Ultraman (2004)

Ultraman (2004)
aka Ultraman: The Next
Article 6089 from Dave Sindelar
Directed by Kazuya Konaka
Featuring Tetsuya Bessho, Kyoko Toyama, Ken’ya Ohsumi
Country: Japan
What it is: More Ultraman vs monster action

A retired jet pilot for the military is kidnapped by his own military organization out of fear that, like a colleague, he may transform into a monster. However, the pilot turns into Ultraman to do battle with the monster.

This movie was made around the same time “Ultraman Nexus” was on TV, but outside of borrowing one monster from the series, they aren’t connected. It feels like a fairly ordinary origin episode, and it often feels as if it takes an unusually long time to get around to the action. It tries for poignancy but doesn’t really deliver, and considering the complex turns the TV series was taking, this take on the Ultraman story is a bit tired and dull.

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Santo and the Vengeance of the Mummy (1971)

Santo and the Vengeance of the Mummy (1971)
Article 6088 by Dave Sindelar
Directed by Rene Cardona
Featuring Santo, Eric del Castillo, Mary Montiel
Country: Mexico
What it is: Mexican Wrestler in Scooby-Doo territory

Santo is part of a group that raids an ancient crypt and finds himself under the mummy’s curse. Can his wrestling moves prevail against such an opponent?

Before I start in the ‘review proper’, I’d like to recount a scene from this movie. In the tomb, there is a path where the explorers go through a hole in the wall and climb down some rocks. We see the first explorer do this. Then we see the second explorer do this. Then the third. Then the fourth, then the….. and finally, the last. This sequence exists in its full glory in the middle of the film.

Now about the movie. The mummy make-up is actually pretty good in this one, and it’s nice to encounter one with energy and gusto rather than one who plods until his victim falls into his arms. Even given that we’re in Scooby-Doo territory a little here, I’d like to see more of this monster, who even offs his victims with bow and arrow. So why don’t we? Don’t tell me they would have to have had cut important scenes to fit more mummy activity into the movie, because if you do, I’ll just point you to the previous paragraph and ask you whether that scene was vital to the story.

There’s some other good points here and there to this one, such as the way that the final extraneous wrestling match actually has a nice parallel to the ending of the “movie “. But the movie is hard to recommend when it features scenes of such committed tedium as the one described above.

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Ultraman Cosmos vs Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003)

Ultraman Cosmos vs Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003)
Article 6087 by Dave Sindelar
Directed by Kitaura Shimi
Featuring Taiyo Sugiura, Daisuke Shima, Kaori Sakagami
Country: Japan
What it is: Ultraman in epic mode

When Ultraman Cosmos comes to the rescue of a beleaguered space center, Ultraman Justice shows up and turns against him, helping his foes destroy the center. It turns out a huge cosmic being has condemned the human race to death and Ultraman Justice has joined the cause. Is Earth doomed?
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This is the third of what I can definitely call the Ultraman Cosmos movie trilogy. It takes place several years after the last movie. Though the Eyes organization has been modified, all of the familiar characters show up (including several monsters) and in fact, though he is the center of the story, Musashi is mostly absent throughout the middle of the movie. This one really tries to bet big, with more difficult challenges, lots of fighting and destruction, and the inevitable scenes where we think it’s all over only to have the filmmakers pull another magic rabbit out of the hat. I commend the movie’s ambition, but after a while it just gets exhausting, and I find myself preferring the TV shows for their relative modesty.

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Ultraman Cosmos 2: The Blue Planet (2002)

Ultraman Cosmos 2: The Blue Planet (2002)
Article 6086 by Dave Sindelar
Directed by Tsugumi Kitaura
Featuring Taiyo Sugiura, Daisuke Shima, Kaori Sakagami
Country: Japan
What it is: Ultraman sequel

Musashi discovers the existence of a deadly outer-space monster who lays entire planets to waste. When it arrives, will he be able to call on the resources of Ultraman Cosmos?

The second of the Ultraman Cosmos movies has a whole series before it; it takes place after the series has ended. Our Musashi this time is the one from the series, and his cohorts pop in, although fairly late in the proceedings. The mood is much more serious this time, and the final monster is one of the most destructive I’ve seen for this series; he lays waste to a fairly sizable area, but if I read what I’ve seen correctly, apparently Ultraman Cosmos can heal architecture, which should make the destruction a little less painful to those who want to rebuild. And the movie gives us a mystery as well; who is the strange version of Ultraman who appears at the climax, and can he be trusted. However, since the three Ultraman Cosmos movies are a trilogy of sorts, the answer should be coming in the next entry.

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Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact (2001)

Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact (2001)
Article 6085 by Dave Sindelar
Directed by Toshihiro Lijima
Featuring Hidekazu Akai, Konosuke Takai, Taro Kawano
Country: Japan
What it is: Ultraman origin story

Ultraman Cosmos comes to earth do defeat Alien Baltan, and his life is saved by a young boy named Musashi.

Being a prequel to the ULTRAMAN COSMOS series, it makes sense that only a small handful of characters from the series itself appear; namely, Musashi (as a much younger boy and so played by a child actor), Ultraman Cosmos, and Clevergon, the toy robot Musashi recovers in the series. It does seem to maintain some of the philosophical concerns of the series; namely, there is reason to believe Alien Baltan actually has some honorable intentions and is not just an evil adversary. Much of it is played for comedy; the funniest moment is discovering what weapon our heroic team of monster fighters chooses to use on the first monster that appears. All in all, this is an enjoyable entry in the series.

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Monster from Green Hell (Recycled Version) (2021)

aka Monster from British Hell

Article 6084 by Dave Sindelar

No director credited

Featuring the voices of “Legs” Larry Smith, Stephane Cornicard, Rory Barnett’

Country: UK

What it is: What’s Up, Waspie Guys?

Adventurers go on a safari and find giant wasps.

This popped up while I was browsing on Amazon Prime, and I guessed it would be either a comic redubbing or an MST3K style lampoon. It’s the former, in this case, and if the addition of four letter words to your story is part and parcel of your sense of humor, you may find this one hilarious. As for me, outside of finding about three moments that raised a giggle, it was a painful experience, even worse than the straight version of the movie. I don’t know if this is a one-shot affair or a step toward a series; if the latter, I think they need to step up their comedy game quite a bit. The only name i recognize from the voice cast is “Legs” Larry Smith, one-time member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and the guy who does the tap-dancing on Elton John’s song, “I Think I’m Gonna Kill Myself”

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