Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Shin Ultraman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 8, 2023

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 actually spends as much time with the ragtag group of people known as the SSP Kaiju Defense Force as it does with our title hero. That said, there's an effort to, if not offer an "origin story", provide some background on the enigmatic silver mutant, and in fact once all the Kaiju mayhem has abated, the story actually moves into more of a "personal" tale involving Ultraman and his destiny.

The film has some blatantly ridiculous CGI, along with a number of kind of gonzo practical effects, with the overall ambience feeling kind of lunatic and unkempt. There's a probably needless attempt to tug at heartstrings along the way, when really my hunch is most people are going to come to this enterprise to see Ultraman blast the living you know what out of various marauding Kaiju.

Shin Ultraman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.

Shin Ultraman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Shin Ultraman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:23)


• Slideshow (HD; 2:51)

Additionally, trailers for other releases from Cleopatra Entertainment are offered.

Shin Ultraman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.