1995's Gamera: Guardian of the Universe not only brought back Daei's most famous creation to the silver screen, but it also proved a huge success both critically and financially, so naturally director Shusuke Kaneko was drafted in again a year later to craft a sequel. What would make Gamera 2: The Advent of Legion such a trend-breaker in the Giant Monster, or 'Kaiju Eiga' genre, was that it was actually a proper sequel. While in the 1990s, Toho's Godzilla movies had come a bit closer to something resembling continuity, there was only one recurring character, and the prior movies and their themes and monsters rarely earned a mention. The Advent of Legion would not only see the return of Ayako Fujitani as Asagi Kusanagi, albeit in a smaller role than in the first movie, but it also actually carried on the story of the first movie, and while the Gyaos, the enemy from the first picture, don't appear, not only is reference made to them, but there is also a cameo from Osako, the cop from the first movie, who has now retired due to stress caused by his run in with the Gyaos.

The movie opens as a number of mysterious comets come crashing to the Earth unexpectedley. What makes them strange, is that they actually seemed to slow down before impact, and their remains seem to have mysteriously moved. This hasn't escaped the notice of a beautiful young Scientist named Midori(Miki Mizuno - The Tail of Happiness), and her friend/assistant Obitsu(Mitsuru Fukikoshi - Red Shadow), and the pair are drafted in by the Japanese Special Defence Force's Colonel Watarase(Toshiyuki Nagashima - Godzilla Vs. Biollante) to offer advice, but all they seem to uncover is more mystery, from the oxygen around the crater left by a meteor going crazy, to a number of fibre-optic cables going missing.

In Sapporo, the nearest city, things take a turn for the stranger, when a beer factory is hit in the night by a 'giant insect' that seems to have absorbed all of the bottles, but left all of the beer. Figuring that the incidents are somehow linked, the heroes are still no closer to discovering the truth when an underground train is attacked by a swarm of human-sized insect creatures that kill various passengers before the army cordons off the area. After some examination, a giant plant-like structure sprouts out of the underground, and seems to be exuding pure oxygen, which means the military will have to be extra careful when they attack it.

Not that they get a chance however, as it isn't long before Gamera arrives and gives the pod a shot of his fireball-breath, putting a swift end to any plans for a sprouting in Sapporo. However, Gamera is then swarmed by hundreds of the small insect like creatures, who cause him grave damage before he manages to fly out to sea, killing as many of them by spinning them off in his UFO form as possible before going into hiding to lick his wounds.
Shortly after, a bigger version of the insects, one which sports wings, flies out of the subway and is heading South before appearing to be shot down by JSDF fighter jets above the sea.

After some autopsies are carried out on the dead creatures, which have been dubbed 'Legion', which reveal that they are an entirely unique species, and that they are attracted to a certain electrical frequency, as it is how they communicate. They also come to the conclusion that the Legion are linked in a symbiote fashion to the giant pods, and they are on some sort of whistle-stop destruction tour of the universe. When a giant one appears, and defeats Gamera in battle, before the swarm of them make their way towards Tokyo, all hope for the Earth appears lost. However, Asagi Kusanagi, the girl with the link to Gamera, finds herself in ground zero, where she encounters Midori, and after witnessing Gamera's defeat, she holds the key to ressurecting him.
Meanwhile Watarase is trying to convince his superiors that they should, in fact, be launching an attack when Gamera does, something which they are none too pleased about. Will the two forces be able to unite to stop the Giant Legion and the swarm of now, all flying, smaller creatures?...




