‘Shin Ultraman’: bit of Japan on Spokane big screens

Above : The Japanese film “Shin Ultraman” will screen tonight at various Spokane theaters. (Photo/Fathom Events)

Some 37 films comprise the “Ultraman” franchise, which dates back to the television series that began in 1966.

That 37th film, titled “Shin Ultraman,” is a reboot of the kaiju series. Directed by Shinji Higushi, from a script by Hideaki Anno, the film will screen at 7 tonight at three area Regal Cinemas (NorthTown, Spokane Valley and Coeur d’Alene Riverstone) and at AMC River Park Square.

I should write that the film will screen “again” because “Shin Ultraman” played Wednesday as well. And I should add, too, that “kaiju” movies are those curious Japanese creations that involve giant monsters (such as Godzilla).

Anyway, the film is receiving bang-up reviews.

Richard Kulpers of Variety wrote, “Tongue-in-cheek but never campy, ‘Shin Ultraman’ is an object lesson in how to reboot a superhero franchise for modern times.”

Sarah Jane of the Austin Chronicle wrote, “Come for the epic ass-kickings, stay for the silliness of giant monsters battling a huge metal man.”

And William Bibbiani of TheWrap wrote, “There’s no winking self-awareness here, no digital recreation of costume seams or slightly visible wires, just an appreciation for the fact that the original series – colorful, imaginative, ambitious – had an aesthetic that worked in its own way.”

And that way was, of course, inherently Japanese.