Daikaijû Gamera / Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965) - What if Godzilla were a gigantic turtle? - 9/10 (30/04/21)

Gamera, the Giant Monster was Daiei's answer to Toho's Godzilla franchise. Despite a low budget that also explains why the movie was still shot in black and white in the mid-sixties, this first film of the franchise was crafted with care, imagination and passion. The story revolves around a gigantic prehistoric turtle that is awoken in the Arctic after the explosion of an atomic bomb. The titular creature moves towards Japan to feast upon its thermonuclear plants. Doctors and military plan on defeating Gamera but the turtle is much more resilient than it initially appears. A group of international scientists must prepare a risky plan to get rid of Gamera.

This movie convinces on numerous levels. First of all, the fact that the movie was shot in black and white gives it an atmospheric retro touch connecting it to the first two outstanding Godzilla movies.

Up next, the locations varying from Arctic Inuit camps over isolated islands in the Pacific to Japanese airports and ports offer much diversity.

Thirdly, the special effects have been created with creativity and care despite a low budget which shows that imagination is much more valuable than money. The gigantic turtle itself offers quite a few surprises that are only revealed step by step in this very entertaining film.

Fourthly, the plot comes around with a few nice twists and turns. The characters are quite diversified, dynamic and sympathetic. It's interesting to observe them trying to figure out how to get rid of the gigantic turtle without hurting it. The film's daring conclusion certainly leaves its mark and can be called surprising to say the least.

Fifthly, the movie has a perfect length of seventy-eight minutes. Not one single second is wasted here and the swift pace still entertains from start to finish. The scriptwriting is still very efficient in that regard many decades later. This movie remains the best possible introduction to the franchise and is one of the very best kaiju films ever created.

In the end, Gamera, the Giant Monster is a creative, entertaining and gripping science-fiction film that has been crafted with care, imagination and passion which explains why it has aged so well despite its monetary and technical limitation that were already obvious at the time of its creation. Everyone involved in this movie deserves nothing but respect and recognition. Any fan of Japanese cinema should have watched this amazing film and I can highly recommend the two recently issued boxed sets by Arrow Films that are worth their slightly expensive prices.