Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion (1996)

Movie Info

My name is Legion…for we are many!

A meteor brings a monster to Earth that could threaten the entire planet.  Named “Legion”, the monster acts like a hive with multiple smaller monsters able to overwhelm the planet as it seeks out sustenance.  The Earth’s only hope could be Gamera…but even Legion might be too much for Gamera.

Directed by Shusuke Kaneko, Gamera 2:  Attack of Legion (ガメラ2 レギオン襲来 or Gamera Tsū: Region Shūrai aka Gamera 2:  Invasion of Legion) is a Japanese kaiju movie.  A sequel to Gamera:  Guardian of the Universe from 1995, the film is the second film of the Heisei period and the tenth Gamera film.  The movie was released to mixed to positive reviews.

Gamera was always second fiddle to Godzilla, but the trilogy of Gamera films from the 1990s set to challenge that.  Gamera is treated as less of a joke, less of a kids’ character, and more of an action movie…and for the most part it works.

Legion…quit stabbing me with your laser things!

The movie still has Gamera sharing a bond with Asagi Kusanagi (Ayako Fujitani) which was established in Gamera:  Guardian of the Universe.  The original Gamera was always “friend to children”, but the newer Gamera movie downplays that smartly.  The movie is a pretty standard kaiju film with Gamera vs. Legion occurring a few times over the course of the film while the humans try to both manage the fight and aid Gamera in defeating Legion.

Unfortunately like many Godzilla and kaiju films, the human characters are a big part of the movie and rather under developed.  You have a research team with Midori Honami (Miki Mizuno) and you have Gamera’s bonded friend Asagi.  Mostly, you just want to get past the human parts of Gamera:  Attack of Legion and get to more of the fighting.

Remember when Gamera became a Transformer and shot fire from his chest? Good times…

Kaiju movies are often only as good as their kaiju, and Legion is a decent kaiju.  You have the massive queen Legion which has a decent design and you have her swarm which is also a unique attack format.  The effects are still a step up from the old films, but they are classic rubber suit monsters for the most part mixed with some CGI.

Gamera:  Attack of Legion is a rather typical movie but it is a little better done than some of the other kaiju movies.  I do wish both Gamera and Godzilla would find a better way to incorporate the humans into the story where it feels like “here’s the human story” and “here’s the kaiju story”, but it is a challenge to create a bond between a several stories high creature and a six foot tall person (or in Gamera’s case a kid).  Gamera:  Attack of the Legion is followed by Gamera:  Revenge of Iris in 1999.

Preceded By:

Gamera:  Guardian of the Universe (1995)

Followed By:

Gamera:  Revenge of Iris (1999)