Gammera the Invincible (1966) Reviews

• Gammera's explosive debut...

  Anonymous_Maxine2006-12-25

  Gammera, one of the most famous Japanese monsters to hit the big screen in the 1960s makes his debut in this zero-budget, politically charged monster thriller. It is interesting to consider the tensions that were taking place between certain nations at the time that the movie was made, especially between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. There is no effort made to disguise the animosity that existed between the two, more than likely since that bitterness was needed as a catalyst to bring Gammera back from 200 million years of hibernation. The U.S. shoots down a suspicious bomber, which turned out to be Russian, over the arctic region. As is to be expected from those sneaky Russians, the bomber was loaded with hydrogen bombs which, upon impact, explode with sufficient force to not only thaw but also infuriate the sleeping Gammera. Lots of havoc is wreaked upon poorly constructed models of cities and airplanes and landscapes and such, and there is some strange subplot about a little boy obsessed with turtles who wants to expose Gammera for the gentle creature that he really is. Inspiration for the Iron Giant, maybe? The special effects are astonishingly bad, but there was no budget and in the movie's defense, I have to say that the people involved in making it knew that they had no budget but they took very seriously their task of doing as much as they could with as little as they had. Classic Japanese monster fare.

• A Pepsi and Popcorn Movie

  billy2gun-12005-07-13

  I purchased "Gammera the Invincible" at Suncoast Videos for $5.99 plus tax. It was on the sale rack, and I was honestly shocked because I think this movie is a gem to own for those who love monster movies. It's one of those flicks that you watch late at night, with a 2-liter of Pepsi and a bowl of popcorn. Better still, this is the kind of movie you watch on a lazy day after Thanksgiving, with a Turkey sandwich and a Coke. Anyone looking for serious things from this movie is going to be disappointed. These kind of movies as best enjoyed with an open mind. The special effects for the year this flick was made are actually very decent.

• Good, silly and thoroughly enjoyable Japanese giant monster-on-the-loose fun

  Woodyanders2006-09-12

  An atomic blast in the freezing Artic caused by a downed fighter plane awakens a gigantic upright walking, flying, fire-breathing (and eating!) prehistoric turtle from its centuries of slumber. Naturally, said titanic turtle is in a very grouchy mood; he proceeds to lay waste to everything in his lethal path and eventually does the almighty mondo destructo city stomp on Tokyo. When conventional methods for stopping the turtle prove ineffectual, scientists all over the world join forces to concoct a special plan for thwarting the behemoth beast. Boy, is this delightfully inane creature feature flick an absolute hoot and a half: Among the silly stuff to enjoy herein are the expected lousy dubbing, a derivative plot which blatantly imitates both "Godzilla" and "The Beast from 20,00 Fathoms," choice dopey dialog ("This Gammera is obviously an object of terror"), wonderfully hokey (far from) special effects, amusingly hammy or endearingly wooden acting (Brian Donlevy as a gruff general, Albert Dekker as the pragmatic Secretary of Defense and Dick O'Neill as a grumpy ramrod general all sink their teeth into their roles with delectably juicy scenery-gnashing aplomb), a sickeningly sappy subplot concerning an obnoxious little boy who befriends Gammera, funny characters (one whiny US senator looks like a dead ringer for Henry Kissenger!), and, best of all, a supremely groovy surf-rock theme song complete with a rippin' reverb guitar riff. Sure, this movie is admittedly quite absurd, asinine and juvenile, but that's exactly why I dug it so much.

• Godzilla's Cousin

  vtcavuoto2006-04-02

  This film pretty much plays out like any Godzilla movie. This was the first in a series of films featuring a giant turtle that flies.The thing that stood out to me was the American inserts which I think added a good deal to the story. Many times American distributors will add inserts to modify the story to make it marketable in the U.S. They succeeded here. I love when Gammera starts spinning and flies away! The dubbing overlaps in some spots which can be annoying. The models look pretty realistic and the acting isn't too bad. This has to be the only movie in which the monster has it's own theme song! Here's some trivia: Wes Farrell, who wrote the Gammera theme song also wrote "Hang on Sloopy" which was a 1960s hit for The McCoys. I have to admit I watch this movie every so often because it really is enjoyable if not totally believable. If you like giant monster films, give this a try.

• More monster thrills from Japan

  chris_gaskin1232005-11-22

  Gammera the Invincible was the first of the Gammera movies form Japan and I found this great fun. A nuclear bomb which explodes in the frozen wastes of the Arctic wakes up the giant turtle Gammera and he starts a trail of destruction. He destroys a ship, lighthouse (echoes of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms here), power station and then heads for Tokyo. The military try their best efforts to kill him but don't succeed. They get rid of him in the end by shipping him off to Mars in a rocket. But that is definitely not the last we will see of Gammera... Like Godzilla, Gammera is played by a man in a monster suit. The cast includes Albert Dekker (Dr Cyclops) and Brian Donlevy (The Quatermass Experiment, Quatermass 2). This movie is a must for all monster fans out there. Fantastic. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.