Reviews & Ratings for
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris More at IMDbPro »Gamera 3: Iris kakusei (original title)

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Powerful, exciting, and haunting, 29 June 2000

Author: Blake Matthews (drngor@yahoo.com) from Stockton, California

This movie goes down as the most powerful, haunting, well-scripted, and compelling kaiju film since the original Gojira. This film has well-defined, three-dimensional characters that actually develop over the course of the film. The special FX are truly awesome and even surpass the best of the Godzilla series (Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II). Iris is a cool looking design for a villainous monster. The monster scenes are sparse, but realistic and memorable. The fights are among the most brutal kaiju battles ever filmed. The plot of the movie revolves around a young girl who hates Gamera and wishes to seek vengeance against him for the death of her parents. She finds Iris, raises it, and even begins to fuse with it. There are many classic sequences in this film: the fight in the air between Gamera and Iris, the battle in the train station, and the destruction of the city during a battle with the Gyaos. There are only two aspects of this film that prevent it from being the perfect kaiju film: the kaiju fights are not that long and the roles of Asakura and Kurata in the film are confusing and out of place. However, this movie is still one of the greatest, most well-made kaiju films ever.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Surprisingly good. (For a monster movie!), 23 March 2006

Author: zv300 from United States

I have been putting off watching because I thought the movie was going to be kinda campy, not worthy of immediate viewing but after reading some rave reviews for this flick I decided to watch it. It was worth it, the movie is very good for a monster movie. There have been the inevitable comparisons to Godzilla, but Gamera stacks up VERY well to the big guy. I've been waiting for the CGI effects to catch up with the ambitious visions of the monster movie makers and it's finally here, although by "normal" Hollywood movie standards the price spent on this movie would not even pay for 1/4 of Tom Cruises salary. I would like to see a big-budget movie made, but then again it might ruin the franchise, maybe the "campiness" and "guy-in-the-rubber-suit" are what defines these flicks. Anyway, Gamera is NO JOKE in this movie. He goes after his enemy, the "Gayous" birds with a single-minded vengeance that is surprising. He hates those things. His powers are so cool also. He has got a fire-breath like Godzilla, except is seems more focused, but his coolest asset is his ability to fly, with 4 jets in his shell sockets. This guy is outrageous, he flies in like a flying saucer, kicked-ass and then jetted out looking like the space-shuttle at full after-burner! You gotta check that scene out! And the night flying scenes with Isis in the cloudy night was amazing! The CGI effects with Gamera at full after-burn is priceless! The story is pretty decent and the special affects are great, albeit a little sparsely used. I kinda like Gamera a little more than Godzilla, he was so tough that in one scene he got impaled by Isis, then to get free he burns his own arm OFF!! This Gamera film is said the be the best of the 3 and that's true, much better special effects. Good film, recommended.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A monster movie that you don't have to apologize for liking, 22 February 2005

Author: edgoji from Chicago, IL

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

All too often, fans of giant monster movies have to explain their opinions on their favorite films with the caution, "but I admit so-and-so wasn't so good", referring either to the special effects or the story or some aspect of the production. Gamera 3 finally affords the fans of giant monsters a chance to dispense with the apologies. Those looking for cheesy fun will have to look elsewhere.

Director Shusuke Kaneko, sfx man Shinji Higuchi, writer Kazunori Itoh and a highly talented staff manage to pull off one of the toughest jobs imaginable...making people take a giant, flying and fire-breathing turtle seriously. No mean feat considering that the original Gamera was successfully conceived for an entirely different target audience, making the name Gamera synonymous with kiddie entertainment.

***Potential Spoilers***

Gamera 3 builds on the events of its two predecessors, culminating with what will be Gamera's final battle against Irys, a mutant strain of the Gyaos. Irys melds with a human girl, Ayana, who wants revenge on Gamera after witnessing her parents' death when Gamera fought the first Gyaos. This unholy union provides Irys the advantage over Gamera, the psychic link with a human, which Gamera had when it fought Gyaos years earlier. Oblivious to the terrible things that her help is enabling Irys to do, Ayana must ultimately depend on the one she hates to save her. The human and monster stories are so interdependent as to make one pointless without the other. This finely crafted story, with solid performances all around, makes Gamera 3 compelling viewing.

