Gamera vs. Barugon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.5
Audio		1.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

Gamera vs. Barugon Blu-ray Movie Review

A chilly reception.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 6, 2014

One monster is fun, but a second ads a little spice. Or, in the case of Gamera vs. Barugon, a little ice. The second installment in the second-place Japanese Monster movie universe, Gamera vs. Barugon is a step-up from its predecessor in every way, not a whole lot better, but a little bit bigger and a little more involved. It helps that there are two creatures -- something that the Godzilla franchise has made good use of over the years with a plethora of vs. films under its belt -- to occupy the screen, but not divide the audience's attention. Two creatures means double the mayhem, which doesn't necessarily mean double the fun but, hey, at least the franchise is growing, even if it's just growing into Godzilla's size ginormous shoes.

Light spoilers for 'Gamera: The Giant Monster' appear below.

This film begins with a recap of the first, including a look back at Gamera's Arctic arrival, his rampage of destruction, and the success of "Plan Z" that blasted the creature into outer space. Unfortunately, a meteorite has struck the pod carrying Gamera to Mars. He's returned to Earth and he's more powerful than ever. Meanwhile, a group of Japanese treasure hunters go out in search of a large gemstone one of them found and hid away years before during the war. They recover it at great cost. Little do they know it's actually an egg that will hatch and reveal a rapidly growing beast known as Barugon that has the power to freeze everything in its path. Now, only the returned Gamera stands in its way of total destruction.

Make no mistake about it, Gamera vs. Barugon isn't high art, and criticizing it for failing to do much beyond the typical Monster movie formula would be harsh. After all, it's a movie about a couple of oversized creatures doing battle in the streets of Japan and the mostly hopeless and hapless humans trying to devise a way out of the mess they're in. It's all very straightforward and, frankly, a movie like this doesn't need a lot more than that. Yet the film still falls short of meager expectations within its limited context of analysis. The opening act exposition drags on for far too long, leaving the audience waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more for the monsters to show up and do battle. Once they do, the film more or less dances to the same tune, maneuvering through a bunch of monotonous action sequences that are practically fully interchangeable with any Godzilla or Gamera film in terms of basic technical execution (and, as with the first film in the series, obvious toy models galore). The entire film, then, is basically one big serving of unoriginality, built either on unimaginative support drivel or recycled action sequences. It might be halfway interesting if this was the first Kaiju movie one has ever seen, but genre veterans will likely find it a rather tedious exercise in patience.

Gamera vs. Barugon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gamera vs. Barugon's 1080i transfer doesn't look much better than that of its predecessor, Gamera: The Giant Monster (if at all), but it's not leaps and bounds superior. This film is presented in color, and despite a rather flat and dull palette, it finds a few lively hues, particularly in the first act, out in the bright sun, on attire and jungle vegetation. Black levels, however, fare poorly, appearing tired and washed out, overly bright and gray with little depth or accuracy. Details are generally satisfying; facial textures are handled well enough in close-up shots, and the creature close-ups show off a good bit of intimate textures. Light grain retention helps provide at least a hint of a filmic appearance. The transfer is rather flawed elsewhere. Compression issues leave many backgrounds, particularly darker backdrops, rather blocky and unattractive. Combing artifacts are visible every time subtitles transition, but are also evident in other fast-motion shots. Light flickering and banding are infrequent but present. In sum, it can look good at-a- glance but viewers doing more than that (read: everyone) will find many flaws throughout.

Gamera vs. Barugon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gamera vs. Barugon fizzles on Blu-ray with a dull Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Note that the Blu-ray will read the track as "English" but it is, in fact, presented in Japanese (optional English subtitles are included). The track is a real downer. There's no range and only limited clarity. It's shallow at reference levels, flat, and featuring music and sound effects that, literally, sometimes only barely register. Music fails to find even a smidgen of natural presence. Narration over the open sounds like a muddled whisper. Sound effects are frequently static and are often only barely identifiable as to what they are. Raging waters, monster screeches, and other aggressive sounds enjoy neither volume nor clarity. Dialogue, at least, comes through with appreciable clarity and stage presence. All around, a terribly underwhelming soundtrack from Mill Creek.

Gamera vs. Barugon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Gamera vs. Barugon contains no supplemental content.

Gamera vs. Barugon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gamera vs. Barugon plays like a "seen one, seen 'em all" sort of Japanese Monster movie. It's repetitive and unimaginative, home to lame model work, structurally simple action mechanics, and a throwaway story frame. It's a serviceable time killer but there are much better films out there of this style, particularly most every one of the Godzilla flicks. Mill Creek Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Gamera vs. Barugon features troubled video and barely acceptable audio. No supplemental features are included. For serious Monster movie fans only.