One of the best kaiju films in years
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.
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.
- JamesBallard
- Nov 16, 2005