Reviews

A LOVE STORY THAT WILL LINGER IN YOUR HEAD FOR SOME TIME

The film itself is a masterpiece but we shouldn't overlook those who carried this film, Edward and Tseng, they conveyed multiple emotions that a person like me can relate to. It's sentimental, not to mention, it's based on the real life story of the Director himself. This will be my forever Roman empire because of its cinematography and topic that is considered a taboo in that era. There are a lot of what ifs and should have's but it did have a bittersweet ending (atleast in the movie :<<). Hoping to have another movie that casts the two Male Leads cause this one short film is not enough for me. I want more of them!!! make it happen Juseyoooooo

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"Tired? Too bad!"

Billy Chong teamed up with Simon Yuen in a thinly disguised Drunken Master/Snake in the Eagle's Shadow copy though lacking the drinking. This time the chosen styles were Shadow Eagle's Claw vs the Double Phoenix Eyes! No secret books or lists, just good old-fashioned revenge for a father's murder.

His name was Ah Wen, they killed his father, and they would have several years to prepare to die! Ah Wen knew no kung fu and agreed to work at a dubious kung fu school in exchange for being taught. This male Cinderella never had time to learn kung fu because he was relegated to the never-ending chores in the kitchen. Luckily for him, Chang King Sang, the cook, was secretly a kung fu master who was in hiding from a gang of bad guys. After many “hilarious” encounters, Chang agrees to train Ah Wen. Ah Wen is confronted by the baddies, beaten and questioned, and let loose so that there could be another training montage.

Crystal Fist aka Jade Claw had a paper and worn thin plot. The humor was just as gaunt despite repeated tries to emulate Jackie Chan’s early movies. The strength of the film lie in the training montages and the fights. Three Yuens-Corey, Brandy, and Shun Yi along with Chin Yuet Sang choreographed the fights. The comic relief baddies played by Addy Sung and Brandy Yuen had a cool trick move when they teamed up. Some of the fights and training montages were better than others. The finale when Billy brought his fists to a sword fight was creative. Billy Chong only made around ten kung fu movies in the Golden Age but I always enjoy watching him fight. He was quick and agile and never kept his shirt on for long. Where the movie faltered was in the villain department. Chu Tit Wo was not a formidable or memorable bad guy. Chan’s movies in the same vein had charismatic and high kicking Hwang Jang Lee to bring a proper menace for the good guy to be pitted against. Simon Yuen wore the same scruffy wig and basically played the same character as he did in the other two movies. The wig helped camouflage the stuntman for the more complex and acrobatic moves. I don’t usually compare movies, but when moviemakers go out of their way to copy someone else, it’s going to happen.

Billy Chong brought his mischievous smile and quick moves to play against Simon Yuen’s wise, playful, gray wigged master. Even if his character was a retread from other films, I’m happy after 300+ movies of often being relegated to playing bit parts that the Yuen patriarch finally had a signature role to call his own before his untimely passing one year after this movie came out. Crystal Fist wasn’t a great or even classic kung fu flick but it did have entertaining moments.

2 Jan 2024

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mildly disappointed, but did enjoy

I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it and to be honest, it was very lovely and simple- if only the writing had been as good as the overall set up was.

The first half of the movie was brilliant- childhood friends, a dubious friendship-toeing the line of romance and a less conventional ending when the female lead marries someone else- all established to the audience within the first fifty minutes or so. The humour slapped, I loved the characters and their dynamic, but after the first hour everything goes very quickly downhill.

I feel that although that at the end of the movie the overall message was "we experienced good times and that all that matters" it wasn't really developed upon and carried through the movie. I felt a huge disconnect with the characters on screen, especially Xu Yi and Gao Xiaonan, the movie very rarely disclosed any of their thoughts and I honestly felt that there was very little growth in the characters. Xu Yi mainly just narrated what had happened during the years as opposed to really reflecting on what he felt or understood from those moments. Like him settling for Xiao Yuan, or his move from entertainment news to documentary- which clearly had a huge impact on his identity and his self worth.

This problem of lacking a main central message also carried through to the way Xu Yi and Xiaonan's relationship developed. I feel like the movie could have been better if you could see a clear progression their friendship develop and grow until it tipped onto the edge of romance followed by a big blow up where everything ends. Instead, a romantic relationship between the male and female lead was consistently implied from the outset to the end, which to me, further muddied the arc.

