Shin Ultraman

It continues in the style set by Shin Godzilla; that is, a procedural satire that can weave in the bureaucratic processes of government institutions as well as paying retro homage to classic kaiju battles. The first half hour actually could work as a direct sequel to that film, it has the same “viewer unfriendly” static overhead shots of people sitting at computers (one sentence shot from the floor, with a blurry office chair taking up most of the frame and only the top corner containing the object of interest, followed by a cut to the next sentence to a shot as if under a monitor in front of a keyboard, etc.). In the second plane, kaiju battles, with seemingly awful CGI effects, but following in the footsteps of the classics with models and costumed dudes. But from the end of the second Ultraman appearance onwards it goes downhill, unless you are a die-hard Ultraman fanboy. If, like me, you're not, it will turn into a childishly naive episode from the original Doctor Who about aliens playing with planet Earth, secret organizations, nature, governments; and it’s boring. In fact, if it wasn't for the opening half hour, it would be more likely that Higuchi is not up to the task without Anna. Thus the fault lies purely with the uninitiated viewer, who lacks the context for proper fan appreciation. (06.08.2023)