Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.5
Audio		1.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 8, 2014

They say one is the loneliest number, and never has that held true more than in Japan's monster movie landscape. The are so many Godzilla films that it's almost impossible to keep up without resorting to counting on finger, toes, and someone else's fingers. There may not be quite so many Gamera films -- fingers and just a few toes suffice -- but, hey, second fiddle is second fiddle, and even as ripoff franchise it's craved out quite a little niche. Unfortunately, that hasn't translated to very good Blu-ray releases. Whereas studio like Criterion and Sony have released good-to-acceptable versions of many of the Godzilla films, Mill Creek has pretty much punted away the Gamera series, releasing them sans special features and, worse, with grossly subpar video and audio. Read on for the gory details...

For reviews of the individual titles, and for many more screenshots, please click through below:

• Gamera vs. Guiron
• Gamera vs. Jiger
• Gamera vs. Zigra
• Gamera: Super Monster

The mighty Gamera!

Gamera vs. Guiron
Score: 1.5/5.0

How can a series have so many movies under its belt and many of them, it seems, be more or less the same? In Gamera vs. Guiron, a couple of kids are once again whisked away in a spaceship, and it's up to Gamera to save them. The film toys around with all of the series' hallmarks and fails to paint a bigger picture beyond simpleminded entertainment that sticks firmly to script and never even dares introduce anything novel. It's not so much a disappointment, then, because it does exactly what's expected of it, and it does so with all of the low-budget "charm" that has, by this film, become a series staple. The film is, however, otherwise worthless, sort of like a food product that's just been repackaged rather than reformulated. "New look, same great taste!" it might say if it were to appear in the frozen foods isle, but then again that would be a lie, at least the latter half of that statement. Gamera vs. Guiron is nothing but Gamera vs. Viras repurposed with a fresh coat of paint, and it's not tasty because it never was.

Two young boys -- Akio (Nobuhiro Kajima) and Tom (Chrystopher Murphy) -- are obsessed with space. They spend their time together gazing through a telescope and are overjoyed when scientists announce the arrival of alien signals from outer space. That same evening, they spot a flying saucer through the telescope. When they, along with Akio's sister Tomoko (Miyuki Akiyama) investigate, the boys discover the ship. They board and are whisked away into the cosmos where they are saved from a collision with an asteroid by none other than Gamera. They land safely on an alien world where they are greeted by battling monsters and become entangled in an alien conspiracy from which only Gamera can save them.

Gamera vs. Guiron plays with an unmistakable simplicity, a simplicity that can be a blessing (as in charmingly basic) or a curse (as in it's just so goofy that one can't take it seriously, no matter the context). It's so simple that the movie feels like a Saturday morning cartoon come to life, and a bad Saturday morning cartoon at that, one in which the hero just appears not so much on command or demand but instead only at a time of great convenience for the main characters. Character development, then, is reduced to nothing more than a reworking of René Descartes' famous philosophical "I think, therefore I am" statement, here presented as "I am, therefore I appear." Really, the creatures show no development beyond "I am," and the human characters, likewise, are little more than pawns who more or less observe the beings in battle and escape only a couple of dicey situations without Gamera's aid. This is Sci-Fi storytelling at its most terribly basic, where everything is set in motion because of sheer convenience to the plot (and that term is used loosely), not for purpose or discernible theme or idea.

The recycled story ideas drastically slow the pacing, particularly for viewers who have seen all of the previous Gamera films. But it's not just that the story has nothing new to offer. There's no weight to it, nothing to anticipate, no reason to unconsciously slide to the edge of the seat. Worse, the action is slowly developing and bland, even when it's rather graphic in nature (a wing severed here, a leg laser-beamed off there) and even when it's so ridiculous as to be humorous, such as when Guiron -- a creature with a knife for a head -- fires throwing stars (which are housed on his face) at Gamera or when Gamera literally performs some gymnastics late in the film. The rubbery suits are fun to look at but the cheapness wears thin rather quickly, helped by a plethora of unconvincing spaceship and environment miniatures and full-sized sets that look like something out a bad dream in which the original Star Trek sets were dumbed down to the bare necessities and then further stripped to almost nothing but a few colors and basic shapes.

