GAMERA THE BRAVE is the last, to date, of the Japanese Gamera series of kaiju movies. It's a cheap and cheerful affair that manages to entertain despite the cliches of the story and the fact that it doesn't really have much in the way of budget to play with. For the first half of the running time, this is a cutesy, child-focused adventure in which a kid grieving for his dead mother finds a hatching turtle egg. He soon takes Gamera home and watches him grow to an incredible size. The second half of the film is a low-rent kaiju flick through and through, with Gamera combating a bigger and more fearsome opponent; the usual destruction ensues. Although this is cheesy stuff, packed full of dodgy CGI effects you're likely to laugh at, it does the job and I found it quite endearing despite the overload of sentiment.

When I recently saw Ultraman Mebius and the Ultraman Brothers on the internet I was slightly disappointed. The effects were too over-the-top ,the acting was kind of cheesy, and the ending was unsatisfying. But Gamera: the Brave was another story. I recently bought this DVD off of Yesasia.com and I was thrilled, the action was superb, the story was touching and the characters made you care. This new film was nothing like the 90s predecessors that had a much darker, serious approach. This is not to say this movie was cheesy or corny, in fact the opening scene was awe inspiring and intense. I still felt it was a great way to introduce this to children. This Gamera isn't your typical monster, he has heart.The special effects of this film were also more believable than Ultraman Mebius, certain scenes, like a battle that takes place on a bridge between the main bad guy (Zedus) and Toto (Gamera) ensues that really makes you go "WOW! That was cool!" All things considered I went away from this movie with practically tears in my eyes, the resolution is wonderful. Even though this film wasn't the most successful movie (it's equivalent to the small popularity "Eragon" enjoyed) there are rumors of sequels in the works, AND I WELCOME THEM! TWO THUMBS WAY UP!

The latest entry in the Gamera series is something of a a let-down, for me at least.To start on the positive side of things, it boasts some of the best special effects work in any kaiju film to date, surpassing any of the Millennium Godzilla films. (Though in the case of GMK and Tokyo SOS, not by much) Also, Zedus (Jidas) is an awesome monster which is likeably evil, and looks great.Unfortunately, pretty much everything else is below par. The story is overly simplistic and very child-orientated, the Gamera suit makes the cookie monster look intimidating, and the music is bland and even corny at times.Problems also arise with the pacing, as the final battle is constantly interrupted by poorly placed scenes of human drama.The worst part, however, is that for the most part, the final battle isn't that great to begin with, as it largely fails to evoke a strong sense of struggle, mostly because it's very one sided and frequently quite slow.In the end, Gamera the Brave is a mediocre kaiju film, on par with Godzilla vs Megaguirus or Godzilla 2000. If you're a kaiju enthusiast, you may want to check it out, but if you want to see a great modern kaiju film, watch GMK* instead. (*Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack)

Restart of the Gamera franchise is a throw back to "the kid in peril" Gamera movies of the 1970's is actually better than it has any right to be.The movie begins in 1973 when Gamera dies fighting a group of Gaos (bat-like creatures). Jump to now. Strange monsters are a thing of the past and the government disbands its giant monster bureau. Meanwhile in a town near where Gamera died, Toru, a young boy, is dealing with the death of his mother a year before. His dad runs a local diner and doesn't have time to really spend with him so he gets by playing with his friends including the girl next door. The boy notices an odd red light on an island in the harbor. Swimming over to investigate Toru finds a glowing red stone and an egg from which hatches a tiny turtle. Toru names the turtle Toto, then takes it home as a pet. He is forced to hide Toto from his dad since Dad won't allow a pet because of the diner. To Toru's amazement Toto begins it grow rapidly and in a few days is almost as big as Toru himself. More amazing is the fact that Toto can fly. Crossing through this story are news stories of missing ships in the sea. No one is sure whats going on. Whats going on is a giant monster from under the sea has begun to develop a taste for human flesh and he's soon come ashore where the people are plenty. Will Toto be able to grow fast enough to save his friend Totu? Of course he can.This is a weird hybrid of the "Gamera and kids" films from the 70's and the gorier Gamera movies of recent vintage. Its a movie that shouldn't work for any number of reasons, the turtle is overly cute, the film for a good chunk of it is really a family drama/comedy which go against the nasty monster attacks. Somehow, I don't know why, it works. Maybe its because the characters seem real, even with the giant monsters. For some reason the filmmakers make you care about everyone, even the men in suit monsters. I was really pleasantly surprised.No, its not a great film, especially when you compare the film to some of the recent giant monster films from Japan. But the film manages to over come its flaws (in particular a too precious for words kid relay toward the end of the film) to be a really solid adventure film that is more than just some people in suits beating on each other. (And yes the battles are, for the most part really good).What may confuse some people is the cute look to the new Gamera, which makes the film seem like it would be perfect for really small kids. I'm certain that kids will like the film, but parents may wish to consider whether their kids can handle the blood (green though it maybe),some graphic spearing and the tearing of monster flesh. (I'm probably over stating the violence, however having only the pictures on the DVD case to go by, I was a little shocked by the couple of gory shots.) You have to keep in mind what type of movie this really is.For me, a long time Gamera fan, this was a real treat. Worth seeing for anyone who likes the giant monster genre or those just wanting a non-run of the mill "family" movie (with giant monster fighting to the death) 7.5 out of 10, 8 out of 10 for IMDb purposes.