Ultraman

Eji Tsurabaya, you've'e done it again. this movie is great, tonnes of action packed scenes with great special effects done by the same from the 2002 Godzilla movie, and if you saw that then you probably wern't disappointed. and again the return of every ones favourite Japanese super hero. ULTRAMAN him self. takes on a giant monster thingy. (its the only way to describe it) the movie caters for both an adult and a child audience and even a teenage because i enjoyed and I'm only 17. and if your thinking this is some how related to or a rip off of power rangers, your wrong, this pre dates power rangers by a few decades and as for the music, the music is done by the one and only, legendary Japanese guitarist and one half of the super band "B'z", Tak Matsumoto's score just really makes you go all hyper and alone adds action to movie. any way I'm not gonna leave any spoilers the movie is a fun family feature, or great for a night in with mates, maybe a girl friend (though they don't tend to like giant monster movies such) or even alone and is overall a great movie.

This movie is amazing it has decent writing, awesome soundtrack, and awesome redesign the only downside of this movie is the CG i know this movie is a 2004 movie but still it could have been handled better

with all of its flaws it still a great toku movie for me, it's kinda sad that this movie didn't do well because of it's darker tone and serious story.

ULTRAMAN THE NEXT [2004] was created as part of Tsuburaya Production's "Ultra N Project", which also consisted of the TV series ULTRAMAN NEXUS [2004-2005] and live stage shows involving the character "Noa".

The film follows the middle-aged Shinichi Maki - a father and pilot with an increasingly ill son. During a drill one evening to track an unidentified object over Japanese air space, Maki's jet crashes into a large glowing meteor, where he meets a mysterious figure. Unlike the more recent Heisei era Ultraman shows - such as the amazingly childish ULTRAMAN COSMOS [2001] - the film takes a more serious family-entertainment tone, as with Tsuburaya's classic shows such as ULTRA SEVEN (1967).

The special effects lead by Yuichi Kikuchi (GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA [2002]) are well polished, looking far better than GODZILLA FINAL WARS [2004], yet ironically costing about a third less to produce. The same goes for the soundtrack - composed by Japanese rock artist Tak Matsumoto - which is far nicer to the ear than the "rock n' roll" music Keith Emerson produced for Godzilla. The storyline is quite simple, yet touching and meaningful at the same time.

It's an overall solid production, and one I would certainly recommend.

I recently attended the Ultramania Film Festival here in San Francisco, CA, where the Bay Area premiere of Ultraman (a.k.a Ultraman: The Next) took place. Quite simply, this is an extremely entertaining movie for hardcore and casual fans of the character or anyone looking to spend 90 minutes witnessing pure, albeit silly, celluloid joy. The new movie is certainly more "mature" in it's telling compared to the original series and such beloved updates as Ultraman Tiga. There is a good amount of character development and some actual drama to be found. The action sequences are handled remarkably well and the final confrontation between Ultraman and his nemesis is a wonder to behold. The CG is quite good and blends real well with the more practical visual effects. The only real nitpick I had with the film is the theme sounded a bit too much like the "Top Gun" theme and "Top Gun" is not one of my favorite films. I heartily recommend Ultraman! Seek it out at all costs!

What I appreciate about Ultraman is that it has so many great jumping-on points for people looking to get into the series; although The Next is one of the weaker starts I've seen, it is a noble attempt to update the formula with a much more adult tone. Particularly considering this was Tsuburaya's big attempt to revitalise the character after the problematic circumstances surrounding the broadcast of Cosmos. It's a more than welcome reimagining.

There's some lovely direction by series veteran Kazuya Konaka, particularly in its Top Gun-inspired opening. Great character work and performances, especially from Tetsuya Bessho and Kenya Ousumi, plus a banging soundtrack from rock artist Tak Matsumoto who provides brilliant updates to the classic themes. I do like Ultraman's new design despite it being a bit out there due to how radically different it is from the original but the updated Bemular is a truly frightening creation and more than worthy of praise.

Where I'm not particularly sold is the rather iffy use of CGI, especially considering how good the model work and suitmation are, and the cheesy dialogue at points that feels like it's trying to appeal to kids despite the tone of the movie is very much skewed towards adults with some pretty horrifying imagery to boot.

Regardless, The Next captures the heart of what makes Ultraman, well, Ultraman. His relentless pursuit of providing hope for humanity in the face of its destruction; while mixing in with the inner turmoil of its host who has more than his fair share of skin in the game. It offers up some extremely entertaining and well-executed monster fights and hits the right stride for those wanting a slightly more mature tone for the series. It's just a shame that the Ultra N Project failed because what we got here is a great basis for a newer take on the character.