There is a scene in "I grew up in Iran" where the grandmother and granddaughter are watching Japanese movies in the cinema. The grandmother muttered: "The Japanese only fight monsters and cut the abdomen." The Japanese high-ranking official in "New Ultraman" said casually: "I don't know why monsters always appear in Japan."

"New Ultraman" stills

Monsters are a hybrid of fear and longing. The Japanese's extreme desire for land and resources, and the fear of incurring natural retribution and oppression by powerful countries, gave birth to a steady stream of monster images. In Ultraman's world, monsters are usually natural forces that are neither good nor evil. Aliens often appear in the form of intelligent life. As a more advanced species than humans, they always wanted to enslave humans or use them as fuel. They are good at disguise, and they are still at a delicate stage in the degree of insight into human nature. The resulting grotesque is the main reason for the scary feeling of watching Ultraman as a child.

Both Japan and China have rich monster cultures. The former is more enthusiastic and meticulous in sorting out the monster genealogy than the Chinese. The "Ultraman" series, which integrates technology and monsters, was born in Japan, which was emerging after the war, as natural as a matter of course. Ultraman is essentially half-human and half-god; monsters are like inconceivable, natural monsters with prehistoric power; aliens are the closest to gods and ghosts with human consciousness or previous lives, and their complex minds are not inferior to human beings.

Because of the similar culture, China is probably the country that loves Ultraman the most except Japan. In the early years, when domestic TV stations introduced the series, the sequence was disrupted, which led to long-term confusion about the identity of Ultraman by the children of that year. Now, Ultraman has become a rare common topic among the post-70s, post-80s and post-10s and post-20s. At the dinner table, when the new generation of children inarticulately showed off how many Ultraman cards they had collected, and shed tears for the lost precious cards, the adults recalled the names of the Ultramans from memory with great interest. Back to a certain era, the Ultraman universe is blank. Except for nostalgia, almost no one has the habit of tracking Ultraman after junior high school.

"New Ultraman" poster

From the shooting of "Ultra Q" by Eiji Tsuburaya in 1966, the lifespan of the Ultraman series has far exceeded the original creator's expectations. This year's "New Ultraman" by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno was released, paying tribute to the first-generation Ultraman and reminding us of the older generation of Ultraman viewers how time has passed.

I loved watching Ultraman as a kid because it matched children's love of violence, destruction and reconstruction. There are many cruel elements in the nature of children, and they are fascinated by cataclysmic events that destroy people. Even when they grow up, in the era of lack of entertainment, watching fires and public executions are all large-scale entertainment events worthy of being dispatched. So even though Ultraman came from a higher civilization, he still displayed the fist-to-flesh fight in a giant posture in line with human psychology.

The first-generation Ultraman often killed monsters directly without beams. The silver giant's movements are a little dull, a little savage, a little naive, and a little wretched, and together they have a unique charm. His/her clean image contrasts with the wrinkled monster. The special film exaggerated the size comparison between the two sides of the battle, the city and the field, as if the small TV really contained a battle of gods.

Ultraman answered the children's question about "what's in the sky" in a clear way, blocking the spread of cosmic nihilism in childhood. For human beings, what is out there and where is after death are as terrifying questions that it is best not to ponder. Ultraman can provide beautiful answers to both of these questions. In the universe, there are both powerful forces that are neither good nor evil, as well as beings that are much more advanced than human intelligence. Although human beings are insignificant, they are worthy of a god-like existence like Ultraman who sacrifices their lives to protect them, which immediately seems very remarkable. After death, Ultraman will return to the Land of Light on the M87 Nebula.

Ultraman is a trusted comforter after school. Even a child will experience an inexplicable low at dusk when the sun goes down early. Ultraman appeared on time, and opened and closed the city like a mold. The negativity of dusk immediately disappeared.

It can also satisfy the desire of collecting fetishes and mortals to transform into superhuman heroes, and provide children who do not believe in gods with a sense of security that they are unconditionally loved and guarded by (semi) gods.

