Shin Ultraman
There's a lot to unpack here for the casual viewer, so let's get started. “Shin” is a Japanese word that can have a few different meanings (Such as “new”, “true”, or even “God”). But for the sake of Hideaki Anno's new trilogy of films (“Shin Godzilla” (2016), “Shin Ultraman” (2022), and the upcoming “Shin Kamen Rider”), I am going to assume that this word simply is being meant to be used as “new”.
The first “Ultraman” series debuted in 1966 and if you know that, you should be good enough, right? Wrong. There was actually a show that preceded “Ultraman” by a few months called “Ultra Q”. This show was kind of like a Japanese “Twilight Zone” that usually featured big monsters getting wild.
The start of “Shin Ultraman” is a quick montage using music and monsters (and even the same paint filled opening credits sequence) to add the events of “Ultra Q” to the “Shin Ultraman” canon. And if you had no idea about that show, all of this would still be very cool, but would go right over your head.
That sums up the movie pretty well; cool, loaded with easter eggs and history, but a lot of things will be completely missed if you don't know your “Ultraman” history. Which is totally fine, it's still a super sweet movie for those into Japanese films. And this movie definitely highlights some of the more quirky Japanese things that were left behind in say, “Shin Godzilla”. Like butt slapping for spirit, accepting your death with lackadaisical phrases like “I see”, and going for sake and sushi with your enemy whose about to enslave the world. If you are a fan of Japanese media and culture, all of this is super endearing and fun. If you're unfamiliar you might end up being extremely confused.
For those that know me personally, I actually have a huge “Ultraman” tattoo on my leg. So needless to say I'm familiar, and probably better equipped than most North American audiences to dig in deep to all the ins and outs of this film that's just loaded with history. The effects are excellent for the most part, and they especially did a great job of updating the kaiju while at the same time maintaining that sort of “man-in-a-suit look” we all love. I thought the creature design was a real highlight.
The story itself is almost presented like multiple episodes of a show as opposed to a 2 hour continuous story. I thought it was a cool way to show Ultraman going up against lots of different threats, but I could see how this could be a turn off for some.
Do you need to go back and watch old “Ultraman” episodes for everything to click? Absolutely not, but that might be a fun idea. Without exaggeration, I've probably seen close to a thousand episodes of “Ultraman”, and that's probably not even half of what's out there. So don't stress if you haven't seen any previously.
“Shin Ultraman” is a super fun, pure Japanese romp through the world of Tokusatsu. Longtime fans of this type of movie will certainly enjoy it, but I could see it being off putting for new comers (which unfortunately is probably most of North America at this point). I know this has already been a huge hit in Japan, and I was lucky enough to see it during it's two night North American theatrical run, so I hope we get to see more of Ultraman on the big screen sooner, rather than later.
8/10
