Heisei Gamera Blu-ray Box Set - Complete Collection of Gamera Movies from the 90s | Perfect for Kaiju Fans & Japanese Monster Film Enthusiasts

Most of the reviews here seem to be comparing this set to the DVD releases, so I'll aim this review at people who, like myself (until I bought the set, anyway) have never seen these movies. One note first off: A few other reviews have mentioned some subtitle problems with the third film: Revenge of Iris. Since I grew up watching dubbed anime, (Especially Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing on Cartoon Network) I will always watch a dubbed version if it's available, so I can't comment on the quality of the subtitling. (In fact, I'm still kind of mad at the special edition Gojira DVD for not doing a dubbed track for the original Japanese version of the film.) I CAN say that my one very minor gripe with this release is that Japanese "location labels" and newspaper headlines are frequently used in the movies to bring the audience up to speed, and none of these are translated. Kind of annoying, but not enough for me to knock the review down to less than five stars.Anyway, on to an actual discussion of the three Gamera movies, which, you may or may not remember, is supposedly the reason I'm writing this review. I've been a huge fan of Godzilla/Gojira since I was four years old, but these three Gamera films would compare very favorably with three of the best of the Big G's films from 1984-2004. Even comparing, say, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla Final Wars, I still might have to give the edge to Gamera. Why? Well, let's take a closer look at:Gamera 1: Guardian of the Universe - Technically, Gamera doesn't guard the entire universe, just our planet, but he does a fine job of it. While Gamera's look hasn't changed as much from his '60s version as Godzilla's has, he still looks much more dignified and imposing here than he did back then. Gyaos was probably the best villain from Gamera's '60s movies, so bringing him back here, and having Gamera face off against more than one, was a good way to kick the series off. The movie also gives Gyaos (and Gamera himself) a much better backstory than it had in the '60s. While Gamera's psychic connection to Asagi is never explained as much as I would have liked it to be, it does kind of provide a retroactive explanation for why Gamera was always rescuing annoying little kids back in the '60s. A very enjoyable movie overall, but this series was just getting started.Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion - Of the three films, this one is the most inconsistent in terms of quality, but I also ended up liking it the best. There were several parts where I wished that Mike, Crow, and Tom Servo would suddenly appear at the bottom of the screen and start riffing away, (In fact, the main male scientist character spends the third act of the movie wearing a pink and purple winter coat. When he first showed up in that, I couldn't help quipping: "Tell your little sister thanks for the jacket," out loud, even though I was watching the movie by myself.) but when the action starts, you'll forgive all that real quick. The plot is the weakest of the three movies: A meteor shower results in an alien infestation for Japan. However, I'll give some originality points for not having the action start right in Tokyo. The first place the aliens invade is Hokkaido. I think mainly what made this movie the best for me is the enemy kaiju. The Legion Queen (Inarticulately called "the big one" by all the humans in the movie) is simply one of the best evil kaiju ever. I'd put her up there with Destroyah, Kaiser Ghidorah, or Godzilla himself (when he's the bad guy) in terms of sheer awesomeness and overwhelming power. In fact, in the end, Gamera can't beat her on his own, and has to draw on the power of the entire world in order to prevail. (It's a lot like Goku's Spirit Bomb technique in Dragon Ball Z.) Both of Gamera's fights with the Legion Queen are among the best I've seen in any kaiju movie. I don't think even Godzilla's fight against Kaiser Ghidorah in Final Wars is quite as good, or as exciting. For that alone, this film justifies the purchase of the whole set. Finally, there's:Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris - Most of the other reviewers seem to think that this is the best film of the three. I don't. It's not that it isn't exciting; It is. It's not that you don't care about the human characters; You do, probably moreso than in the other two films. It just... Reminds me a lot of End of Evangelion, and I do NOT mean that as a compliment.Let's start at the top: Gamera was given an edgier, more sharp-edged appearance in this one, very similar to the update Godzilla would soon receive in Godzilla 2000. He's as awesome as ever. This movie brings back the Gyaos, unfortunately for no apparent reason, since they play no part in the final battle. Gamera does have a battle with a few of them early on, but this only serves to get the human military to foolishly turn against Gamera, since he fights them in the middle of a city, and civilian casualties result. Apparently no one in the military is smart enough to wonder would would have happened if the Gyaos had landed and Gamera hadn't been around. Anyway, after that, the Gyaos sit this one out.As for the main evil kaiju, Iris, this one had a lot of promise, but it never seemed to be realized. Her backstory indicates that what we learned about Gamera and the Gyaos in the first movie wasn't the WHOLE story by a long shot, but we never learn much more than that. Gamera's aerial battle with Iris was pretty impressive, but all too brief. Once the monsters land, well... Things go downhill. The final battle takes place as much in the mind of one human teenager is it does in a fight between Gamera and Iris. And when Gamera and Iris do get down to business, the actual battle is well done, but surprisingly brief. Think the end of Kill Bill Volume 2. I was left with the impression that we never got to see what Iris could REALLY do if she was good and riled up. After that, the movie just kind of ends, even though the story isn't over. There's still a whole swarm of Gyaos out there, after all, but apparently they were being saved for a Gamera 4 that never happened. Overall, while Revenge of Iris is definitely worth watching, I found it to be the weakest of the three films.However, despite some complaining at the end there, this is a great collection! If you're a fan of Godzilla, there's no way you won't love this trilogy. On top of that, the price is simply incredible. This collection would be a good value at $45-$50, so getting it for $12.99 is one heck of a bargain. The movies are all visually stunning and very exciting, plus they feature more depth than you typically find in this genre. At this price, I'd recommend that even people who don't typically like giant monster movies give this collection a shot; I doubt that you'll regret it.