However my biggest ick of the movie was the scene where Xu Yi and Xiaonan have their second big disagreement when Xu Yi walks in on Xiaonan and her ex boyfriend. The scene to me felt like should have been the climax of the movie, but because this cycle of almost being together as friends or more or anything and then splitting apart and being too scared to say anything about their emotions had happened literally so many times it just didn't feel significant at all. It just felt like another tangle in the knot of plot-points. Furthermore, the fact that this blow-up (like many of the other unfortunate events in this movie) was caused by a misunderstanding is just utterly bewildering to me. Xu Yi's behaviour here was also so out of character, up until now he seemed to be very open with his emotions and his avoidant behaviour made no sense to me- it honestly just felt like a piece of lazy writing- the only reason why this argument even occurred was simply because the people writing it decided it would.

In short, the movie was a lovely and fun watch but ultimately I was left wanting more substance. The ending to me was very abrupt and underdeveloped- Xu Yi's acceptance of Xiaonan marrying someone else was hardly explored. I also wish the overall plot was a little more streamlined and we were given in depth insight into the development of the character's thoughts and feelings- such as more reflective voice-overs from Xu Yi, who despite being presented as the main character from the start felt as alien as the more major side characters. Maybe more time spent on exploring the characters and less on repetitive plot points would have done the movie some good.

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Stranger Things, but darker, grittier, and bloodier.

Ko Ja Yoon is a fascinating main character, and she makes the film intriguing despite the world-building being sort of thin and the plot being generally predictable. I think the most impressive thing is that nobody in this film is stupid. When strangers are creepy and weird, characters — both side and main ones — recognize it and act accordingly. It was refreshing.

In fact, I'm pretty impressed with the more down-to-earth elements of this film actually; the dynamic between KJY and her family and friends were really interesting, and I want to give a special shout-out to Go Minsi, who really sold her role as the spunky best friend.

On the other hand, while Kim Dami and Choi Wooshik have fantastic chemistry together — the fight scene between them is one of the best moments in the film — I feel like I didn't feel fully convinced by the main scientist or the other "powered" people. Going back to the thin world-building, I think the environment of the government facility, the motivations of the people in charge, and the backstory of other experimented people were just not altogether there.

Overall, it's still a quick, engaging watch and I can see why it got so popular.

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A fine jumping on point for the uninitiated

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.

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Open your eyes to the unbelievable

The Multiverse of Madness we deserved. The way this movie is so unapologetic in its portrayal of hope out of hopelessness from its cast of characters is simply beautiful, I can't help but love it unconditionally.

On July 17, 1966, best friends Daigo Madoka, Shin Asuka, and Gamu Takayama watch the first broadcast Ultraman television series at Daigo's house. They are inspired to grow up and do great things. 30 years later, the three have forgotten their childhood passion for Ultraman and dreams while continuing their lives as normal civilians. With aliens threatening the utter annihilation of Earth and Daigo experiencing mysterious visions, Ultraman may just provide the key to saving the entirety of mankind.

It does feel odd that despite Ultraman Mebius and Mirai Hibino being the then-current Ultra brother and host on TV at the time, the film instead opts to tell the events from the point of view of Daigo Madoka, the human host for Ultraman Tiga. I'm not complaining mind you. It's great to see what is currently Hiroshi Nagano's final appearance in the franchise and he does so with true style and an unshakeable charm. The first four Ultraman protagonists return in maturer mentor roles yet still get to do the job they started all those years ago, seriously Susumu Kurobe, Kohji Moritsugu, Jiro Dan and Keiji Takamine are all excellent in and out of the suits. It's just a treat for the long-time fans and a beautiful cap-off for the TDG trio.

This was until recently the highest-grossing entry of the entire Ultra franchise, being overtaken by Shin Ultraman very quickly. You can see why this film made the money it did, combining a love for both the Showa and Heisei eras and showcasing the best of both worlds. I have to hand it to director Takeshi Yagi, a Heisei Ultra veteran, for crafting this film in such an exquisite way, the direction, compositing and set pieces are all top-notch and cleanly executed to the highest standards, the CGI work especially which is usually a low point for these productions looks divine. The suitmation work is just consistently beautiful but the final act is where it all comes together seeing all of the Ultra brothers fighting side by side onscreen with some seriously tense emotional stakes just hits the nail on the head.

