Shin Ultraman has been rebooted into a new universe and is scattered into different stories! Ultraman was a highly popular Kyodai Hero (Giant Hero) part of the Tokusatsu genre. It began with the television series from Tsuburaya Productions that started in 1966-1967. This expanded to the Ultra Series running up to Ultraman Decker (2022-2023), the 34th show. The US presentation was on January 12th by Fathom Events. It began with clips of the tv shows, then an Ultraman quiz. A video interview with director, Shinji Higuchi, who was also the co-director of Shin Godzilla (2016). The screenwriter, Hideaki Anno, was also the screenwriter and co-director of Shin Godzilla.
The other video interview was with the lead actor, Takumi Saitoh, who plays Shinji Kaminaga. Takumi Saitoh played a tank captain in Shin Godzilla (2016) and also a fighter pilot in Space Battleship Yamato (2010). The movie begins with reports of attacks by Kaiju leading to the group, S-Class Species Suppression Protocol (SSSP), to stop them. We see an evacuation and a sudden lightning bolt. In Tago, Japan, the SSSP has a team ready to monitor the situation. This includes Yumi Funaberi (Akari Hayami), biologist and very funny in her efficiency, and Akihisa Taki (Daiki Arioka), a physicist and also otaku with models of Star Trek’s Enterprise and Thunderbirds. The leader is Kimio Tamura (Hidetoshi Nishijima), their names and information whips by in seconds.
The giant robot goes into the classic pose, left arm out, right arm crossing at the wrists to send out a blue beam. Taki says it is made of plasma. Neronga is destroyed and the explosion rocks the SSSP station. Then, the robot flies into the sky. Laters, Kaminaga carries the boy safely away. The next day, we follow a woman and only see the back of her hair, until we see analyst, Hiroko Asami (Masami Nagasawa). The actress was in Gintama (2017) based on the manga. There are a number of strange camera angles and shots. She greets Kaminaga whom she thinks of as a “buddy.” He is distant, almost learning humanity like Jeff Bridges in Starman (1984). Asami submits a report identifying the unknown figure as Ultraman.
A mountain bridge collapses, SSSP gets a Kaiju alert, as it burrows underground, and named Gabora. The SSSP arrive in radiation suits with a nearby nuclear waste facility. The order is given to kill the Kaiju underground and three US stealth bombers drop bunker busters. Nice effects. Gabora appears with a drill head. Kaminaga slips away and runs with a strange device called the Beta Capsule. He transforms into Ultraman, now with red stripes and pants, and battles Gabora. Its drill head splits open and there is a tiny, flat head like a button inside! Ultraman fires his beam at Gabora’s head ending it and then lifts it up to the sky, but turns to look at them. Apparently, all of the Kaiju are destroyed and they are explained as reacting to the tampering of the Earth by humans.
There is another mystery with the appearance of the strange alien, Zarab, short in a hat and trench coat with glowing, blue eyes. He offers friendship to Ministry officials, but in reality wants all intelligent life on Earth destroyed! Zarab knows about Ultraman and captures Kaminaga. There is yet another alien, Mefilas (Koji Yamamoto) who seems to be an ally to Kaminaga. Asami later appears a la Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). There is an even greater threat from the Planet of Light, the home world of Ultraman! The film seems to wander from one danger to another at high speed, trying to compress 56 years of Ultraman into one movie. Shin Ultraman is fun in parts with a good cast, but gets progressively weird with the fate of the Earth in the hands of Ultraman!
Three Beta Capsules out of Five!
#ShinUltraman, #ShinjiHiguchi, #TakumiSaitoh, MasamiNagasawa, #AkariHayami, #DaikiArioka, #HidetoshiNishijima
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