Jay Rohr
Ultraman: Rising is a flashy trip down a well-worn road. Despite some stellar animation, the tiresome storyline offers little of interest. This niche pop culture reference may appeal to devotees of the decadal franchise, but it’s hard to see fresh fans flocking to the film. Although it could entertain children for a tick or two, Ultraman: Rising doesn’t have anything to offer older viewers who have seen it all before.
The story centers on arrogant baseball superstar Ken Sato. When dangerous kaiju threaten Tokyo, he reluctantly returns home. Entering what is essentially the family business, Ken becomes Ultraman. However, his obvious disinterest in protecting the city stems from smoldering resentment towards his father. Fortunately, for better or worse, Ken gets a crash course in parenting when he inadvertently adopts a baby kaiju. Raising her helps him understand his parents’ choices as well as how to be a better person, but the evil Kaiju Defense Force is quickly closing in, hoping to use the innocent young creature for their own sinister plans.
The film is inspired by a long running Japanese sci-fi franchise. What started as the Ultra Q television show in 1966 eventually spawned films, comic books, and helped establish the Kyodai Hero subgenre. In many ways director Shannon Tindle along with writer Marc Haimes try to respect those various iterations. This is clearly the work of fans handling material they care about. Yet that reverence may have confined the final product instead of allowing it to evolve more into the modern era.
Granted, such efforts will delight folks familiar with the series. I certainly recall watching reruns of the 1966 show as well as Ultraman 80, but the nods here don’t offer much for anyone outside the fan base. Ultraman: Rising feels like watching an established series. It’s easy to imagine audiences wondering if this movie is a sequel and in a spiritual sense, I suppose it is. Although one can certainly walk in completely unfamiliar with the franchise and have no fear of getting lost, watching this movie feels a little like showing up in the middle of the story.
Perhaps that would be fine if the plot weren’t dreadfully predictable. Every punch, end credit tease, and heroic sacrifice is following an old playbook. While these plot points aren’t necessarily boring on their own, even the predictability might be passable, but Ultraman: Rising lacks sufficient emotional resonance.
Imagine How to Train Your Dragon (2010) but none of the characters have much personality or relatability. There’s little reason to like them or care about their predicaments or journeys. It’s mostly just spectacle carried by the conveyor belt of a cookie cutter plot.
Ultraman: Rising wants to be a film about balance, in nature, work, and life, while also devoting time to the complexities of parenthood, not to mention the struggle of what it means to be a hero—the self-sacrifices that put others before you. Part of the problem is the movie’s desire to tackle such themes at a breakneck pace. For instance, Ken’s journey away from arrogant all-star asshat is mostly resolved through a montage. The story is often akin to clips from a limited series rushing to the conclusion. Instead of exploring emotional moments or narrative arcs, Ultraman: Rising speeds to predictable plot points. The film almost feels insecure about its emotional moments as if the writers and director are racing away in discomfort to big dumb CGI displays rather than soaking in what could intensify the action as well as make the main characters endearing.
This might be fine if the fight scenes resulted in epic combat. However, despite having computer animation from Industrial Light & Magic, the effort to capture something reminiscent of the old TV series undermines the presentation’s potential. Though it could be said the film honors its tokusatsu heritage, the homage effort hamstrings the movie. Hints of manga influences from Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira to the Evangelion anime TV series do spice up the view, and colorful cel shading does often give off a living comic book quality. The problem, though, is that what might dazzle on a page looks lifeless on a screen. There’s little cinematic flare as director Shannon Tindle basically escorts the audience from one panel to the next.
The English language voice cast is solid. Gedde Watanabe (Mulan (1998)/Sixteen Candles (1984)) is wonderful as Professor Sato, wearied by regrets yet unflappably kind. Christopher Sean (Star Wars Resistance) manages to capture Ken’s arrogance then make him appealing as the character grows. Julia Harriman provides Ami Wakita with the steel of a hard-hitting reporter but the occasional softness of a genuinely concerned person. Meanwhile, Keone Young (Deadwood) gives Dr. Onda a sinister tone until we see the wound haunting him and his voice carries more pain than wickedness.
Unfortunately, the press screener I attended didn’t include any examples of the Japanese language performers. But be aware the option to choose them will be available to anyone watching on Netflix.
Ultraman: Rising is a colorful comic book come to life. There are occasionally some spectacular visuals courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic, but they tend to impress more as still than active images. The predictable plot would be forgivable if it carried more emotional weight, but it doesn’t. That’s a shame since the English voice cast seem more than capable of carrying that load. As such, the film doesn’t have anything to say that hasn’t been said better by other movies before.
Still, children may very well delight in the multihued vibrancy of Ultraman: Rising while their parents idle bored beside them. It is nice to see a bright superhero film as opposed to something gritty. The folks who will enjoy this, though, are fans of the franchise. Although Shannon Tindle doesn’t do anything special with the visuals or imagery, Ultraman: Rising does contain the spirit of its source material. Fans of flicks like Pacific Rim (2013) may discover a new obsession but anyone suffering from superhero fatigue can probably pass.
