Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Ultraman X: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 14, 2020

Mill Creek has released 2016's 'Ultraman X: The Movie' both individually (this release) and as part of a boxed set with Ultraman X: The Series (which can be found here). The discs are identical across both releases, so there's no reason to make this purchase if one is also buying the six-disc set that includes the TV Series. See below for a review of the film and the disc's technical contents.

Three's a crowd...except in 'Ultraman.'

Official synopsis: When reality TV host Carlos Kurozaki breaks into a mysterious underground pyramid for a television event, he removes a special gem...and unwittingly releases a diabolical monster called Zaigorg! The evil creature wants Kurozaki's gem, so it spawns an army of giant monsters to get it! It's up to the combined strength of superheroes Ultraman X, Ultraman Tiga, and the original Ultraman (premiered from Tsuburaya Productions' 1966 TV show of the same name) to stop the worldwide monster war!

The film was created both in conjunction with the TV Series of the same name and also as part of a larger 50th anniversary franchise celebration. It holds the distinction as the first Ultraman feature film to release theatrically in the United States. Additionally, the film's inclusion of the original Ultraman character further elevates it in canonical prominence beyond its otherwise crude essential story beats, which are not particularly engaging and which lend to the film more of an extended episode feel rather than something unique for a feature film setting. The basic layout is the same: monsters rise and Ultraman X, and here along with some friends (including Tiga, that character's series not yet available on Blu-ray), rises to the challenge against them. The film returns the gaggle of Xio characters in supporting roles, each earning a few good moments, but the film certainly, and rightly, and expectedly, places its focus on the Ultra-Kaiju battles which are spectacular but not particularly above and beyond the call of duty of a normal Ultraman X episode.

The film is admittedly fun insofar as it's strictly adherent to the formula. It's franchise comfort food that is so closely tied to the series with which it shares a name that begins with the same beginning flashback sequence that starts the TV show, telling the story of the Spark Dolls, Xio, Daichi, and Ultraman X. The cast gives no drastically improved effort, and neither do the VFX teams; there's nothing here to make this a distinctly "movie" experience beyond its runtime. That's something of a disappointment, but it's also rather expected. Ultraman isn't particularly known for pushing boundaries but rather redrawing its established lines, progressing forward but holding fast to what made the series a success in the first place. It inches rather than leaps forward, and in the case of this movie, as taut as its action might be and as consequential as its story may be within the larger Ultraman universe, it's content to otherwise play it safe and deliver sturdy and familiar B-grade entertainment in a slightly longer format.

Ultraman X: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ultraman X: The Movie's 1080p video transfer is in every way the same as the TV series counterpart: digital source, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, and the same problem areas of sporadic noise, light banding and compression artifacts, and occasional examples of aliasing along some of the edges of the digital effects. The picture is sharp and highly detailed in the aggregate, delivering a steady stream of impressively refined human facial features and intricate costume design elements that showcase material construction -- the good and the bad, the quasi-extravagant and the not-so-pristine -- with great clarity. Likewise, the practical environments shine, particularly Xio headquarters and various locales out in the real world, including the cave in which Carlos discovers the gem. The highlight, unsurprisingly and as it so often is within the entire Ultraman prism on Blu-ray, are the Ultra and Kaiju costumes. Close-up are beautifully detailed, revealing the suits in all their rubbery goodness, the Ultra costumes more streamlined and familiarly manufactured and the Kaiju costumes resplendently clear and offering intimate access to all of the intricate details the production design team has built into each one. Scaly skin, various tentacles and horns, eyes of various shapes and sizes, all variety of Kaiju content shines throughout the film.

Colors are impressively deep and nicely nuanced. The classic Ultraman tones, and some new ones, present with quality dazzle and delight. Several scenes are veritable light shows, occurring during some of the high point Ultra actions, and the screen explodes with a barrage of balanced, brilliant tones that stand as arguably the most intensive color outburst the show has seen. Various battle scenes deliver a myriad of practical and digitally manufactured colors, and costumes and environments both showcase high yield hues. Black levels are fairly strong with only a modest push towards a lighter shade. Flesh tones, meanwhile, appear full and natural. Another job well done by the Ultraman team at Mill Creek.

Ultraman X: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ultraman X: The Movie's native Japanese DTS-HD Master 2.0 lossless soundtrack is practically a master class of two-channel audio engineering. Like the TV series it essentially matches, it's exuberant and energetic, taking full advantage of every inch of real estate afforded to it, bolstered by plenty of want-to and can-do in delivering a rather satisfying listen in total. Rather than restrained by its two speaker engagement, the track is instead aggressively spaced and highly detailed, wether engaged music, action effects, or the combination thereof. The track plays more expansive than it is actually is, delivering frequently engaging and seamless spacing of various fast-moving effects as well as prominent lower end content that, even without the benefit of a subwoofer channel, tend to find plenty of depth for effect as it's called upon. Action scenes are delightfully chaotic and play very large. Lighter atmospherics are often subtle but certainly nicely integrated. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. Imaging to the center is just about seamless.

One of the interesting adds to this release is the inclusion of an English dub soundtrack which is not included with the series. Technically, it's pretty much identical to the Japanese track; there's no loss of any of that spacing and aggression. Most fans will probably want to stick to the original language, but there's no shortchanging the larger sound field with the dubbed presentation.

Ultraman X: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ultraman X: The Movie contains no supplemental content. For this standalone release, Mill Creek has bundled in a MovieSpree digital copy code. No DVD and no slipcover are included.

Ultraman X: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ultraman X: The Movie hardly leaps off the screen as anything remotely special but it's not without value. It holds a place in franchise history for its U.S. theatrical release -- the first for a film in the Ultraman franchise -- as well as its inclusion of the original Ultraman character. Unfortunately everything else is typical franchise fodder, a classic Tsuburaya paint-by-numbers production that will satisfy, but not overly dazzle, veteran viewers. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray does deliver high end video and audio presentations. This individual release is difficult to recommend considering that it's also bundled in with the TV series boxed set which isn't priced significantly higher to begin with. The movie itself is worth checking output hough, and the Blu-ray is just fine in either package.