If you want a kaiju movie, GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION is your ticket. It is also your ticket if you wish to see spectacular visuals and moving action. If you want a movie that does not shy away from blood and violence and yet maintains the uplifting integrity of monomythic media like STAR WARS or THE LORD OF THE RINGS, this film is still a great escape for you. The second of Daiei's GAMERA trilogy is a fantastic feature for all of these reasons, and while I cannot say with any certainty that it is one of the best kaiju films ever made, it is definitely the best Gamera movies ever made. Other installments had done better or would improve on separate aspects, but as an all-around package that pays homage to the turtle monster's legacy while embracing technical innovation, this one is the total presentation.The story: A meteorite brings a deadly race of insectoids called the Legion to Earth. When the life forms respond violently to human technology and threaten the planet's devastation, humanity's last hope lies in the returning Gamera to repel an innumerably immense threat.The technical aspects of the film impress me more than anything, and they contribute to its great look. While GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE had some fairly unconvincing special effects and REVENGE OF IRIS would go overboard with CGI, ATTACK OF LEGION achieves an almost perfect balance of traditional effects and animated/computer-generated insertions. The Legion drones are cool and Gamera looks fantastic, but I was blown away by the ambitiousness of the Mother Legion's colossal form; I don't know how many puppeteers were stuffed into the costume to accommodate its sheer size and operate its many appendages, but the resulting sight of it can be breathtaking. The battles are filled with perfectly-integrated CG enhancements, creating a spectacular effect and making me think that this is the kind of kaiju film Guillermo del Toro would have made 20 years ago.Gamera's heroic persona - established in the previous film - is elevated even further in ATTACK OF LEGION. The biblical implication of the alien monsters is made thoroughly clear, and by fighting them on behalf of humanity, Gamera transcends heroism and becomes Christlike, (SPOILER) especially when you regard his impalement as an allusion to crucifixion and note his blatant death-and-resurrection. This representation may seem excessive, and certainly did so to Japan's sci-fi aficionados when the film won the 17th Japan Science-Fiction Grand Award, but I feel it accomplishes exactly what the filmmakers of the new trilogy were going for and makes Gamera infinitely more accessible to new fans. The modest amount of gore in the movie should not make it unpalatable to but the most prudent viewers, and thus, if you plan to watch only a single GAMERA flick in your life, there's no reason why it should not be this one.What makes my rating slightly less enthusiastic is the movie's boring initial half-hour, which highlights the more mundane human-driven segments and makes it clear that most of the budget has been poured into the creatures and explosions. Additionally, it's disappointing that the importance of Ayako Fujitani's returning character has been considerably reduced, resulting in a dearth of human personas that are more than moderately interesting. Luckily, this does not drastically diminish how interesting the movie is or how readily I recommend it. If you like giant monsters, this movie will almost certainly constitute a highlight for you.

After the very good Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe, the same percentages (director - screenwriter) return for the sequel. The surprise is that the sequel is better than the original film in places, but at key points that makes the difference. Here, Gamera must prevent an alien invasion initially fighting with the flock human scale insects and in the process will naturally face the giant creature, which is something like a queen- mother of the flock. All this is within the context of thematic films kaiju. Where different then the sequel of Gamera? In the field of entertainment, the sequel of Gamera, is a cut above the film of 1995. Spectacular shots battles, better effects and slightly darker atmosphere, along with those mentioned above, make Gamera 2 in my eyes, best movie than its predecessor and better kaiju film, along with GMK.

...at least IMNSHO. It was high time someone thought up an insect kaiju that could be tough,scary,and interesting(Kumonga,Mothra and Kamacuras? Give me a break.Only Megaguirus came close to being interesting.) There was so much to like about this movie-intelligent dialog(even after the dubbing),great fight scenes,and the fact that the emphasis was placed on the monsters,and not the actors. No silly new "ultimate monster fighting weapon that gets trashed in 30 seconds"-just get those idiots from the JSDF out of the way,and let Gamera take care of business.But the big G had his hands full here-the Legion swarm were bad enough,but the mother creature was awesome,and didn't roll over when she got hurt. The mandible blasts were great,but those red "whip" beams that went right thru Gamera were awesome. I even liked the Legion's voice-it sounded like a rusty gate opening! Gamera was incredible,and that fireball slide trick he did was the bomb. With a new Gamera movie coming out next year,and Toho making it plain from the ending of Godzilla:Final Wars that they have no intention of waiting 5-10 years for a new Godzilla movie,I,along with many other kaiju fans,demand that Toho and Deiei quit fooling around,and make the deal-Godzilla vs.Gamera.What else is left?

Just bought the movie at Amazon.com and found I am divided. Somehow it could have been an interesting movie but somehow it isn't. The female actresses are nearly totally 'emotionless' in their acting, some scenes are funny, like the generals - administrating the attack on the legion - sitting there like samurai on the floor, name signs at their side, first, second and third commander in rank - my Japanese wife was grinning when she saw it ;-). However, the whole movie is really slow paced and gets only fast and furious in SOME fighting scenes. The basic plot of the movie is that an obvious meteorite - which is in fact the legion - lands on earth but the meteorite leaves no trace and is gone. Alien legion builds in subway habitat and giant 'flower' grows through and of top of high rise building. The intention is too shot spores into space. OK, some soldiers die, Gamera comes and destroys center of Sapporo city and the same happens again in Sendai city where the whole city is destroyed in a nuclear like explosion. Gamera attacks a big legion monster - there is a big one and a 'swarm' of smaller legion monsters and is somehow beaten and somehow dead - as usual. Then final show down near Tokyo, the humans invent a signal to attract the swarm - the only fresh idea in the movie - and kill the smaller swarm monsters by tank breaking helicopters - very inventive. There are no super weapons, only tanks, fighter planes and usual military equipment. Gamera gets at the end super charged by some worldwide imaginary force and can kill the big legion monster. The CG is remarkable at some times - remember the film was made in 1996. IMHO Does not beat Godzilla movies but worth to watch it.m