Nothing beats a good kaiju comedy. It’s a nice break from the often somber, dark, and heavy tones that permeate the genre. Sometimes, it’s just better to have fun with giant monsters and let loose a little bit. Minoru Kawasaki is perhaps the king of the kaiju comedy, with his name attached to Kaiju Mono, Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit, and Monster Seafood Wars. His films are often meta, packing plenty of comedic references to past tropes in the genre, nods to other creatives that have shaped tokusatsu, and an overall cheerful tone. They’re fun romps with lots of heart.
When it was announced that his Ultraman parody film, Outer Man, was to be released officially in the United States by SRS Cinema, my interest peaked greatly. For reference, I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore Ultraman per say, as I have yet to complete the vast library of television shows and films across its 60-year history, but I would say I have a deep appreciation for the long-running franchise. Upon receiving the film, my curiosity was at max levels. I needed to see what Kawasaki-san had to say about Ultraman and the state of the franchise itself at the time the film was made. How would this kaiju satirist parody something that is the embodiment of joy and positivity? That’s quite the feat.
The film’s premise takes the frequent online fan theory that Ultraman is really just a jerk and is going around being a murderous psychopath (which is clearly not what the franchise is about, but is the bud of many jokes) and hurting innocent monsters. In this case, Outer Man is a fictional show with veteran actors, adoring (and very nerdy) fans, and a long-running history across Japanese television. Things change, however, when the real Outer Man shows up, and we learn that he’s actually here to terraform the Earth. From there, it’s up to a rag-tag team consisting of former Heisei era Outer Man TV actors, the passionate fanbase of nerds that argue whether the Showa series is better than the modern stuff, and the very clear stand-in for Alien Baltan, to save the day.
Like Kawasaki-san’s other films, where Outer Man stands out is the very obvious meta comedy that is woven throughout the film. There’s some genuinely great beats in the film, such as the differing personalities between the former stars of Outer Man, and how they treat their fans at autograph signings. It’s very much like Galaxy Quest, but switch out Star Trek with Ultraman. Strangely, it works wonders, and it’s honestly pretty surprising that there are only a handful of kaiju/tokusatsu films that have attempted this. Another humorous recurring bit is the constant bickering between the three fanboys who are tasked with identifying the weakness of Outer Man by watching through thousands of past episodes, with each having a fiery, passionate dedication to each respective era of the franchise. “Showa is the best!” “No, Heisei is!” It’s all really funny and ever so true, especially in the the American wing of the Godzilla fandom.
The film does take a while to get going, with Outer Man really only appearing once and then not again until we begin to reach the climax of the film. Between that is some fun comedy, but it really spends a bit too much time on building up humanity’s plan to stop Outer Man from conquering the world. It doesn’t focus on how absurd the governmental response to an event like this would be, like Kawasaki’s other films like Monster X Strikes Back, or another satire, Shin Godzilla, though. Instead, it focuses on the three veteran actors and their career renaissance after the appearance of the real alien being. It’s amusing, but gets frustratingly old rather quickly. Once the heroic alien seijin attempts to fight Outer Man, we get a quick, but rather unceremonious battle between the titans, and then after a jump cut, we’re back to focusing on these bumbling buffoons and their egos for twenty more minutes. The film is a brisk 1 hour and 22 minutes, but truly felt like it was much, much longer. Had they cut a good 10-15 minutes from the movie, it would have prevented the pacing from coming to a halt tenfold.
Outer Man is an interesting watch for those that would like to see more atypical kaiju films, as it’s refreshing to see the genre do something different and turn it all on its head. Sadly, it may be a little bit confusing for viewers without a base knowledge of Ultraman, but the twist of Outer Man being more similar to Omni-Man from Invincible is pretty easy to follow and is a brilliant idea on paper. Just know that you may be lost on a few of the deep cut references, like some very clear nods to past Toho special effects directors from the 1960s and 1970s, and they’re not here to explain it for you. That being said, it’s still worth a watch on a Saturday afternoon, but don’t go in expecting a game changer, just a pretty average kaiju film with some decent laughs.
Score: 6/10
Outer Man has a very fun Galaxy Quest-esque premise that lends itself to some amusing meta commentary on Ultraman, but its awkward run time holds it back from being even better.
