Thousands of years on guard of the universe. “The Ultraman Story” was another attempt to create a full-length film about the great superheroes who protect the Earth from the attacks of monstrous monsters. This happened several times in a decade and a half, when attempts were made to create films, combining some episodes of the TV series Ultraman and other works, but all this looked inept, awkward, with any lack of plot. Of all these miniature projects, only Ultraman’s Story could stand out, whose output almost coincided with the restart of the more famous Godzilla.
Despite the name, the main character here is not actually Ultraman, but his brother Tarot. We see his path to becoming a Super Ultra Warrior from childhood to youth. From his native Ultra Star, he watches his brothers fight monsters attacking Earth. What’s surprising is that there are no human characters at all – the entire film is only seen by the people of Ultra and Kaiju. Not without copying episodes of previously released series, which translates into a difference in quality, because Tarot looks at the events shown in the series released a few years earlier.
Although the film was released in the mid-eighties, it is no longer taken seriously. Surprisingly, the full-length "Ultraman" of 1967 came out more successful, since it focused on the plot. Here we are repeatedly told through the mouth of Father Taro about the confrontation between good and evil, about good and bad monsters, and about the battle with the mega-boss Juda, who has no physical shell. It looks corny, in addition, some nagging arises to monsters. Despite the fact that almost twenty years have passed since the birth of the Ultra Universe, Kaiju have only become more ridiculous, especially new ones. Antlar, Eleking, Zemistlar, Icarus, Baltan, Emargo - they are united not only by their participation in one film, but also by their poor design of costumes. High-quality scenery does not dispel the idea that they are stuntmen in costumes, and not real monsters. Also appears here is the Hippolyte, a creature whose behavior only confirms the outward resemblance to the jester.
However, there is much to praise in the film. The new monster-robot Grand King turned out to be magnificent, in design even surpassing the Mehagozilla version of 1993. It is worth noting the charismatic voices of villains, good musical accompaniment, as well as the overall inspiring atmosphere, thanks to which you want to create something grand in the real world. “The Ultraman Story” will make a joyful impression on those who are tired of the gloomy Hollywood superhero films and want to spend an hour and a half watching a story where oppression and horror are excluded.
7 out of 10