I had the pleasure of watching this film, and found myself entertained for a number of reasons.1. It was a reboot of the Ultra series, accessible to newcomers, but not so much of a reboot that it would alienate longtime fans (like me).2. The kaiju in the film was well written and thought out.3. I liked the majority of the characters in the film, I also was pleasantly surprised that the lack of monster fighting teams (like the Science Patrol) made the film more interesting.4. The action scaled up rather nicely, with the stakes being raised each battle.The only downsides I feel are the lack of proper miniature destruction (many of the battle scenes were shot against a green screen with buildings composited in), and that overall, the production lacked value. There were times where it felt like more of a made for TV movie than an actual film.But those are minor points, and I feel that most everybody would like the film.

Even though the rubber suits and miniature model cities have been enhanced by CGI, this 2005 re-imagining of the enduring Ultraman character still has that typically cheesy kaiju aesthetic, possibly because the film-makers didn't have a big enough budget to make things look as slick as they might have liked, although I prefer to think that it was done intentionally in order to give the movie that unique charm one expects from a Japanese 'superhero versus monster' movie.Either way, the film is lots of fun, with a really nicely designed creature in the shape of The One, a hideous, armour-plated, life-form absorbing beast with three heads (one that shoots energy blasts) and a massive pair of wings, which ultimately ends up several hundred feet high—but he's nothing that Ultraman can't handle; the two battle it out on land and in the skies causing mayhem and destruction on a massive scale before the hero inevitably vanquishes the monster and peace returns to downtown Tokyo.It's nothing particularly revolutionary perhaps, but it's spectacular and consistently entertaining, and as far as I am concerned, a great way to spend an hour and a half or so of your time.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.*** Just re-watched the film and didn't enjoy it quite as much the second time around (the first half is fairly uneventful), although the final smack-down between Ultraman and The One is still a lot of fun.***Revised rating: 7/10

Ultraman is fun. The original series was silly, cheap and imaginative. Ultra Seven, the second series, was still silly and cheap but had a tongue in cheek seriousness that made it fun as well. The numerous series that came after fell into a predictable "beat up the monster" rut that the kids in Japan loved but were never brought over to the U.S. The recent efforts to revive Ultraman are inspired by the re-imagining of the very silly Gamera movie of the sixties into the standard bearer of the kaiju genre. Well shot in high-def video (I couldn't tell it was until the credits said so), the movie works well as a stand-alone entry in the Ultraman tradition. The script is very good with an emphasis on human relationships. I have to agree with other contributors that this film is much better then most of the recent Godzilla films which were starting to resemble earlier Ultraman films. The special effects are very good at times with some excellent miniature work and some great combinations of real life with model work. The only complaints I have are with the music track and the direction. While overall very good, the director missed a few chances to raise this film up another notch. Sometimes the energy is lacking. The music, however, is a very mixed bag. The fuzzbox rock guitar has been overused by "children's" action shows for years and starts to sound like kazoos to me. The more classical action orchestral music is not inspired but at least it doesn't interfere with the action. It's like somebody forgot to tell the composer that they were trying to update the genre and the composer supplied a "by the book" soundtrack.Very adult without being unsuitable for most children, it's hopeful this movie along with the sister TV series, "Ultraman Nexus" (not the same story but equally adult) will find a US release sometime in the near future. Until then it's only available as an import.

I was very impressed by Ultraman,i was expecting it to be a cheesy piece of badly made fluff but to my surprise i found it to be quite well made and very well acted...OK maybe the sfxs weren't up to ILM or WETA standards but they tried really hard and even though it still had that typical Japanese "man in a suit" look the model work production design and visual effects did look good...In lots of films of like this the child actors normally come across as quite bad and almost unbearably cute(which i hate in a film) but these were good something not usually found in this type of Japanese film...Its sometimes very hard getting the balance right between campy fun or serious genre films,its much easier to make a successful comic/campy film than a film like Ultraman which takes itself very seriously get it wrong and the film will turn into a nightmare... something that doesn't happen in this film..overall it was a good film well made and enjoyable to watch...well worth catching on TV/DVD