Gamera vs. Jiger
Score: 2.0/5.0

Everyone's favorite oversized turtle returns -- again -- in Gamera vs. Jiger, another movie in which the famed Godzilla-wannabe kaiju battles it out with another extra- large monster while a couple of pint-sized kids get involved in the fight for bragging rights, the future of humanity, Expo '70, and the viability of miniatures everywhere. Fortunately, this film veers away from its predecessors -- Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Guiron -- by refusing another flight into outer space and, this time, centering the battle in and around a worldwide expo being held in the heart of Japan. It does, however, see the return of a couple of kids doing work in a little yellow submarine, reminiscent of a plot device from Viras, so it's not completely original after all. Still, the film is, overall, a welcome, though limited, uptick in quality from its predecessors, at least in terms of breaking from the routine established in the last couple of pictures while still retaining that signature Gamera, er, charm that's a series staple.

It's time for Expo '70! While the world celebrates and sets up shop in Japan to show off the latest wares -- accompanied by the Fuji and Hitachi groups -- an evil lurks under the surface. The Japanese government has authorized the relocation of an ancient statue -- known as "Devil's Whistle" -- to the Expo grounds. Cultists know better and loudly warn that upsetting the statue will most assuredly release a dangerous monster upon the world. Their pleas are ignored and, sure enough, a monster that comes to be known as Jiger appears. But so, too, does the heroic Gamera, the turtle with four jet engines and a friend to children everywhere. Gamera and Jiger do battle, but the new monster proves too much for Gamera. Now, it's up to a couple of children -- Hiroshi (Tsutomu Takakuwa) and Tommy (Kelly Varis) -- to enter a submarine of Hiroshi's father's design and get the inside story of what has stopped Gamera and what it will take to defeat Jigger once and for all.

Although the action remains squarely on terra firma, Gamera vs. Jiger nevertheless oozes that same Gamera spirit through-and-through. The film remains home to a number of terribly unconvincing miniature sets and support elements that literally look no better than if a child plopped a dollhouse in front of the camera or shot footage of a toy in some water. The creature rubbery suits are bulky and slow moving. They're nicely detailed but not particularly agile or capable of carrying out complex action scenes. Worse, the new introduction -- Jiger -- looks perpetually stoned in every scene. The move away from aliens and towards ancient curses at least gives the film something of a fresh coat of paint and reaffirms the classic Godzilla and Gamera style of "Japan under attack" and not "children whisked away to another planet." And with this return to a more classic cadence and plot device, the film rediscovers the simple charms of entries past and the appeal of the Monster, or Kaiju, genre, even if it is, here, presented in all its cheesy glory.

Gamera vs. Zigra
Score: 0.5/5.0

Invasion! Aliens -- OK, a single alien, actually a pretty Japanese girl in an aerobics outfit who is supposed to pass for an alien -- have descended on Japan with the intent of inflicting a lot of damage by way of magnitude 13 earthquakes, using Earth's oceans for themselves, and taking over a Japanese branch of Sea World, or something along those lines. The movie is called Gamera vs. Zigra (it should have been called Gamera and Friends "Fight" the Evil Aliens and Their Pet Zigra Who Want to Take Over Sea World) so logic dictates, of course, that only Gamera -- friend of children everywhere -- can save the day. Will he succeed? Does the sun rise in the east? Is this a sloppy Blu-ray? Does Brawndo have what plants crave? Duh. OK, enough with the rhetorical questions. All kidding aside, the real magic of a Gamera movie isn't found in whether or not the giant turtle will save the day but instead in, uh, well, hmmm, maybe there is no magic after all. Too bad. Because rubber suits and miniatures and things like that are fun. Hey, Gamera, why come you don't have a tattoo? Sorry, that's not the whiskey doing the talking. That's bad movie-induced uncontrollable giddiness. Honest...

When the statue of liberty's hat, filled with delicious M&Ms® candies an alien spacecraft destroys somebody's model lunar base and toy rover Japan's very real lunar base and a very real surface rover, nobody cares panic ensues. Things take a turn for the worse when a Japanese supermodel aliens arrive on Earth and kidnap some random people (wait, strike that strike, they are random people) so they may serve as witnesses to the aliens' power when they unleash a massive earthquake on Japan (like the destruction and death toll wasn't enough of a message?). It turns out global warming war pollution HD-DVD insert random calamity here technological progress has turned their waters into slime, but when the humans make them watch Signs and they learn that Earth water is bad for them, they return to their home world and they plan on taking Earth's waters do with as they please. But first, they will have to duke it out with Godzilla Superman Tucker & Dale The Bobs Sharknado Gamera if they have any hope of success.