The first thing I liked about Advent of Legion, is that it is a lot more than a simple retread of the original. The first film was a Kaiju Eiga crossed with a Japanese superhero show like Ultraman, except instead of a Martial Arts Alien defending the Earth we had a giant turtle. It also dealt a lot more with how the normal people of the world would cope in the case of giant monsters attacking. Legion is about war, focusing on how the army try to cope with this threat, as well as Gamera's struggle, and how the two must unite if they want to save the planet. In many ways, with it's Scientist/Soldier hero team being the most prominent, it actually harks back to the classic days of Kaiju cinema, but it's actually, as with all of Kaneko's Gamera Trilogy, a lot more slick and interesting than almost every other Kaiju Eiga. Much is made of the Legion's resemblance in form to Godzilla's foe Destroyah, from the Godzilla series entry released the same year, but while I think I actually prefer the Destroyah design for the final form, in terms of plot and the movie they are in, Legion wins hands down. G2's plot is not only coherent, and apart from Midori's lack of suitability for her role in the plot (it's never even really explained what it is she studies...) doesn't contradict itself or pull anything really dumb on the viewer, but it also manages to incorporate the human element without wasting time on long stretches of boring dialogue. Here, in the form of fighting the mini-legions, the humans actually have something consequential to do.

Come to think of it, the monster action here deserves credit as well, I love the fact that unlike Toho, Daei, the studio behind Gamera, didn't make the combat rely almost exclusively to projectile fighting, even though their fireball effects for Gamera are awesome.

The film also implements some really nice, yet subtle touches to Gamera. He now looks a lot leaner and a bit more built for battle, but his best change are the little details they have given him, like his arms turning into flippers when he flies. He is also given a new attack, which, like his elbow-blades, owes a little to the Manga The Guyver, but it's a cool addition to his arsenal.

While I've on countless occasions made my feelings about criticising dubbed actors, especially in Kaiju films, known, Gamera 2 doesn't have any glaring acting problems. While nobody exactly done anything to shine through dubbing, which is decent by the way,no more, no less, acting wise, Kaiju trivia fans will likely note that Mizuno is a pleasure to watch, not unlike her Grandmother Kumi was in movies like Frankenstein Conquers the World and Invasion of the Astro-Monster.

Musically, the film keeps up the same high standard set by it's prequel. While I don't recall ever hearing the awesome theme tune from the predecessor, Ko Otani once again crafts an epic, sweeping orchestral score that is above all else suitable for the movie. It's dramatic when it needs to be, creepy when it needs to be...it works, put it like that. His music compliments Kaneko's movies not unlike a certain Mr. Ifukube's fit Ishiro Honda's Godzilla pictures.

Special effects may not quite be up to Hollywood standards, but for a 1996 film made in Asia, it's pretty impressive, and only a few of the CGI scenes fall below 'Good' by any standards. Gamera looks great, and the effects used for him blasting fireballs from his mouth are nothing short of awesome. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Giant size Legion, it still looks impressive, and while it's laser-whips appear rather 1980s in execution, the beast itself is good looking, and the puppets of the smaller creatures are rather well executed as well. The only scens that really disappoint are when the legion swarms over Gamera and when we see the guns shoot down the flying legion.

In general, Gamera 2: The Advent of Legion carries on the excellent trend started by it's prequel, and makes for what is easily one of the best Kaiju Eiga ever. It has a strong human element, but never sacrifices the monster action to make up for it, and is loaded with some great action sequences and monster excitement. There really are few negatives that can be levelled at the movie, and like it's predecessor, I feel it's a film that never grows tiring, and while I haven't watched it anywhere near as many times as I have the original, I've still taken it in a good few times and every time has been an exciting experience.

I would recommend Gamera 2: The Advent of Legion to anyone who has a liking for the genre of Kaiju Eiga, or even any type of monster picture. While it's recommended that you see the original first, just to gain background, I feel you can't really just watch the original without taking in it's sequels. Kaneko's Gamera trilogy is one of those series where it's only really at it's best when all 3 have been taken in, even though they also function as excellent individual movies.

If you are just looking to get into the genre...I wouldn't actually recommend this movie right away though, although I would recommend you do see it, although taking in the first film is much advised, yet I feel taking in the entire Gamera Trilogy made in the 1990s is a necessity, because those three movies, along with Godzilla's original appearance, easily make up the best Kaiju films ever.

Other Gamera Reviews
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe
Gammera the Invincible
War of the Monsters

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening