Why so much hype?

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Really, really bad! Hard to watch without you brain getting serious damage!Beginning was quite OK, but as the story moved more forward, it got just worse.Must admit the plot was original compared to Western production, but not at all compared to Japanese movies.As a fan of Japan movies, I'd expected much more from it.The final ending was totally bullshit and awful. Also a bit more attention to the origin of the monsters. Where did they came from and why?But as it sometimes happens the movie just fail your expectations. This is surely the case and I'd like to submit this review to spare some time for people who enjoy good movies. Please don't watch it.

No skill went into any aspect of this incredibly stupid excuse for a movie. There were no actors, assuming an actor is someone who actually acts.The dialog, as evidenced by the subtitles (which I eventually had to turn off), must have been a transcript of a fight between severely mentally retarded pituitary cases. Finally, the animation was utterly unbelievable. The one star I gave this movie was for the little bit of creativity spent thinking up these comic book rejects. Don't waste your time on trash of this sort.Confucius say, "Plenty of worthwhile movies you're time will be better spent watching."

BIG MAN JAPAN is a very clever spoof on 'The Super Hero Genre'. Depressed and middle-aged Daisato plugs along as a second-rate protector of Japan. The film depicts an altered reality in which cartoon monsters sporadically appear to create mischief and mayhem. The Big Man does what he can, but ends up causing as much confusion and destruction as he prevents. Plagued by waning popularity, the erosion of his powers, and family problems, he stoically soldiers on. As a documentary, the film succeeds admirably. We see this man robbed of his destiny, and watch as he explains his half-hearted efforts to regain some sort of balance between what he was, and what he has become. However, the film's special effects are cheesy, but actually add to the representation of a man stuck firmly in a meager existence. Daisato's life is entirely devoid of any social support network. He visits a grandfather, but this man is suffering from dementia in a nursing home, and is in worse shape than our hero. Daisato is allowed visitation with his wife and daughter twice a year, and his 'friendships' are paid geisha girls with whom he drinks heavily. Although a comedy, BIG MAN JAPAN, is not as funny as it is poignant, and this fact makes it a cut above.

I guess what's surprising is that I'm any longer surprised. Big Man Japan seemed relatively straightforward at first. A hated underdog loser who has to protect Japan from giant CG monsters promises silly action filled delight. The surprising thing is that the CG monster fights are slow and not all that interesting, ultimately, except for the design and idea behind the monsters. It's actually the drama of a lonely, depressed man with a government job who refuses to acknowledge that nobody likes him that is a very interesting, compelling story. I can't believe it yet I'd have preferred this movie NOT have any action sequences and just stay focused on the quiet, insulated drama of a man losing all hope.Also, I just simply did not see that ending coming. Again, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. I almost don't really know what to say about this movie. There's three entirely different things going on here, and in typical b-movie Japanese style that doesn't matter--what matters is that they can.So, alright then. It is what it is, and luckily it's enjoyable. I'm just trying to wrap my head around a sort-of Zebraman meets Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl story with an actual, dramatic core that ends up tossed away.