Thanks to some really cool promo art and fairly positive advance buzz, I picked up GARUDA to satisfy a jones for good old ground-stomping, giant monster mayhem, and I got my wish... more or less. Essentially Thailand's would-be blockbuster take on the Japanese kaiju (monster) genre, GARUDA plucks a winged demigod straight out of Thai mythology and plants it (literally) in the heart of modern-day Bangkok with a big, earth-shaking THUD. The film itself packs a bit less punch than its concept would lead you to believe, but is intriguing nonetheless.

As we are helpfully informed by a spooky shadow-puppet-style prologue, the title beastie is a key figure in Hinduism's vast pantheon of gods, the monstrous winged steed of Vishnu. This opening segment also suggests not only did there exist an actual prehistoric race of creatures from which the legend is apparently derived, but that the skies were virtually dark with them at one time. One of these immense bird-behemoths, we are told, went a bit psycho and killed just about any living thing he could get his talons on, forcing his fellow gods to take drastic measures and imprison him within a gigantic tree trunk.

Jumping forward to war-torn Kashmir in 1975, we find intrepid American paleontologist Dr. Pierre delving deep into a cavern beneath the desert sand. Mere moments before the entire site is buried by a Pakistani mortar attack (along with the doctor himself), he stumbles upon an amazing find: a massive bird claw embedded in the rocks outside a strange, sealed crypt. We then leap forward again to modern-day Thailand, where some incredibly incompetent construction workers break their expensive drill while trying to breach a similar sealed subterranean chamber. The highest authorities are alerted, and a team of military and scientific experts is assembled. At the behest of her scientist uncle (Chalad Na Sangkhla), Dr. Pierre's foxy daughter Leena (Sara Legge) attempts to defend her late father's theories to a less-than-impressed panel of bureaucrats and military honchos - all of whom dismiss her arguments on the basis that she is only half Thai, therefore inadequate to debate issues impacting Thailand's history or culture.

It's probably worth mentioning that this is the first of about a dozen instances over the next couple of hours wherein race and caste level is considered an issue of utmost importance when dealing with just about anything, and it struck a curious off-note. I can't profess any expertise in Thai culture, but it seems weirdly anachronistic to assume that no one of less than pure Thai ancestry is allowed to partake in administrative decisions of any kind... unless this movie served as a platform for writer-director Monthon Arayangkoon's own xenophobia. Either way, it seems wildly out of place in a movie about a giant killer bird-god. Goofy.

But anyway... despite the protestations of nearly every medal-encrusted bastard in the room, our heroine is begrudgingly allowed - thanks to the intercession of her scientist uncle - to participate in a secret project ostensibly geared toward studying the weird find. Along for the ride (and apparently for something resembling comic relief) is her dorky pal Tim (Dan Fraser), who works with Leena at a museum. Apparently Tim is also a complete spaz - he's not only prone to crying jags when frustrated, but reacts to the slightest hint of danger by flailing wildly at the air like Inspector Clouseau. He also happens to be an American who frequently lapses into English when he's upset, so in accordance with the filmmakers' worldview, he is dismissed as an irrelevant buffoon.

Also alerted to the situation is a secret commando squad comprised entirely of rugged-looking dudes who smoke and strike GI Joe poses with all sorts of cool weapons. Although it's never really explained in detail (along with many other elements of the plot), these guys are apparently some kind of secret monster-hunting squad, assigned to protect Thailand's citizens from renegade gods and other supernatural entities. It's a cool concept - unfortunately it's only hinted at in one bit of dialogue and some odd flashbacks in which several of them are massacred by a giant snake god... apparently a half-assed attempt to imbue their leader (Sornram Theppitak) with some pathos, which doesn't really work, as he's still mostly a racist, misogynist lunk who belittles Leena and even considers having her and her idiot friend killed.