OK, really, enough with the frivolity already. Gamera vs. Zigra, yes, follows basic franchise procedure except it inexplicably cuts down in the monster-on-monster action in its first two-thirds, never really doing anything all that exciting with Gamera or his villain du jour. Instead, it mostly focuses on the humans' interactions with the aliens and the alien lady's pursuit of the human children who escape to tell the world about what's going on. The movie otherwise fails to differentiate itself from the previous series entries. It again relies on cheap miniatures, nicely designed but obviously fake rubber suits, slow combat, goofy looking alien sets, and basic special effects, like laser beams. The acting is generally unpolished but at least, and particularly from the children, enthusiastic. Yet that's not nearly enough to save an otherwise dragging, nearly wretched movie with no value aside from the comedy value of it all.

Gamera: Super Monster
Score: 2.5/5.0

There is an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called "Shades of Gray" that was the season finale during a writers' strike-shortened season two. It features a comatose Commander Riker flashing back to his past, or, better said, flashing back to clips from older episodes. "Clip episodes" for television programs are nothing new, and they're an easy out on a time crunch, a budget shortage, or, in this case, a writers' strike. They're usually not favorably looked upon, but if done with some sort of limited amount of flashing back and built with some coherent, worthwhile story around them, they can make for a passable reprieve from the expected norm. But a feature film built around clips? That's a little more novel, and frankly, disturbing. Consider Gamera: Super Monster, a 1980 film that rehashes a number of clips featuring Gamera, the oversized mutant turtle, fighting most all of his enemies from previous films. Meanwhile, a few human superheroes look on and randomly perform a quick-and-dirty dance routine to change into and out of costume while simultaneously looking after a boy who loves comic books and pet turtles. Yeah, it's pretty absurd, and rather cheesy, but honestly it's the perfect send-off for a series that was never really meant to be taken all that seriously in the first place.

Space is a really big place, according to the opening narration. And in that vast space are other beings who wage war against their own kinds and who are capable of deep space travel and summoning giant monsters meant to conquer alien worlds. On Earth, three female superheroes receive word of the aliens' imminent arrival. They are warned that any resistance will be met with the swift destruction of the entire planet. While they sort out their options, they must care for a young boy who claims the ability to communicate with turtles. He's also Gamera's biggest fan. When the aliens decide to send their monsters to Earth -- including Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron, and Barugon -- to destroy the planet, the heroic Gamera, friend of children everywhere, does battle that's eerily similar to his combat with these same monsters in years past in a last-ditch, all-out effort to save mankind from its greatest threat yet.

Spaceballs could get away with it, but Gamera: Super Monster cannot. The film opens with a rip-off of the Star Destroyer flyover from the beginning of A New Hope, and the ship more or less resembles the real mccoy. Really? REALLY? It didn't seem possible for the Gamera series to get any stranger, but it's now reverted to ripping off Star Wars just as it has ripped off Godzilla. And, it's also now ripping off itself. The film, to its credit, is more new footage than old, but a trio of businesswomen who transform into caped superheroes isn't exactly what Gamera fans expect, but then again neither is just a collection of recycled footage (or the Spanish Inquisition, for that matter). It's nevertheless, and sadly, really, the best movie of the bunch, highlighting the best of the creature's battles while sporting the finest production values of the series, even if some of the special effects were obviously assembled on low-grade video and considering the mostly random appearance of video Gamera versus a cartoon spaceship.

Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gamera vs. Guiron
Score: 2.0/5.0

Gamera vs. Guiron features another mediocre-at-best 1080i transfer from Mill Creek. The transfer suffers from pale, lifeless blacks. Colors aren't vibrant but neither are they dull. There's a nice red to Gamera's tongue and gums, his green blood, and other shades on clothing and vegetation both on Earth and on the alien planet. Skin tones offer no cause for alarm. Details are adequate, but never eye-catching. The high definition presentation provides, at least, a steady frame and mostly clear, well-defined surfaces. The image suffers from light background blocking and interlacing artifacts, the latter particularly evident on fast-moving subtitle transitions. Overall, this is a suitable image, one that gets the job done but at the bare minimum of effort.

Gamera vs. Jiger
Score: 2.5/5.0

Gamera vs. Jiger's 1080i transfer isn't all bad, but don't expect the world of it. Mill Creek's high definition home video presentation delivers, at least, a relatively clean picture, one that features mostly crisp, nicely defined details. Viewers will enjoy the rubbery monster textures in all their glory. Terrains are nicely detailed, and the miniatures reveal all their flimsy flaws. The submarine's seams and bumps are clearly visible, and skin and clothing details are sufficiently textured. Colors are decently robust, particularly Gamera's red mouth and the submarine's yellow paint scheme. Black levels are pale and purple, but skin tones don't appear to stray too far from accurate shading. The image suffers from light blockiness here and there, and minor interlacing artifacts are visible, particularly in fast-moving subtitle transitions.

