Even though the rubber suits and miniature model cities have been enhanced by CGI, this 2005 re-imagining of the enduring Ultraman character still has that typically cheesy kaiju aesthetic, possibly because the film-makers didn't have a big enough budget to make things look as slick as they might have liked, although I prefer to think that it was done intentionally in order to give the movie that unique charm one expects from a Japanese 'superhero versus monster' movie.
Either way, the film is lots of fun, with a really nicely designed creature in the shape of The One, a hideous, armour-plated, life-form absorbing beast with three heads (one that shoots energy blasts) and a massive pair of wings, which ultimately ends up several hundred feet high—but he's nothing that Ultraman can't handle; the two battle it out on land and in the skies causing mayhem and destruction on a massive scale before the hero inevitably vanquishes the monster and peace returns to downtown Tokyo.
It's nothing particularly revolutionary perhaps, but it's spectacular and consistently entertaining, and as far as I am concerned, a great way to spend an hour and a half or so of your time.
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
*** Just re-watched the film and didn't enjoy it quite as much the second time around (the first half is fairly uneventful), although the final smack-down between Ultraman and The One is still a lot of fun.***
Revised rating: 7/10
Either way, the film is lots of fun, with a really nicely designed creature in the shape of The One, a hideous, armour-plated, life-form absorbing beast with three heads (one that shoots energy blasts) and a massive pair of wings, which ultimately ends up several hundred feet high—but he's nothing that Ultraman can't handle; the two battle it out on land and in the skies causing mayhem and destruction on a massive scale before the hero inevitably vanquishes the monster and peace returns to downtown Tokyo.
It's nothing particularly revolutionary perhaps, but it's spectacular and consistently entertaining, and as far as I am concerned, a great way to spend an hour and a half or so of your time.
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
*** Just re-watched the film and didn't enjoy it quite as much the second time around (the first half is fairly uneventful), although the final smack-down between Ultraman and The One is still a lot of fun.***
Revised rating: 7/10