Director: Shinji Higuchi
Year: 2022
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Kaiju
Plot:
Following a series of confrontations, the staff at an anti-kaiju government unit assigned to stop the strange creatures that have suddenly appeared to wreak havoc on Japan are pleased to learn a special fighter has arrived from space to protect mankind from the creatures and work with him to stop the deadly creatures.
Review:
In general, there's quite a lot to really like with this one. The main issue with this one is the clear and obvious love for the original series presented here, featuring so many homages and call-backs that naming everything off is utterly impossible. The setup with the team mimicking the original group from the show to the old-school sound effects and roars utilized for everything here, the nostalgia and love for the original series becomes quite apparent throughout here. The glee that comes from that nostalgia is fueled nicely by the highly impressive special effects that makes for a fun time here with the enjoyable redesigns done on the classic monsters stomping around the background featured here with the battles against the silver hero containing the necessary spectacle to keep everything fun.
The film doesn't have much against it here but it's got a few minor issues. The main factor is the fact that this one goes through such a randomly disorganized matter that it can cause some rather confusing feelings. Going from one monster to another with little time to build up who's appearing and what's going on before it switches gears to Ultraman appearing and laying waste to the creature and getting to the next one. This relies on nostalgia for knowing what's happening so it's somewhat confusing for first-time watchers who aren't familiar with the creatures or their powers and can take some out of the film completely. Otherwise, the only other drawback is the use of CGI rather than traditional effects which is glaringly obvious at times and can be somewhat distracting due to the spectacle being offered which are the main points against it.
Overview: ****/5
A fantastically fun old-school throwback that should appeal to fans of the show first and foremost, there's quite a lot to like with this one as the few flaws here don't have too much to hold it back. Any and all fans of the show, the genre, or the creative crew are advised to check it out immediately while most who are unfamiliar should try a few episodes of the series first before giving this a shot.
This review was originally published as part of our coverage of the 2022 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival. Click the banner below for all of our coverage of the festival:
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