This film shows better than any other giant monster film what would truly happen if giant monsters fought in a populated city. The results are grim, yet wisely not graphic, the realism taking the viewer's breath away. The sfx crew manages to create both realistic and beautiful effects, with an endless string of money shots, particularly impressive for its paltry $6M budget, shaming films with budgets many times the size of this one. Creative, imaginative, innovative. In a genre where quantity and size of sfx scenes are often the goal, this film turns such conventions on their ears. The sfx scenes are economical, and the climax takes place inside the confines of a huge train station, the monsters' lack of mobility actually creating a final standoff with palpable tension.

A vote of 10 out of 10 should not be given easily, but Gamera 3 earns it. Simply put, Gamera 3 attains the goal that every film maker should be striving for--it is a good movie. Not just a good monster movie, but a good movie. No apologies necessary.

5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
2nd greatest kaiju movie ever, 24 April 2004

Author: bhdogman12 from USA

The only kaiju movie which surpasses this is the original Gojira. This movie has the best Fx of any kaiju movie, rivaling even the big budget hollywood films of that time. Gamera looks better than ever, giving the viewer a sense of fear, but at the same time, you can tell that Gamera is still the good guy. While Guardian of the Universe and G2 were both spectacular, G3 surpasses both of them. This is the definitive kaiju movie. There is one thing I would like to see, though. If at all possible, I would like ADV to advertise this film. Even the mostly anti-kaiju population of North America would enjoy watching this movie. If how well the Tristar film did in theaters is any indication, then a good and well advertised kaiju film can be a blockbuster. The Tristar film did well, and it sucked.

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Simply the finest, 15 April 2002

Author: Robert W Saint John from San Francisco, CA

Yes, simply the finest daikaiju eiga made since the original Godzilla. Not only a film that can make you take Gamera seriously, but one that makes you take giant monsters seriously as well. Great story, fine acting, clever script and story, excellent directing, brilliant special effects.... this is the only one (so far!) that has it all.

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Pure amazement..., 26 September 1999

Author: Evan A. Baker from Glendale, CA

This movie took my breath away as no other ever has. I'm sorry most Americans will never get to see this on the big screen, because it's awe-inspiring. Even on video, this film is astounding. Possibly the best special effects movie ever.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Gamera's final stand., 26 October 2011

Author: kevinxirau from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Everyone's favorite flying, fire-breathing turtle is back, this time facing a threat unlike anything this world has ever seen. Old faces return alongside strange new ones in this dark, epic climax to the Gamera trilogy.

Plot: The Gyaos have returned, newly evolved and multiplying like crazy around the world. As if that isn't bad enough, a new foe has emerged, one who has been bred by the hate of a teenage girl who harbors a grudge against Gamera for accidentally killing her parents in the first film. This new creature is called Iris (named after the girl's deceased pet cat), a mysterious armored, blood-sucking squid creature with immense destructive power and a genetic link to the Gyaos. With the military once again hunting Gamera, will all this be too much for the Guardian of the Universe?

The stakes are raised and so is the severity of the violence. Tons of people are laid waste as the monsters battle each other for supremacy, destroying everything in their path. It's great. Gamera looks really fearsome, looking as if he will stop at nothing until all his monstrous enemies are destroyed. He doesn't mess around. Iris is a fascinating creature, bringing a sense of both awe and dread to his presence, especially when he's flying. It's nice seeing some of the old cast in this one. Some the new characters are interesting while others are strange, which is why sometimes I feel that this film may appeal to goths.

I do have problems with this one. I didn't like how some people, military included, now want Gamera dead again. Come on, the Gyaos have returned and yet their too busy complaining about the damage Gamera causes while he's trying to kill those darn man-eaters. Even a fortune teller believes Gamera is some evil spirit. What evil spirit saves people, huh? Plus, once again Gamera takes a lot of punishment. I'm sick of movies doing that. At this time, he should be dishing out lot more damage to his enemies. Still, Gamera does shows off a few awesome attacks.

For all its problems, Gamera 3 is still worth the watch. It's a shame it ended the way it did and that its low-budget sequel that ended the storyline never made it to theaters and an American release. Check this flick out if your a monster movie fan. Or a goth lover.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Best Gamera ever!!!!, 24 June 2010

Author: Ashraf from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Gamera 3 is simply put, the best Gamera, and possibly the best Daikaiju eiga, ever. It finally puts to rest the cheesy, campy, child-friendliness of the Showa series. This movie has everything the early Daikaiju eiga (specifically Gamera) didn't have, development of characters, depth, and emotion of the monsters, and bloody awesome special effects! Although I haven't seen Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, I know enough about it to go along with the plot.

