Ultraman: The Next (2004) – Film Review
This feature film takes the premise of the old Ultraman television series and updates it to a contemporary cinematic idiom. Gone are the simple sets and the futuristic, artificial feel of the various TV incarnations – which were colorful and fun in a kiddie-kind-of-way, but also a bit cheesy and often goofy. ULTRAMAN: THE NEXT combines traditional suit-mation and miniatures with modern computer-generated imagery to create an exciting new version of the tale that is slightly more mature while still retaining its appeal to youngsters.
In this version, our hero Maki is not a part of an elite force defending the Earth from alien monsters; he is a jet fighter pilot who wants to quit his job so that he can spend more time with his wife and five-year-old son (who has a blood disease that might kill him within a year). Unfortunately, fate intervenes in the form of a glowing meteor, which crashes into the fighter jet, turning Maki into Ultraman (although he does not realize this for a while, because the film treats his condition as a puzzle that must be solved).
That is one of the gambits the script plays: treating this story as something unfamiliar (unlike GODZILLA: FINAL WARS, which assumes audience familiarity with its menagerie of monsters). The plot unfolds like a mystery: how did Maki survive the collision with the meteor, and what is this strange transformation that seems to be happening to him? Midway through he is kidnapped by a secret defense organization that is tracking someone who underwent a similar experience and turned into a monster; only gradually do these secret government agents realize that Maki is not turning into another monster but into Ultraman, a superhero come to save Earth from the alien invader.
The action and special effects seem very heavily influenced by the last ten years of Japanese kaiju movies, in particular the Gamera trilogy directed by Shusuke Kaneko. As the military in GAMERA, GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE regarded Gamera as another threat, the military in ULTRAMAN: THE NEXT is initially reluctant to admit that Ultraman is an ally in their fight against the monster. As in GAMERA III: THE REVENGE OF IRYS, there is a giant monster battle that takes place indoors. (The miniature set — a domed military facility — is a wonderful piece of work, and totally convincing, creating a truly memorable sequence.) After beginning the second battle underground, the two adversaries outgrow their indoor boxing match and launch into a more traditional city-bashing extravaganza that includes an aerial dogfight reminiscent of Gamera’s confrontation with Gayos.
The destruction of the miniature cityscapes is quite well done, but the CGI work when Ultraman and his monstrous opponent take flight leaves a little to be desired: the shots look too much like a videogame. Still, even these scenes have some redeeming aspects, including an oddly poetic moment when, mid-battle, our hero recalls that he wanted to become a pilot after seeing a jet streaking across the sky like a silver meteor — and now, in the form of Ultraman, he has become an almost literal embodiment of that childhood image.
The new Ultraman costume is a big improvement over previous versions. The old one-piece suit (which always buckled and bent, giving away its rubber origins) has been replaced with a multi-piece costume that looks more metallic and robotic, built up almost like body armor, with more flexible, darker sections about the movable joints.
The story is handled reasonably well, although there are some weaknesses here. The pacing is uneven, and exposition about Ultraman’s strengths and weaknesses is in short supply. The child’s illness is never resolved. The marital tension between his parents is muddled: apparently, mom is upset that her husband, having quit the air force to spend time with his son, is instead spending his time in the hunt for the monster – but we never get a feel for how much time he is spending away from home. Even when they finally reconcile before the final battle, the director blows the scene, having them part without so much as a kiss (no doubt a vestige of the old kiddie show mentality, which avoided romance at all costs).
The live-action production values are good but not outstanding – probably the result of a modest budget. The photography works at about the level of an above-average TV movie. The sets and location work are nice but not overly impressive. And considering what a major operation the search for the monster must be, it seems a bit understaffed: most of the scenes consist of the pilot and a lady scientist talking to each other, with a handful of guys in fatigues showing up once in a while.
Fortunately, the film delivers as a good-natured, reasonably serious monster-movie — not too grim and scary for kids, but not so light-hearted and silly as the TV series could be. The family drama is not developed very deeply, but it does help imbue the story with some real pathos, turning this into a decent piece of family film entertainment. It’s no match for GAMERA, GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE or GODZILLA: FINAL WARS, but Ultraman fans should love it, and even open-minded fantasy-filmgoers will find themselves having a good time.
ULTRAMAN: THE NEXT(2004). Directed by Kazuya Konaka. Written by Kei’ichi Hasegawa. Cast: Tetsuya Bessho, Tooyama Kyooko, Oosumi Kenya, Yuuki Nae, Hirota Nae, Nagasawa Toshiya, Ryuu Daisuke, Kusakari Masao.
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