I take my hat off most of all to writer Keiichi Hasegawa, whose name I'm more than familiar with; penning the likes of GMK, the first two Heisei Gamera films, SSSS.Gridman and numerous episodes of other Ultra shows, including my beloved Tiga. What he has crafted here however is perhaps one of his finest works. The dialogue oozes charm and sophistication in a way that only Tokusatsu can deliver, the right balance of cheesy and serious, hope and cynicism, nostalgic connections and undying charm. There wasn't a moment that went by where I didn't have a smile on my face, it's the type of fan service and nostalgia done right, not for the sake of it being there but for delivering a movie that utilises them to great effect and analyses why we have such affection for them.

The movie deconstructs the character's admiration for the ideal of hope rooted in their consumption of fantasy entertainment. How the nostalgia we have for the content we consume at a younger age has the ability to inspire us and hold us back when we are older. How our perception of the world is warped by the fantasy we desire in the world. The fantasy that we continue to search for in the world to help guide us. Doing so causes one to forget about the lessons of consistency through perseverance as a means of remembrance. Remembering what inspired an individual to develop their current meaningful connections.

The music by Toshihiko Sahashi fits the tone of the movie perfectly. Another veteran of the franchise but not without his other merits, composing for Toei's Kamen Rider series as well as the Gundam franchise. His style of composition is richly symphonic and classical with the occasional use of jazz, it plays off older themes of the series but restrains using them in their entirety outright. Sort of like how Bill Conti composed the music for For Your Eyes Only in a way. The keyboard-heavy symphonic score just fits so well with the sense of hope this movie brings.

42 years' worth of world-building leads to one of the most heartfelt love letters to a series you could ever ask for. Even for a relative Ultra series novice like myself, you can really feel the love and passion for this series throughout the movie, never relenting and never giving up its hope for the future. Old friends and foes get new and fresh redesigns that give the kaiju a huge air of menace, with the old Ultramen having never looked so good.

Overall, Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers is a full love letter to the series that encapsulates what Ultraman represents as a whole. It reinforces the power of faith and dreams in a way that's totally unlike any film I've seen in a while. I love it to pieces.

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A perfect extended ending

The Final Odyssey could have very easily screwed up what is already a perfect ending to a series, but this bridge between the outgoing Tiga and incoming Dyna packs the same emotional core and incredible storytelling that made Tiga one of the best Ultra shows, to begin with.

Two years after the events of 'Ultraman Tiga', Daigo is forced to pick up another Dark Spark Lens in an attempt to stop three evils the once, dark Tiga worked with 30 million years ago, to stop destruction in Japan once and for all.

Everything about The Final Odyssey is bigger, badder and sleeker; the elongated runtime and larger budget that is afforded thanks to this being a feature-length movie mean everything is to the highest standard, top-notch in its design and execution. The widescreen presentation allows for an impressive variation of shots and set pieces, director Hirochika Muraishi outdid himself with this. It's gorgeous to look at through and through. The underwater fight between Tiga and Darramb is incredible but only equally matched by the final showdown against Camearra (I'll get to her in a moment) and the suitmation is very clean although I'm not majorly fond of the digital effects used to transform Camearra into darkness at the very end.

Seeing how much our cast has changed since the finale of Tiga, the relationship and impending wedding of Daigo and Rena make for a great personal motivation for the duo. Daigo's hesitation and self-doubt manifest in his desire to save the world one more time with Rena supporting and trusting him nearly every step of the way. Their decision to take up arms again is met with this gorgeous little sequence of minimal dialogue accompanied by an excellent musical score and dynamic camera. The chemistry between Hiroshi Nagano and Takami Yoshimoto is on full display here and you are totally engrossed in their story. The rest of the GUTS squad are all on fine form even if they aren't the starring party this time around but does serve as an equally nice introduction to the eventual successors making a big splash near the end.

With all the strength in its character writing, it's the film's villains that bring a fresh perspective to The Final Odyssey. We've seen Evil Tiga in the TV show and although he was only limited to the second half of a two-parter, Three ultimately evil Ultra's make the impact needed to give the film a world-ending and indeed universe-ending threat. Camearra, Darramb, and Hudra are all equally memorable for a multitude of reasons, but it's with Camearra where the real antagonist lies. Tiga's former lover from a bygone era, all the credit goes to actress Miyoko Yoshimoto for carrying that amount of sass and power into her suit performance as well. Catch me simping for her on an off day.

