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Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: username who wrote (4358)	2/3/1998 1:51:00 PM
From: Father Terrence	Respond to of 20981

That lovable ole Gamera Gamera's back for more monstrously cheesy fun October 26, 1997 BY TERRY LAWSON Free Press Movie Critic Gamera just may be the George Foreman of Japanese movie monsters; though he has stomped and squealed his way through eight previous films and untold cities, he has never received anything near the attention or respect that Godzilla, Gorgo or even Mothra did in their less stellar careers. Gamera was dissed even after saving the entire universe in that infamous rumble in the rubble, "Gamera Vs. Viras: Destroy All Planets," which ignominiously went straight to television syndication in this country. No wonder he went into retirement after his last appearance, in 1971's "Gamera Vs. Zigra," in which he was pitted against a nuked-out palooka of a sea monster with flippers, a bird beak and a shark head. But even in seclusion, he wasn't safe from attack, having some of his less stellar moments re-edited and slung into the market like so much purloined plutonium in 1982's "Gamera: Supermonster." Thankfully, that proved not to be Gamera's last belch of fire; he's back, a few pounds heavier, with a few more chinks in his armor, but still wreaking more havoc than could be expected of any 32-year-old, giant, jet-propelled sea turtle. Part of the reason, perhaps, for North America's failure to embrace Gamera is that after suffering a humiliating Rocky-style defeat in his 1965 debut, "Gamera the Invincible," Gamera straightened up and flew right, reinventing himself as a good monster, protector of the Japanese people. So it shouldn't be surprising to see Gamera rise to their rescue once again after a series of mysterious events that only someone with more patience than I could follow, but that ultimately leads to the appearance of three nasty-looking winged creatures who are captured and held for questioning in a domed baseball stadium. Nevertheless, it's quite a thrill to see the old turtle shake the seaweed out of his jets and slog over to the stadium for a limbering-up round or two. That has to last us awhile, because the next half-hour of "Guardian of the Universe" is given over to the guardees, an utterly tedious group that includes an industrialist, his perky daughter and some witless investigator for some government agency or another. But at precisely the point these bores start to make death by atomic monster seem like an act of mercy, the real villain reveals itself as none other than Gyaos, the villain of the third installment (although he then went by the less affected Gaos), who takes out most of Tokyo before curling up in Tokyo Tower to await his old rival. Without giving too much away, it should be said that although Gamera has learned a new trick or two, they don't involve animatronics or computer composition; he's still the same old jerky, lumbering, stop-action behemoth we remember and love, still destroying the same old cardboard skyscrapers and model airplanes. Which, of course, is what fans of this junk want to see. "Lost World" and its ilk are for people who like special effects; Gamera is for people who like monsters, the cheesier the better, and they don't come much cheesier than the original mutant turtle and a sparring partner who looks like Big Bird after too many steroids. Gamera may no longer rule, but it's nice to know he still has a belch or two left in him.