Gamera vs. Zigra
Score: 2.5/5.0

Gamera vs. Zigra's 1080i high definition presentation is no great shakes, but it satisfies cheap movie requirements. Details satisfy on a very general level. Monster and miniature details are well defined and nicely tactile. Faces and clothes, likewise, reveal basic lines with relative ease. Colors aren't bold, but they aren't drained, either. Colorful laser beams and the multicolored spacecraft interior look nice enough. Black levels are fairly pale, but flesh tones don't struggle. Light blocking is evident in the background and subtitle transitions are prone to display combing artifacts, but otherwise the transfer proves serviceable for what amounts to about a ~$2.00 Blu-ray movie.

Gamera: Super Monster
Score: 2.5/5.0

Gamera: Super Monster is the best-looking film in the series, as far as the Blu-ray release is concerned. Though still only presented at 1080i, the image -- here framed at about 1.85:1 rather than the scope presentation of the other films in the series -- enjoys a fair film-like texture, including a light grain structure. Minor debris is present, but not enough to drag the image down. It's bright and nicely defined, with cheery colors -- particularly reds -- and solidly defined details. Clothes, faces, and various surfaces look great. Black levels are oddly pale and crushed at the same time. Skin tones, however, raise no alarms. Only light compression issues are evident, and combing effects occasionally appear with fast subtitle transitions. The older footage has been reformatted to fit the new aspect ratio.

Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gamera vs. Guiron
Score: 1.0/5.0

Gamera vs. Guiron features another miserable Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, norm for the Gamera series from Mill Creek. Note that while the soundtrack is presented in Japanese, it reads by the Blu-ray playback device as an English track. Optional English subtitles are included. This presentation has no range and no authority. It's shallow and muddy, lacking even basic spacing and aggression, even at reference volume. Whether music or sound effects, the track fails to bring forth any sort of vigor or vitality. Dialogue is serviceably presented, at least, but it, too, suffers from the same fate as music and effects. Of all the Blu-ray releases out there, this would rank at pretty much the bottom of the list of "reference worthy" audio soundtracks.

Gamera vs. Jiger
Score: 1.5/5.0

Mill Creek's Gamera series continues to disappoint in the audio department. Gamera vs. Jiger features a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, presented in the original Japanese but read by the player as an English track. Nevertheless, the results are less than impressive. The entire thing is cramped up the middle. There's absolutely no range and precious little clarity to be found. Music is muddled and mushy. Dialogue is suitably firm but hardly lifelike in delivery. Monster screeches and battle effects fall flat. Listeners will note a slight underlying scratchiness and hissing in spots. Overall, the track conveys basic sonic information through poorly developed elements but does nothing more.

Gamera vs. Zigra
Score: 0.5/5.0

Gamera vs. Zigra's Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack (in Japanese but encoded as English) sounds like it was played on a scratchy phonograph, recorded while underwater on a Fisher-Price tape recorder, ran through an answering machine, and played back into a microphone plugged into a recording source. In short, it sounds terrible. There's no range, zero clarity, and vey little volume even at reference level. It's muddy, poorly defined, lacking any sort of depth, and so on and so forth. Music is the worst offender, but action effects fare no better. Dialogue isn't quite so empty, but listeners won't mistake it for real life. In short, this is a miserable track and arguably the worst in the series, which is really saying something.

Gamera: Super Monster
Score: 2.0/5.0

Gamera: Super Monster arrives on Blu-ray with a Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Note that the Blu-ray player reads it as an English track, but it is indeed in Japanese. Optional English subtitles are included. As with the video, this soundtrack may be the best of the bunch, but it's not a clear-cut winner. It remains stuck right in the middle and rather shallow to boot. It's not quite as muddled and undefined as the worst the series on Blu-ray has to offer, but listeners won't find it passing for reality, either. Music, sound effects, and dialogue all are rather puny and limited in clarity and stuck in a nothing of a range. Still, it's just well enough defined so as to not be a total sonic loss. Watch for a few humorous flubs in the subtitles.

Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two contains no supplements. The main menu allows users to click on each individual film, starting that film rather than going to a new menu screen dedicated to that film.

Gamera: Ultimate Collection Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For the most part, they're miserable. These Gamera releases are a classic case of "you get what you pay for." Poor films, uninspired video, awful audio, and no supplements. What more could fans want? Just about everything. Skip it.