The excellent musical score from Tiga is carried over and Tatsumi Yano provides some equally beautiful new material as well as some repurposed older material from the show. Opening with Brave Love Tiga was an inspired choice accompanying the montage of notable moments from the TV show before beautifully transitioning into the film. Of course, the use of Take Me Higher is relegated to the end credits but as it always does, it makes an impact.

Overall, Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey is a beautiful epilogue to Tiga as a whole, it sends our beloved characters off with gorgeous style.

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Arigato, Ultraman

I genuinely couldn't wait for a second longer in viewing this, I've been so excited for its release for so long that when some heroes leaked it to the internet during October I was over the moon, yet equally annoyed due to the fact I was already dedicated to Spooky Season at the time. But finally, my time has come and Shin Ultraman is everything I hoped it would be and more.

As the threat of giant unidentified lifeforms known as "S-Class Species" worsens in Japan and just when the JSDF and SSSP are pushed to the breaking point, a silver giant appears from beyond Earth's atmosphere.

In this house, we do not stand for Shinji Higuchi erasure, dude had just as much input in the creation of this as Hideaki Anno so it feels morally wrong to completely exclude him from any and all credit he deserves. This film is fucking raw and equally gorgeous, with so many shots of note but the scene of "Ultraman" standing amongst the burning ruins of a city goes hard. Also worth noting is that if you only went to see this or Shin Godzilla due to Anno's name, maybe rethink how you are approaching these movies, just saying.

There's a conscious production design decision by the duo to make Shin Ultraman look as if it was in its genesis and absolutely not concerned with reaching the modern "standards" of polished reboot looks is such a refreshing take. Shin Ultraman looks the part of a brilliant piece of tokusatsu media, a fresh reboot for a new generation and a love letter for long-time fans as both Higuchi and Anno are themselves.

Like Shin Godzilla before it, the visual effects are fantastically stylised. There's a clear love for the original designs and a clever little riff on the reuse of the Shin Godzilla CG model if you know your Ultraman. Shirō Sagisu returns as the composer for the second time, beautifully enhancing the original works of Kunio Miyauchi while adding in works left unused from both Shin Godzilla and of course, fucking Evangelion.

There's so much to be said about the overwhelming success of this film, for a time the highest-grossing film of 2022 in Japan alone and currently sitting at the most commercially successful Ultraman film beating out my beloved Superior 8 Ultra Brothers. It stands tall as one of the finest examples of both a reboot and a piece of Ultraman media, although perhaps not as tall as Brave Love Tiga.

The film doesn't really want to spend time with the politics of its predecessor, as Higuchi has stated in interviews "if we just did the same thing, it's kind of pointless". More power to the man, but the film isn't without a small political commentary on the Japanese government and how they would delineate a situation like this.

There's a little commentary on humanity's place in the universe, and whether we've proven ourselves worthy of continuing as a species. This messaging isn't always elegantly executed but, like so much of the film, it's presented with such enthusiastic sincerity that it's hard to resist. The world may sometimes be a terrible, frightening place, but Shin Ultraman argues that a little decency can still go a long way. I fucking love it, roll on Shin Kamen Rider!

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Pulpy Comic Book fiction done right

While he left our beloved Shinji Higuchi to handle directing duties on Shin Ultraman, Anno focused his efforts on Shin Kamen Rider and it's very much cut from the same cloth as its predecessors. Fast, stylish, cartoony and oh-so-charming, it opens with action and never slows down, not even afraid to fully embrace the camp and horrific qualities of its source material.

I'll admit this is the tokusatsu property I am least familiar with (at the time of writing I've seen ZO, J, Shin Prologue and, more substantially, Den-O and Fuuto PI), but even to a more casual fan of the series, you can easily follow what is ultimately re-imaged episodes of the original show stitched together into a movie. I'm yet to watch the original but the number of side-by-sides I was seeing on Twitter after clips of it were leaked, shows that Anno really does take pride in his childhood influences.

