'Big Man Japan' review

Hitoshi Matsumoto (Credit: Magnet)

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A deadpan mockumentary following middle-aged slacker Daisato (Hitoshi Matsumoto) who inherited an unusual family business. He uses large amounts of electricity to transform himself, Hulk-style, into a giant hero and fights supersized monsters on late night television. Although generations of his family have been adored by the public, Daisato contends with a more cynical culture. He feels he's underpaid, people taunt him, his agent exploits him to sell advertising and his ex-wife doesn't want his daughter's face seen on camera out of shame.

The buzz: Imagine if "The Wrestler" was about a Japanese monster hero and filmed in the style of "The Office," and you'll start to have a general idea of what "Big Man Japan" is like. Written, directed by and starring Japanese comedian Matsumoto (who intentionally credits himself as Hitosi Matumoto), the movie premiered at Cannes in 2007 and finally arrives in the U.S. two years later.

The verdict: The recent "Crank: High Voltage" used Japanese monster movie imagery in one scene as a fanboy goof, but "Big Man Japan" is the real deal—nailing the full potential of recreating those iconic concepts as both homage and spoof. The trouble lies with what's inbetween the surreal, infectiously imaginative CGI-generated monster battles. It takes over 20 minutes for Matsumoto to reveal Daisato's "job," a playful yet tedious protraction that continues throughout the film. A superhero with a crappy everyday life isn't the freshest idea, and "Big Man Japan" doesn't find any new ways to tackle it. The fight scenes, with their absurdist humor and various creatively designed and executed monsters, will earn the film a deserving cult, but a tighter approach to the sequences documenting "little man Japan" could've made the film more than meets the eye.

Did you know? Matsumoto doesn't lack self-confidence, his "Director's Statement" about the film ends with the line "One thing is certain of my process—the film will never fail to be amusing and interesting."

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