It doesn't make sense to give this film a bad rating - but it really doesn't make sense to rate it at all.

Don't assume that means that this film is so ridiculous, it's beyond redemption... well, it IS ridiculous and beyond redemption; but it is certainly enjoyable on its own terms.

If this film is easy to misunderstand, it's because it's really difficult to say what 'it's own terms' really are. It begins clearly intending to compete with the successful Godzilla series; but somewhere about mid-way, it suddenly decides to be about a lonely young boy. In order to salvage its science-fiction credentials, it then comes up with an impossible solution to the Gamera threat to the human race - I can't tell you what it is, but it would take the entire assets of the developed nations of the world to pull off - it might be better to let the big turtle stalk around and just stay out from beneath his feet.

On top of all this wild nonsense, the American release print, which is the only one I know available, adds on some wonderful campy stuff, like the televised debate about the possible existence of the big turtle, and lowest-budgeted attempt to portray a meeting of the UN Security Council you are ever likely to see - even the one in the Adam West Batman movie looks spectacular in comparison.

There is no way to wrap your brain around this one, so don't bother. A guilty pleasure to the max. And one more important point in its favor - unlike most of the other '60s Gamera films, this one moves along at a fine pace and never drags.

So microwave some kettle corn and munch down - you deserve not to take life so seriously you can't enjoy a bit of fluff like this.

An ancient gigantic prehistoric flying turtle is awakened from its centuries of slumber and embarks on the expected destructive rampage. Can an elite team of top scientists from all over the world figure out a way to stop Gamera before it's too late? Director Noriaki Yuasa, working from a neat script by Nisan Takahashi, relates the cool premise at a steady pace, maintains a serious tone throughout, and stages the funky and exciting mondo destructo set pieces with real aplomb (the scenes with Gamera attacking Tokyo are not only very thrilling, but also surprisingly harsh and grim). The cast play the material with admirable sincerity, with praiseworthy work from Eiiji Funakoshi as pragmatic zoologist Dr. Eiiji Hidaka, the fetching Harumi Kiritachi as Hidaka's faithful assistant Kyoko Yamamoto, Junichiro Yamashita as eager reporter Aoyagi, Jun Hamamura as the wise Professor Murase, and Yoshiro Uchida as lonely turtle-loving misfit kid Toshio Sakurai. The special effects are pretty good and convincing; Gamera makes for an impressively huge, deadly, and fearsome fire-breathing beast. Nubuo Munekawa's crisp widescreen black and white cinematography does the trick. Tadashi Yamauchi's robust and rousing score likewise hits the spirited spot. Moreover, we even get a nice theme about the perils of hero worship with a subplot about Toshio idolizing Gamera to a dangerous degree. A fun flick.

First of all, he looks likes big serving dish with spikes. Secondly, he is still a turtle and the effects look ridiculous, like he is on a string or something. Then there are those awful children who befriend him. The little fat guy with the baseball cap. The scenes of destruction are as tiresome as can be with little or no imagination involved. I wonder if these silly movies could have been written a little bit better. Granted, what most people want to see is destruction with people running down the streets and buildings toppling over, but maybe some decent writing and a true science fiction plot (even a bad one) would have made it a little more engaging. Finally, the usual tanks and fighter planes that never work use up the first half of the movie before someone finds a more unique way to do something. Of course, the monsters always come back.