Well, enough of the puny humans... let's dish up some monster here. After about 45 minutes of puttering around and yelling between scientists and soldiers, the team manages to free Garuda from captivity - and for this act of kindness, Leena's uncle is promptly torn to pieces, all the while foolishly supplicating himself at the god's feet. Once released, the barely-seen creature (rendered entirely in CGI... not really the best choice, in my opinion - more on that below) heads for the dark recesses of the underground cavern, whereupon it begins summarily stalking and killing the soldiers and scientists one by one. From here on out, we get a few variations on this theme: humans shoot at bird-god; weapons prove ineffectual; bird-god wipes out more humans; humans run away with bird-god in pursuit; repeat. Admittedly this formula starts to work pretty well once the big guy finally breaks to the surface and gets to stretch his wings while people run and scream and lots of things explode. Herein lie the film's only true kaiju-style moments, and it's quite a rush after waiting for so long.

Although the concept of the Garuda is really cool, and the design of the creature draws directly from mythological depictions in Hindu art throughout history, it's still a bit disappointing in execution; the 100% CGI rendering of the monster denies it the chance to become one of Godzilla's Thai brethren, and relegates it to the ranks of the American GODZILLA remake, with its "we use CGI because we can" technique. There are scenes where the monster is quite effective (the climactic rooftop confrontation is pretty cool, set against sprawling downtown Bangkok), but close-ups and well-lit environments reveal the weakness of the design: it's rather two-dimensional when inserted in close combat with the human characters... and in the wrong light, it looks for all the world like Chicken Boy's evil twin.

The cultural context is unique, but relegated to the background, only emerging long enough to belittle the non-Thai characters for their lack of understanding, which again is just really funky and weird to me. I've enjoyed dozens of Thai films, and I've never seen this issue become a plot point in a genre offering. Anti-American sentiments crop up in Japanese kaiju films, sure, but usually these grievances are derived from memories of Hiroshima and trepidation about the runaway American military machine. The disdain for foreigners in this film, however, is fairly off-putting, because it doesn't inform the plot in any real way. Again, I'm no expert on Thai cinema, so maybe I'm missing something.

Media Blasters offers GARUDA under their "Tokyo Shock" label, and have put together a pretty slick little package. Taking a cue from the MATRIX-inspired production design of the film, the artwork and menus depict the monster as a gargoyle-like figure, which is pretty cool. The 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is of excellent quality, and maximizes the desaturated steel-and-concrete tones of the underground chambers, with intense blacks that emphasize the shadows without obscuring too many early glimpses of the creature. Once we reach the surface, nighttime Bangkok takes on the characteristic carnival colors that we're used to seeing in so many films.

Audio is also pretty sweet, with roomy 5.1 mixes and beefy 2.0 in both dubbed English and original Thai tracks (removable English subs also provided). The high and low frequencies are well-balanced, especially when the monster's wings cut the air for the first time, and when it emits its ear-splitting screech (which sounds very much like a cross between Godzilla and the ALIEN queen).

Not many extra features - there's a big, boisterous trailer for the film, as well as other Tokyo Shock releases, and a roughly 20-minute "making of" puff piece, which contains a couple of noteworthy elements: first, we learn that Garuda was originally conceived as a combination of animatronics and CGI (a la JURASSIC PARK), but the model version was scrapped in favor of a total CGI creation (the filmmakers seem proud of this fact, but I suspect this will irk more than a few kaiju loyalists). Also interesting is the fact that all the clips of actors smoking in the film are digitally obscured in this segment to hide their cigarettes! Like I said, I don't know much about the ins and outs of Thai culture, but I know people from all over the globe, and I've never heard of that kind of thing in my life. Banning scenes of smoking, maybe... but just bleeping out the cigs? Considering nearly every one of these commandos seems to have a butt hanging out of one corner of his mouth, that's one hell of a double standard they got there.

Cultural hang-ups and all, GARUDA is a fairly amusing misfire - well-intentioned, sure, good-looking, certainly - but ultimately a misguided attempt to become Thailand's high-concept entry into the giant-monster arena. Sadly, it demonstrates too little consideration for what makes that genre so beloved to generations of audiences around the world.