Ultraman is fun. The original series was silly, cheap and imaginative. Ultra Seven, the second series, was still silly and cheap but had a tongue in cheek seriousness that made it fun as well. The numerous series that came after fell into a predictable "beat up the monster" rut that the kids in Japan loved but were never brought over to the U.S. The recent efforts to revive Ultraman are inspired by the re-imagining of the very silly Gamera movie of the sixties into the standard bearer of the kaiju genre.
Well shot in high-def video (I couldn't tell it was until the credits said so), the movie works well as a stand-alone entry in the Ultraman tradition. The script is very good with an emphasis on human relationships. I have to agree with other contributors that this film is much better then most of the recent Godzilla films which were starting to resemble earlier Ultraman films. The special effects are very good at times with some excellent miniature work and some great combinations of real life with model work. The only complaints I have are with the music track and the direction. While overall very good, the director missed a few chances to raise this film up another notch. Sometimes the energy is lacking. The music, however, is a very mixed bag. The fuzzbox rock guitar has been overused by "children's" action shows for years and starts to sound like kazoos to me. The more classical action orchestral music is not inspired but at least it doesn't interfere with the action. It's like somebody forgot to tell the composer that they were trying to update the genre and the composer supplied a "by the book" soundtrack.
Very adult without being unsuitable for most children, it's hopeful this movie along with the sister TV series, "Ultraman Nexus" (not the same story but equally adult) will find a US release sometime in the near future. Until then it's only available as an import.
Well shot in high-def video (I couldn't tell it was until the credits said so), the movie works well as a stand-alone entry in the Ultraman tradition. The script is very good with an emphasis on human relationships. I have to agree with other contributors that this film is much better then most of the recent Godzilla films which were starting to resemble earlier Ultraman films. The special effects are very good at times with some excellent miniature work and some great combinations of real life with model work. The only complaints I have are with the music track and the direction. While overall very good, the director missed a few chances to raise this film up another notch. Sometimes the energy is lacking. The music, however, is a very mixed bag. The fuzzbox rock guitar has been overused by "children's" action shows for years and starts to sound like kazoos to me. The more classical action orchestral music is not inspired but at least it doesn't interfere with the action. It's like somebody forgot to tell the composer that they were trying to update the genre and the composer supplied a "by the book" soundtrack.
Very adult without being unsuitable for most children, it's hopeful this movie along with the sister TV series, "Ultraman Nexus" (not the same story but equally adult) will find a US release sometime in the near future. Until then it's only available as an import.