Hyped stylised like the previous Shin movies, there's some very overbearing and pretty redundant CGI in places where practical effects would have been preferable and even cheaper, but it fits the same tone and energy of its predecessors. Anno's direction is great and features the same variety of angles and strange composition choices that make these so visually engaging. The hyper-choreographed fight scenes also help immensely, unafraid to go all the way to 11 with squishy violence.

With regular Anno collaborator Shirō Sagisu committed to Shin Ultraman, in steps Anime composer Taku Iwasaki and boy, does he do a stand-up job. I'm definitely gonna have to get the soundtrack to this the moment it's released, so many styles of music all coming together in a seamless blend of beauty.

While I ultimately feel that Shin Ultraman is the best of these Shin movies so far, Shin Kamen Rider is a very close second. Anno goes hell for leather here, amounting to a beautiful love letter to one of the grandfathers of Tokusatsu, having fun but not poking fun and fully embracing his inhuman worldview he's only ever touched upon in previous movies.

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The original Kamen Rider Shin

What could have been a great deconstruction of the Kamen Rider franchise sadly falters due to its bare-bones plot, wonky writing and unlikable stock character archetypes. It's one of the only Kamen Rider productions to feature direct creative input from the original creator, Shotaro Ishinomori, the film takes a large amount of influence from the original manga run as well as Kamen Rider BLACK's manga.

The film was intended as a treat for more adult fans of Ishinomori's original works by Ishinomori himself but due to his death in 1998, the series planned to continue the story of this prologue never developed leaving Shin in a weird limbo of existence. The problems presented in this film could have easily been ironed out had it been given the chance but the final product is extremely stiff and somewhat bland compared to the likes of ZO which would release the next year.

I'll be honest, I like a lot of this film's production aspects, the music is frankly brilliant and it is that nice transitional period between the synth-heavy 80s and hard rock 90s; the gore and practical effects are simply top-notch with a seriously gnarly transformation sequence almost like it was ripped from a Cronenberg film with a design of the titular character being equally Cronenberg-esque.

Overall, the film is a curious example of when early 90's visceral science fiction met a classic Tokusatsu franchise. Still worth watching but with tempered expectations.

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Love a bit of Amemiya

Given that Shin Kamen Rider is coming out next year, I really needed to dive into another of the big three Tokusatsu shows and this was usually the one pointed to as one of the best entry points of the franchise, Kamen Rider ZO is another fantastic film by Keita Amemiya that I can check off my watchlist. ZO feels like the by-product of what would happen if you threw Sam Raimi and Shinya Tsukamoto into a blender together, it's kinetic filmmaking and highly disturbing design that would give even someone like Guillermo del Toro nightmares. Brilliantly shot, written, scored, staged and acted, this is one of the best 48-minute-long films I've ever seen and has me eager to explore more.

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The missing link

Legend of the Stars feels like that missing link between Heisei Godzilla and Heisei Gamera, striking an otherworldly and transcendental balance in re-imagining Ultra Q for a whole new generation and who better to helm it than the franchise's most unique voice, Akio Jissoji. Legend of the Stars could realistically be considered the 2001 of the tokusatsu genre, mainly because this movie is pretty much a metaphysical examination of existence in a similar vein to Kubrick's film, just way more dialogue-heavy. It doesn't always hold together but Jissoji's visualisation is greater than the sum of its shakey parts, his direction and camera work are constantly engaging and ever-shifting with no two shots being the same. Combining aspects of Japanese mythology and a sci-fi mystery, Legend of the Stars is very much worthy of your attention even if you haven't seen the original show, it just drags its feet towards the end as if struggling to fill time and you'll have to put up with some substandard DVD mastering if you want to see it, it's crying out for an HD release. Come on Tsuburaya! Do it!

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So much hair

One of the better kaiju throwbacks I've seen in recent years, Geharha: The Dark and Long-Haired Monster owes a lot to the bigger name franchises containing a wealth of references and homages interspaced amidst its quirky camp. A short made-for-TV production by one of the more prolific modern Ultraman directors, Kiyotaka Taguchi, barely clocking in at 20 minutes in length, it's a fabulous little gem. The effects are a charming mix of old-school tokusatsu techniques and hilariously low-brow CGI which often add to the short's comedic value. While the stock library of music from the late Akira Ifukube fits quite nicely, Geharha is over just as it really starts to get going, leaving you wanting more and ripe for expansion in a feature-length presentation.

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