The giant turtle monster Gamera is back in “Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion”, the second instalment in his 90s trilogy. “Gamera: Guardian of the Universe” managed to balance the carnage with the human stuff fairly well but this one just did not do it for me. There’s way too much standing around and talking and I disliked the use of computer effects.

In “Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion”, a meteor shows brings hostile alien life to Japan. As the small crab-like monsters cause havoc in the nation, Gamera shows up to help save mankind and the Earth. However, a giant monster foe appears and now Gamera will have to battle it and the swarm of little creatures.

We have to spend a little too much time with the humans in this movie. So many of the conversations are so similar to the ones had in the previous movie that it feels like it’s on repeat. Gamera does not appear enough in this movie. I do really like the design of the Legion monsters. The giant one looks amazing and the little ones also look very impressive. The monsters are obviously the best part of the movie and it’s a shame that we do not get to see more of them.

“Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion” might impress those that absolutely love the Japanese kaiju movies but for most people, a lot of this movie is going to bore them. The practical effects are terrific but the computer effects look really synthetic and ugly. It would be nice to see a more unique monster movie where it does not go through the same motions as we see the politicians, scientists and military personnel endlessly debating about what should be done. Unless you are a big fan of “Gamera”, I’d skip this one.