Sent with her little brother to live with family friends in a mountain side village, she has, needless to say, unresolved issues. Wrapped up in her hate, she's oblivious to the painful advances of Moribe, who's been pining for her for as long as he's known her. As it goes for all troubled teens, her angst is thrown to the breeze when she discovers a creature living in a cave near their house. Despite Moribe's warnings that the beast is dangerous, as it is possibly a mythical entity known as the Ryuseicho that could bring about the end of the world, she instantly likes the little guy, just because its SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!. She christens it Iris, after her cat who was also killed by Gamera (man, the more I hear about him, the more I start to hate). The two form a bond, with Ayana believing both of them have suffered at the hands of Gamera. Iris then attempts to merge with her following an uncomfortable encounter in the woods (Legend of the Overfiend, anyone?), only to be saved by Moribe. Now in a near catatonic state, she's taken to Kyoto. Unfortunately, a now mature Iris is on the warpath, and is determined to have her. At any cost. With the Gyaos attacks on the rise, and two super-powered monsters determined to rend the other limb-from-limb, and Godzilla refusing to return the desperate nation's calls, things look hopelessly bleak. The end of the world is near, and nobody's feeling fine.

First off, I just want to give props to director Shusuke Kaneko for taking a concept as completely insane as a rocket-propelled turtle and spinning it into a trilogy as wonderful as any other 'mainstream' series. And with this final installment, Kaneko weaves a dark fantasy, kaiju opus that comes as close to being perfect as such a movie could ever hope to be. From the quality of the monsters, the effects, and (GASP!) the human element, Revenge of Iris is one of the greatest kaiju films ever made, and achieves a level of quality that hasn't been matched since.

As any fan will happily confirm, the human storyline is often the weakest element in any giant monster movie. The characters are often as shallow as one can get, and the experience can easily be likened to watching grass grow, or paint drying, or any other analogy you can think of. Surprisingly, the story here doesn't have one screaming at the heavens to make it end, or offering blood sacrifices. The basic plot draws upon the concept of Mana, a spititual force residing in all living things. In order to defeat the Legion, Gamera was reforced to draw upon vast reserves of Mana, and the resulting unbalance was what allowed the Gyaos to return to life. The script is surprisingly dense, chock to the brim with musings on memory, the need for personal satisfaction, no matter what the cost, and a surprising sexual element. The film is bleak from beginning to finish,, and there's a pervading sense that the world we know is coming to an end, and despite our best efforts, nothing can be done to prevent it. There is also an uncomfortable sexuality throughout the film, and to make it more uncomfortable, its between Ayana and Iris. The encounter in the woods is the most provacative, with the creature nuzzling her breasts, leading to Ayana uttering "Iris...I'm so hot". Yikes. And tentacle porn pushes further into our beloved genre.

The acting is top-notch throughout, with Ayana shining very brightly. She effortlessly switches between compassion and a rage that is somewhat frightening to behold, as well as displaying affection to what is essentially a prop throughout much of the film. Naomi Watts, eat your heart out. Recuring character Osako, or as I refer to him, that guy who screams at everything, returns and luckily, he does indeed scream several times.

But of course, you're wondering how the monsters fare. Fear not, as they are absolutely fantastic. Gyaos remains largely the same, essentially a pteranadon-like creature, and is brought off extremely well with convingcing CGI and prop effects. In fact, I'd go as far to say the CGI rivals many Hollywood productions. Gamera has, in keeping with his new distance from humanity, has takes on a much leaner, more feral look. As far as Iris goes...wow. The design is something I won't go into great detail over, as it is definitely best seeing with little prior knowledge. The baby form is efficiently cute, without going into the land of the grotesque *stares at Little Godzilla*. The adult is as Lovecraftian as anything I've ever seen, and easily makes for one of the most fearsome, and original kaiju ever concieved.

Surprisingly, the film is light on battles, but when they come, they pack a real punch. The Gyaos battle in Shibuya finally answers the question: What would it be like to firsthand witness a monster battle? Turns out it sucks. Not since Gojira has the toll of monster activity been so explicitlyrendered, as bodies are casually socrched and stomped. The dogfight with Gamera and Iris is a masterpiece of kaiju ballet; utilising near flawless CGI, it envokes a terrible beauty rarely seen in film. The final battle in Kyoto is again realistic in its depiction of two enormous beings going head-to-head, with the combat being extremely brutal and animalistic.

The film is not perfect, with some of the storylines being too muddled for their own good (government secretary and videogame cultists WTF?!), and some of the effects, such as a fully grown Iris striding the hillside looking too obviously like a composite shot, and the ending has definitely turned some people off; but the whole here far outweighs the sum of its parts.

It still won't probably convinve the naysayers, who still snicker at the sometimes primitive effects, laugh at the 'toy' buildings, but for those who like their kaiju action with a hearty helping of brains on the side, you'd be hard pressed to do better