But childhood is long over. If it weren't for the combination of Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, many adults wouldn't watch the latest Ultraman movie again. It seems that these two are indeed the best candidates to shoot Ultraman. They are familiar with the various ways in which superhuman power operates on the earth, and they did not expect the "New Ultraman" to be so boring.

"New Ultraman" stills

In addition to the introduction of the monsters to be played in the way of introducing the apostles at the beginning of the film, the storyboards with tricky angles, the huge Nagasawa Masami combining Oliver and Sleeping Beauty, and the frequent stuttering, the whole film makes people relive their old dreams. Sleepy in the atmosphere.

It slowly advanced at the speed of a flatbed, and three monsters and two aliens appeared one after another, as if deliberately breaking the possibility of emotional gathering, spreading the tension of major events into one after another. There is almost no story to tell. Monsters appear, Ultraman fights monsters. Aliens with a purpose appear and offer the Japanese government a quid pro quo for hidden dangers. One of the aliens is Zuo Fei, the eldest brother of the Ultraman family who appeared in the first Ultraman. At this time, he appeared in the image of a polite gentleman, and with an attitude of unwilling to resort to violence and causing everyone's unhappiness, he proposed to mankind " upgrade plan", and left after being rejected. It's almost ironic.

"New Ultraman" stills

"New Ultraman" pays homage to the first generation with a tiredness that fits the zeitgeist. As in the first era, it emphasizes the power of human beings, and sets the cosmic dinosaur Jayton as the invincible object of Ultraman. The solution of the problem requires the concerted efforts and courage and determination of human beings. In this case, the shaping of human characters is too sloppy. For example, at the juncture of the destruction of the earth, a scientific research team's transition from sitting still to tenacious self-rescue is very abrupt, like the movement of a marionette.

Ultraman's unconditional love for human beings, combined with the human god Yongxin II, also makes people suspicious. It stands to reason that this love from 1966 should have already taken root in the hearts of the audience. But now it is not so easy for us to take it for granted as we did when we were children. We have seen too many calamities caused by the accumulation of small evils. It is difficult to return to a state of pure mind and reversely evoke that pure light of goodwill. After accustomed to staring into the dark, light only conjures up nothingness, which is always hard to believe.

The older Ultraman fan Hideaki Anno seems to have the same troubles. He couldn't be as enthusiastic as he was when he was young. He struggled with his experience and previous trust, as if he was fighting each other, causing this tribute to be like a touch of water, the government's stubbornness, the fighting spirit of human beings, the helplessness of monsters, the abacus of aliens and the sacrifice of Ultraman. .

"Why do you have to sacrifice yourself to save mankind?" A few common street shots are not enough to answer this important question. You can leave it alone when you are young, but it doesn’t mean you can continue to accept everything when you grow up. You can be satisfied as long as you evoke memories.

To answer this question, you have to be motivated. Instead of laying out the elements like a model toy, get your spirits up to tell a story. The original Ultraman is a collection of all kinds of whimsy, and today it has become a cup of warm water. The film's various quirky anti-climaxes can be seen as strengths or features, but they're still different from the original.

The original cult feeling came from the dissonance caused by the inexperience and creativity of a group of people just visualizing their fantasy. The representative office is Ultraman wearing a holster, the comical appearance of pulling the holster due to excessive movements. The script mixed with folk legends, government conspiracies, and supernatural stories is like a wild street reading book, which is hodgepodge and good-looking. It is not only suitable for all ages, but also carries private goods. It is not all bright, and there are times when human nature is dark.

"New Ultraman" stills

In this version of Ultraman, the holster and the skin fit tightly together, and it seems that they have already reached an agreement with monsters, aliens and humans to play a drama that lacks passion and has a doomed ending. The deliberate anti-climax does not bring about a dull, bizarre experience. The most cult is the always-fighting Masami Nagasawa, the always-calm and warm-hearted Junxiu Nishishima and other big-name actors, because of the collective performance that has been modeled to the apex, it creates an illusion - this Ultra Team has been completely removed from the outside world. Starman Replacement... There is an invisible cosmic force that drains the inner vitality of all characters.

Will Anno Hideaki want to use this as a starting point to shoot the last two parts of the trilogy? If that's the case, it's a little hopeful.

"New Ultraman" stills