As an Anglicised compilation of episodes 1 and 2 of the Japanese children's adventure series"Super Giant", "Atomic Rulers of the World" is likely less than the sum of its parts. Despite a promisingly surreal (if cheap-looking) opening on the "Emerald Planet", in which the hero is introduced, the movie quickly degenerates into a repetitious sequence of chases and fights between 'Starman' (as the hero 'Super Giant' is renamed) and some generic foreign gangsters who are trying to take over the world (starting, of course, with Japan). The dubbing and the music in the English version I watched contributes to the impression that this is just a cheaply-made attempt to cash in on the then popular George Reeve Superman serial. The special effects are awful, and other than the aforementioned meeting on the Emerald Planet, consist of little beyond repeated shots of a flying Starman, silly film reversals, and extraordinarily bargain-basement looking sets and miniatures (such as the helicopter). As Starman, Ken Utsui is stuck in a flimsy caped-costume that becomes embarrassingly transparent when wet and includes the legendary stuffed crotch, an embarrassment with which the actor had to contend for the rest of his career. "Atomic Rulers of the World" was the first of four films adapting the "Super Giant" series, and is supposedly the worst, the next three having reputations for the delirious special effects for which most Japanese tokusatsu, no matter how cheaply made, are known. As such, while not much as stand-alone time-waster, the film may serve as an introduction to more entertaining fare.

A short, black and white science fiction film dubbed in English, this wacko movie is in fact made up of two episodes of the late '50s Japanese television series SUPERGIANT, the entirety of which has kindly been remastered and given a DVD release by those extraordinary guys working at the wonderful Something Weird Video. For those who don't know, Starman is simply a Japanese variation on Superman, a guy (Ken Utsui) dressed in an unflattering white bodysuit and cape, who wears an antenna on his head to communicate with his pals on the Emerald Planet and uses a special watch to detect radiation! Watching the film play out, one is immediately reminded of the cheap but cheerful American serials of the '30s and '40s and the same atmosphere of excitement and adventure is present in this story.Although aimed at kids and very dated when viewed with a modern eye, ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD is nonetheless a highly engaging experience for those in the right mood. The film is chock-full of fun special effects work depicting Starman flying through the air on his way to fight crime and lots of camera tricks are used to show him flipping through the air or jumping up a height (simply playing the film backwards is a favourite approach here). The storyline involves a bunch of shifty-looking smart-suited bad guys planning to hold Japan to ransom with a nuclear bomb, and of course Starman comes in to save the day.Taking the simple form of the early serial, ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD is episodic in nature, contrasting scenes of plot exposition with tons and tons of ass-kicking action. Starman, an invincible warrior impervious to bullets, gets to battle tons of bad guys back at their remote island base and the lengthy, free-for-all anything-goes fight sequences are invariably entertaining. Along with such action, we get some annoyingly cute Japanese children put into the most terrible peril (hurrah!), a sexy nun, cool music, Herculean bar-bending, one of those elaborate death traps where two blades slowly close in on a prisoner's neck, a small nuclear device exploding, plus a brief interlude with the High Council of the Emerald Planet, basically a bunch of wacky robot aliens all shapes and sizes. My only complaint with the film is that otherwise, we don't get to see any aliens, and all the bad guys are disappointing human! Thankfully this would change in the following instalments. Watch this space for more.

Although "Atomic Rulers" is pretty bad at times, you cannot completely blame the filmmakers who created this. That's because originally, this consisted of two episodes from a children's TV show--and it was, naturally, in Japanese. Some American folks bought these TV shows, re-edited them and repackaged them as four different movies: EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE, ATOMIC RULERS, INVADERS FROM SPACE, ATTACK FROM SPACE. So, while in their original form this might have been a decent kids show when it debuted in the late 1950s, here in a different form and with dubbing, it loses something. Also, interestingly, in the original form the hero was not known as 'Starman' but 'Supergiant'.The film begins like the rest in this series. You get a look at the Emerald World--with its very goofy residents. Again, however, for a kids' show of the time, it wasn't as bad seeing these bizarre costumes. Anyway, these weirdos are worried that the nuclear radiation from Earth could somehow make it across the galaxy to infect their planet! While this sounds ridiculous, understand that Japan had, only a little over a decade earlier, been nuked. So, the proliferation of shows like this and the Godzilla movies make a bit more sense.In this installment of the series, the evil Magolians are planning on taking over the world thanks to their many secret agents and nuclear weapons. And, considering that Starman is definitely against nuclear proliferation, he's out to stop them. Seeing him in his adorable superhero outfit is a bit funny as he really looks a lot like Duck Dodgers of the 25th and a half century! And, being totally geared towards kids, you can understand the annoying cliché of adding a group of adorable orphans into the mix. It's full of silly children's helicopters, guns that fire in a bizarre manner and baddies who seem pretty lame. It's all pretty predictable kid's fare. Yet, oddly, in a kitschy manner, it's pretty fun to watch...and laugh. Not good but not 100% terrible.By the way, I was a bit confused, as two other films (PRINCE OF SPACE and INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN) are nearly identical and yet are NOT part of the Starman series. Confusing...and also very silly when seen today.

Sure its silly stuff and the dubbing is bad and the quality low , but once you get past those few things its just plain fun !!! I mean whats the harm , its really funny , the panel of aliens in the beginning is creative I suppose for its time and remember its just a kids show , something along the lines of ''Prince of Space '' , just silly fun for young children . I think it would've worked for Americam kids too and that they would've enjoyed it too The SuperGiant or Starman as he is known to American audiences is harmless good natured fun , so keep that in mind as your watching and its enjoyable in that context , if your looking for serious sci-fi , look someplace else !