Big Man Japan

Matsumoto is a member of comedy duo Down Town, he's a No.1 comedian in Japan present. His vision is very surreal and it makes him so special. I'm a huge fan myself, however I'm not so happy about Dai Nippon Jin. I recommend his early works like Visualbum series, To-Zu or Hitori-Gottsu series instead. Those are more fun and lyrical, overall it's unique.

I'd say he should work with his friends together again like in his early days. Though, I know they are all big now, there's some problem working together. But it's my dream that Matsumoto working with Mr. Itao full time making a picture together. It should be a great surreal comedy flick.

Actually, Itao appearing few minutes as smelly monster in this film. I always laugh my head off seeing that, but it's not enough, cos considering their talent, they can do more than that.

Maybe Matsumoto's weak point is working with strangers and that huge budget. Probably, big budget gave him big pressure mentally, and couldn't concentrate. his talent will definitely explode when solving those problems. Working with his close friends, making it with low budget. I'm expecting his next work.

Strangely paced, unflinchingly crazy and brow-furrowingly confusing, this is a tough movie to get a handle on. It's pseudo-documentary in the same style as Christopher Guest, but with a less obvious comedic timing, more humble, unassuming characters and a hefty injection of pure, unabashed Japanese absurdity. The camera's focal point is Masaru, a soft spoken middle-aged loser with a going-nowhere life and zero self confidence, who nonchalantly moonlights as the fifteen-story tall, nearly naked hero "Big Japanese Man." Despite saving the city from a series of rampaging monsters, public interest in his work is waning and he's beginning to find it difficult to make ends meet. Excruciatingly slow at points, it has a few interesting things to say about the longevity of the superheroic profession and the notoriously fickle nature of public favor, but much of that is lost beneath the burden of such a painfully dull lead character. Its dry, bizarre sense of humor hits the mark more often than not, and the CGI fight scenes make for quite the spectacle, but this really didn't need to be half as long as it is. Fans of the eccentricities of Japanese culture will have a ball with it, although they'll have to wade through some arid terrain to get to the good stuff. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly happened in the last scene.

It's weird that this movie is portrayed as a comedy because this is actually a serious film for the most part. It's a mockumentary, but it's played as completely serious, not like Spinal Tap. The movie takes its premise very seriously. It's actually a pretty sad film, despite its comedic portrayal in the trailer. It's a very quiet film, almost introspective at times. It's an observance of Japanese culture and how they don't really like giant monsters anymore...but in this world, the giant monsters still exist. And Daisuke is unappreciated as such. Very cool film, but I didn't find it quite as uproariously hilarious as it's portrayed. That's what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I got. Not that that was a bad thing! I just didn't get what I was expecting at all.

All in all a good film. The ending is pretty ridiculous and it moves slowly at times, but it was a rather deep film, and when it tried to be funny, it definitely hit its mark.

Hitoshi Matsumoto is one of a rare breed of comedians with a special gift. Tommy Cooper had it, Billy Connelly has it sometimes - the ability to make you laugh the moment they appear on stage. I've followed Matsumoto and Downtown since 1989, when I first encountered them on the sketch comedy show Yume de Aetara. A lot of his experimental comedy on the small screen since then has been outrageous, cerebral and/or scatological. It is almost always riotous, and for that reason I was expecting more of the same here. Part of Matsumoto's genius is in how he reigns in his basic instincts, creating a tension for domestic audiences, while also fashioning a clever narrative with universal appeal. That tension makes for a glorious release when classic Matsumoto moments do appear, such as standing in front of giant purple underpants, or the edit to his pixel-ated daughter in a bunny hat declaiming her indifference to her father, in contrast to the sentimental speech on her he has just given.

Many Japanese geinojin seem fettered by the jimusho system that controls their creative output, and you feel sympathy for the truly talented ones who seem capable of so much more than the usual prime-time foolishness (Takuya Kimura, take note). I always had a sneaking suspicion Downtown's Hamada-san could rise to a serious dramatic role if given the chance, so it is a pleasant surprise to be blind-sided by Matsumoto here. Understated, even moving in places, with a wonderfully comic climactic scene where the 'traditional' Matsumoto surfaces, Big Man Japan is a refreshing addition to Matsumoto's array of comic talent. Small mention to Ua as the mercenary manager, a cold-blooded portrayal. Was Matsumoto having a sly dig at his Jimusho's creative accounting? Matsumoto bites the hand that feeds here, but then feeds them in turn with the grosses this film has earned. The man is practically re-inventing the term irony, in art and in his life. Genius.

BIG MAN JAPAN is a very clever spoof on 'The Super Hero Genre'. Depressed and middle-aged Daisato plugs along as a second-rate protector of Japan. The film depicts an altered reality in which cartoon monsters sporadically appear to create mischief and mayhem. The Big Man does what he can, but ends up causing as much confusion and destruction as he prevents. Plagued by waning popularity, the erosion of his powers, and family problems, he stoically soldiers on. As a documentary, the film succeeds admirably. We see this man robbed of his destiny, and watch as he explains his half-hearted efforts to regain some sort of balance between what he was, and what he has become. However, the film's special effects are cheesy, but actually add to the representation of a man stuck firmly in a meager existence. Daisato's life is entirely devoid of any social support network. He visits a grandfather, but this man is suffering from dementia in a nursing home, and is in worse shape than our hero. Daisato is allowed visitation with his wife and daughter twice a year, and his 'friendships' are paid geisha girls with whom he drinks heavily. Although a comedy, BIG MAN JAPAN, is not as funny as it is poignant, and this fact makes it a cut above.