The movie starts out with Miss Nagamine, yes from G1, finding a dead Gyaos who has eaten a child and another person. After that some scientists find a graveyard of Gameras, where that went, God knows. Then they show some clips from G1, along with some newly filmed footage of a guy, a gal, and a cat getting killed, accidentally, mind you, by Gamera. this is all told n a dream by a girl named Ayana, of Hirosaka, they kept mixing it up, I couldn't tell. Anyway, she hates Gamera and wants some revenge, so she is constantly surly throughout the whole movie, God, why won't she just SMILE!. So she is bring bullied by some girls at her school, they tell her to go get a rock from some cave with a Ryushedo, guardian of the South. She goes to her adoptive brother, and he days something about some Chinese legend, why does he care about the Chinese? He tells her that if you can convince Ryushedo, Irys, that Gamera is the enemy, it will destroy him. Her "friend"'s grandmother says none should touch the stone, so, naturally, she does, an egg comes and thus, Irys is hatched. Moribe, the "friend", has a dagger his Grandmother gave him, he is supposed to kill Irys, should it ever hatch, but he has to kill when it's Small, he dosen't. Idiot. So Irys bonds with Ayana, and she is nurturing it to take revenge on Gamera. Gamera, meanwhile, is off killing Gyaos in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, killing 15-20,000 people, so the Defense Force declares Gamera a threat and orders him destroyed, bad idea. Irys now fuses with Ayana and becomes big. He kills a few people, Moribe then cuts Ayana from Irys, Irys gets angry, and kills half a village. He then gets very big. And very mean. The JSDF tries , in vain, to destroy Irys, but it wiped out a whole platoon, and flies towards Kyoto, where Ayana is. Why is Ayana in Kyoto? Because two boffy government agents have stolen her, Kurata Shinya, and Miss Asakura something or other, they kidnap her, and want to do something. I don't know what exactly. So Irys fights with Gamera in the air, but the JSDF shoot Gamera down, another bad idea. Irys lands in Kyoto, Kurata says one pf the best lines in the movie, and Gamera comes, let the bloodshed begin. Gamea and Irys engage in a rather bloody fight, and Gamera is left for dead. Irys now needs to complete the bonding, so it absorbs Ayana. Ayana now sees that her hatred for Gamera drove Irys to think of him as the enemy, so she doesn't want to bond with Irys, so Gamera rips her free of Irys, much to its dismay. So Irys stabs, and pins, Gamera's hand to the wall of the train station, then begins sucking the life force from Gamera. Seeing that he said losing his life force, he blasts off his arm, and the Irys fires a few fireballs at him, which he moulds into a sort of fist shape, ah, you thought they forgot about is fire controlling ability, did you? Well, ha they didn't! Anyway, Gamera plunges the fire fist into Irys, decimating it. Now he gives Ayana to Nagamine and Asagi, who try to revive her, but fail miserably. Gamera then roars and revives her. The JSDF now receive word of "lots"of Gyaos descending on Japan, and Gamera, with only one hand, goes out to challenge them. The movie ends with Gamera roaring a challenge to the sky amidst the flaming ruins of the Kyoto train station.

This is a radical diversion from early Gamera. Its dark, funny, and satisfying film. The acting was excellent, the directing was excellent, the script was excellent, everything was excellent. The way Mr. Kaneko beautifully transferred from suitmation to CGI, and the CGI was incredible, enough to rival even the big budget Hollywood. The Fight in the air was also really good, the way Gamera appeared from the F-15 pilot's point of view. And Irys was one of the best evil Daikiju ever. However, I can sympathize with Irys, because the only reason he went after Gamer was because Ayana told him to. My final critique, see it. You will love it.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
When kaijus fighting kaijus just do as much damage as the ones they protect the city from, 8 November 2001

