7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.7 |
After the accidental death of a human during battle, Ultraman takes on the man's appearance and place at the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol to protect Earth from further threats.
Starring: Takumi Saitô, Masami Nagasawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Akari Hayami, Koji Yamamoto (I)Foreign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 39% |
Action | 4% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Shin Ultraman is the latest iteration in two franchises, one rather old, at least by pop cultural standards, and the other newer and still developing. As any fan of Japanese television will tell you, Ultraman: The Complete Series debuted way back in the "Dark Ages" of the mid sixties, and has gone on to provide several generations now with somewhat goofy adventures. Ultraman is, however, just the latest "update" to be offered by the so-called Shin Japan Heroes Universe, a rather interesting concatenation of four former (and maybe in other contexts continuing) competitors in Japan's entertainment industry, in a union that might be like DC and Marvel suddenly teaming up with Pixar and Paramount to offer "new, improved" versions of franchises that have delighted audiences for decades. So far the SJHU has offered Shin Godzilla and Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time (the latter not quite out on Blu-ray yet as this review is being written), with Shin Kamen Rider out in theaters but not yet announced for home video markets.
Shin Ultraman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cleopatra Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While the closing credits list only the Alexa Amira, the IMDb has a virtual glut of cameras which were utilized (including an iPhone), which may account for a somewhat heterogenous appearance, as well as occasional quirks in the visuals. The bulk of this presentation is really commendably sharp and well detailed, if also awfully flat and dimensionless looking. The CGI elements tend to be rather variant in quality, and as perhaps should be expected given that one of SJHU's contributing studios is animation giant Khara, kind of "cartoonish" looking at times. The fact that Ultraman is so sleek and metallic deprives images of him from offering any substantial fine detail, but that is counterweighed by some good texturing on some of the Kaiju as well as good support for the live action detail levels. There are occasional anomalies with green screen material that evidently either weren't caught or fixed in post.
I've been on my own little soapbox about how head scratching it is that Cleopatra doesn't include lossy audio on its Blu-ray releases, and that's only more of an issue with a film like this which exploits so much surround activity and booming LFE in the action sequences. Yes, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track offers secure immersion and good fidelity, but I'm sure there are other audiophiles out there who would echo my wish that a "perfect world" release of this film would have included lossless audio.
I actually got a kick out of Shin Ultraman, even though I was never that big of a fan of the original series and have certainly not kept up with the manifold other offerings in the franchise. Video is generally excellent, but once again Cleopatra offers only lossy audio, an especially troubling decision given this film's bombastic soundtrack. With that one potentially major caveat in mind, Recommended.
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