“Big Man Japan” is a
faux-documentary which follows a year in the life of the current “Big Man
Japan”, Masaru Daisatou. Japan has employed a members of Masaru’s family
for several generations as the first line of defense against the plague of
giant monsters attacking Japan on a regular basis. Through a process
involving an electrical substation, Masaru’s size is increased until he is
towering over tall buildings. Unfortunately, while Masaru’s predecessors
were treated like heroes, Masaru is practically discarded.

The special effects in this movie aren’t great, but neither were the
rubber suits they are replacing. The movie isn’t quite logical, but it’s
fun. The various monsters that Masaru has to battle are hilarious, and the
“data sheets” that appear before the battles are great as well. Masaru is
greeted by the public with indifference at best, and he seems to exist
outside of society. The ending ups the nonsense level to 11 and leaves you
wondering if you were actually supposed to understand what was going on.

This movie isn’t for everyone, but if you enjoyed Toho-style monster
movies, you should definitely be entertained. Even if you are annoyed by
the ending, the time leading up to it is full of gems. This isn’t a movie
you need to hunt down, but when it’s available on Netflix, give it a
spin.