Ultraman: Rising (2024)

Ultraman:-Rising-(2024)
Ultraman: Rising

Children are focal points of attention; however, they are not the main attractions of “Ultraman: Rising,” the latest animated superhero fantasy film featuring the stock character of young children lost and looking for their parents, a type first made famous by Pixar. However, it treads a different path (though at a somewhat predictable pace) than “Shin Ultraman,” the latest titular offering showcasing the 58-year-old superhero. “Shin Ultraman” could best be described as a modern and more futuristic version of the original “Ultraman” series and its episodic nature. “Ultraman: Rising” has a different approach and appears to target non-adult audiences who do not care much about the character’s past renditions. This is not the difference that is quite essential or worrying, although in this case, the feeling is sometimes frustration because so much of this stale new movie’s focus on daddy issues draws from poorly-written animated films of the last thirty years.

This new incarnation of Ultraman is a much more angsty hero who, like all heroes, needs room. To become strong, he needs to step away from his domestic issues, his anger with his father, and the absence of his mother, along with the responsibility of taking care of a baby dragon monster. He Kinda knows she is a baby but does not understand the world and is amusing to look at with his cute design but does not talk or have a personality except for his odd temper and design. He is also not that charismatic in this new format of ultras because he has an average family and mundane problems. That was never exactly a selling point of Ultra, but he still is great to look at when fighting off the monsters, robots, aliens, and everything else that comes to mind with a battle.

Christopher Sean portrays Ken Sato in the film, who on a few occasions moonlights as Ultraman. Ken attempts to balance his career as an MLB player with that of his calling, which is that of a monster hunter. For quite some time, Ken is characterized by his cockiness, although that and several other traits seem to only come into play when the storyline is in desperate need of an additional burst of energy. Khole’s overbearing dad, Professor Sato, is eschewed by his son as he has developed a complex against him for failing to shield his mother, who is first seen alive at the beginning of the movie. In that opening flashback, Sato tells Ken that everything has to have its limits in order for the person to be called a hero. This role is thrust on Ken, who, with the assistance of his cyborg babysitter, Mina, nurtures a baby kaiju, Emi, found soon after Gigantron was defeated. This brings Ken into conflict with Dr. Onda (Keone Young), who is the tough, generic, and slightly militaristic head of the Kaiju Defense Force.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that is true for Ken who does not even bother picking up his father’s calls or giving a polite response to an intrusive yet sweet journalist Ami Wakita (played by Julia Harriman) a single mother of a little girl who is obsessed with Ultraman. Ken, however, is in the arms of Lady Ami who gets him to the right path. On the other hand, James Mina is more of a nanny to both Emi and Kim. And then there comes Dad but only in the end when he has to save Ultraman from the psychologically heavy role.

The fundamental differences between Mihoshi and Emi can be stretched further, Emi considers Ultraman to be her mother and has developed an odd and obsessive attachment to it. She enjoys activities like grimy vomiting as well as “poopies” and combusting gas. These are gifted film writers who let jokes like these come quite easily. The screenplay for this movie consists primarily of weird plot devices and unoriginal scripts.

The creators of “Ultraman: Rising” tried their best to appeal to different audiences which is especially evident in scenes featuring Ken. Some of his lines are out of context, or out of character for the rest of the movie, such as this example where Ken says, “Is this the place where a hidden villain force that we didn’t know about is sent?” (Yes, it is.) Elsewhere, we wonder why one of the Ken-centered pictures features the indelibly Australian-sounding Sex Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant” on its soundtrack. (Why?)

At least Emi seems to have some intelligence in her actions, but given her vague physical movements and similar hyper-expressive facial features, sculpture arts are decidedly not her strong suit. The voice actors in the movie try their best to add life to their characters but in doing so, they are still limited in such regards by their clumsy placeholder lines such as: “Someday, when you have kids of your own, you’ll understand.”

Fortunately, there is no need to worry as “Ultraman: Rising” does nervously grumble. This appears to be during the scenes where its titular hero is onscreen as it seems to fit perfectly. It seems like a lot of pressure has been lifted off the movie’s talented animators because the feature of the movie is a dorsal-finned alien from the Land of Light.

In terms of the filmmakers’ creativity, it also seems easier to focus on the interactions of these superhuman giants rather than how they emote or what motivates them.

For all its other flaws, it is hard to overemphasize how much “Ultraman: Rising” failed to portray what it means to be a parent or at least an adult who has more than one job to do. It is enjoyable if somewhat boring, in its all-monsters-attack mode, but “Ultraman: Rising” does not impress whenever the attentiveness of the viewer is required.

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