Author: whatdoes1know from japan

Gamera, the biggest spin-flying saber-toothed turtle, by accidentally knocking over a building, orphans a young girl who obviously grows up to hold a grudge against him. If you can accept this premise, the movie has detailed visual effects beautiful enough to make the rest of the film an enjoyable ride. The flying sequences are done with dynamic Anime like camera movement following the action--nothing like the sad job that was done for the pterodactyls in Jurassic Park III. The movie begins with a montage of Gamera's appearances in the two previous movies, and also uses many media perspectives on Gamera--like footage from a home video camera with amateuristic recording of Gamera taking off shown during the news on TV--done much more realistically than the footage of Godzilla shown in the news reel in the Tristar movie. And there is no petty side-stories such as news casters stealing stories from reporters. The ending really leaves you wishing for more, but once the point is made, the movie is smart enough to end. The last of the new Gamera trilogy actually takes the consequences of Gamera's presence much more seriously, and leaves out unnecessary gratuitious destruction. This movie was so satisfying to me, that it made me rent the two previous movies--a mistake you should avoid. Long live Kaneko Shusuke.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
One of the Greatest Monster Film of All Time!!!!, 9 April 2009

Author: gigan-92 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Jesus, one of the greatest monster movies of all time, "Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys", seriously. Directed by Shusuke Kaneko, with incredible special effects by Shinji Higuchi, this film delivers, a true masterpiece. Even my sister, the Godzilla hater, admits this film is THE sh*t!!!! She actually asked me am I going to buy the other two, to which I obviously responded "Hell yeah!!!". This movie shows us a new view of Japanese monster flicks, with a much appreciated darker tone and very complex characters. Although I have yet to see the first two Heisei Gamera films, also by Kaneko, this one alone proves Godzilla may have met his match. Compare this film to the highly disappointing "Godzilla 2000", a huge let down after the American G-film by Roland Emmerich. Don't get me wrong, Godzilla is the unrivaled King, but some of the 200s films have been lacking. "G3" brings alive the monsters with bold and fearsome looks, a great improvement considering the Showa horrors ( the 60s and 70s Gamera films just sucked compared to the Honda G-flicks of the time. The Jun Fukuda ones, still not as bad I guess). Gyaos and Gamera are just bad-ass and beautifully rendered on screen. The best version of both monsters ever!! The Shibuya fight scene was amazing to say the least. I've recently fallen in love with Irys, he's simply perfect: the original design and origin, the deadly cool weapons, and that whale-growl of his. The head has no real eyes or mouth, yet gives off an aura of BAD-ASS-NESS. I haven't been this impressed by a monster since Destroyah. Irys simply looks like a god more than a traditional mutant dinosaur or bug. The battles are astonishingly realistic and don't hold back, a move seen in only a few monster flicks. Gamera severing his own hand was an extraordinary plot idea, showing his sacrifice for mankind. Great character moment, really.

The CGI is astonishingly good, myself loving the air battle sequence. This movie brings a seriousness to the aftermath of these monster rumbles that puts the film on a older audience, although I doubt kids will dislike all the superb action. "G3" shows that with the proper director and a big enough budget, Japanese monster films can stand up to the American Hollywood titans. Also, Koh Otani's music is excellent and is a key ingredient in the movie. Otani's music can be horrific, tragic, mystical, heroic and even comedic, basically anything Kaneko needs it to be. The score for "Godzilla 2000", excluding the Ifukube themes, was terrible. This film really is a landmark for the monster industry. Looking at the equally beautifully made "GMK", one can see Kaneko truly can handle a G-film with the same great quality. The only millennium Godzilla movies to even compare to Kaneko's impact on both Godzilla and Gamera is "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" and "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." Taking a glance at Tezuka's work as well, one can see the horrible mistake of allowing Ryuhei Kitamaru direct Godzilla's 50th Anniversary film. Having Kaneko directed it we could have had another masterpiece instead of a choppy-fast paced- non artistic- rock/ tech no score style of the wreck.

Now that that's said and done, the only other thing that bothers me is the quality of the DVD....it's INCREDIBLE!!!! I would of preferred a serious commentary though, but whatever. Japanese theatrical trailers and TV spots, an interview with Shinji Higuchi, behind-the-scenes- footage, and MORE!!!! This movie is packed with interesting bonus material, and it wasn't even released by a mainstream distributor, considering I've never heard of ADV films. Sony-Tristar, come on, at least give us interactive menus!!!! Anyways, a great film, on my Top 15 list for sure, "Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys" is a film to remember.

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