Although the kaiju genre of Japanese cinema has often been lampooned to the umpth degree, there are times when filmmakers go even further in taking the premise as subversively as possible. In the case of the 2007 cult classic Big Man Japan, comedian and filmmaker Hitoshi Matsumoto made it his goal to pay tribute to the genre as much as possible while also satirizing the absurdity of it all. As far as the final product goes, it is quite hysterical in its execution, although perhaps its biggest strength of filmmaking makes it falter at the same time due to how oddly muddled the premise really is.
The film follows the life of outcast Masaru Daisato who has inherited the role of defending Japan against numerous odd monsters while simultaneously dealing with societal struggles. As the film is established in a mockumentary format, it takes its time getting to the real action of Big Man Japan, who even then only appears when the need for a defender is required. While the film cleverly shows the superhero fighting monsters as a televised broadcast, with some humorous mixings of audience reactions, Big Man Japan is more about the miserable life of Daisato who has become jaded with his role after having it passed down from a previous generation. The numerous people throughout his life either mock his own mediocre fighting accomplishments as a monster fighter, support him professionally like his level headed agent, or are simply estranged from him like his own wife, child and father. By showing how grueling and miserable the real life of an otherwise powerful super can truly be, it's not often when films subvert the superhero tropes to this realistic extent.
However, since the film does try to keep its main tone fairly down to Earth, it ultimately hurts its own pacing in the long run. So much time is spent on establishing Daisato's life as an outcast in lieu of his superheroic persona that it almost feels like a test in itself to see if anyone watching has the patience before all the fighting stuff comes into effect. Once the action does come in, there hardly appears to be many transitions and it's almost as if the film is just throwing us into a sea of thrills without much clarity. Also, so many characters like Daisato's estranged family or his own colleagues make somewhat of an intriguing presence from their roles alone, but they don't offer much beyond their specific scenes to leave much of an impression. The only one who gives a genuinely memorable impression is Manager Kobori, since she is determined to keep her client's reputation as strong as possible in spite of her growing frustration with the guy's brazen attitude. Otherwise, it's kind of boring to sit and wait for the fun to begin when it's being halted by pandering angst.
Now as far as the kaiju elements are concerned, the filmmakers definitely had a lot of fun putting the monsters and action together. A lot of the designs of the monsters alone are disturbingly grotesque yet insidiously imaginative and their differing fighting abilities are truly frightening to behold. Sometimes the flow and spacing of the fight scenes can be a bit too slow for their own good, but it still makes the action fairly humorous due to the comedic delays of it all. The visual effects team did a marvelous job not only combining the monsters in motion with articulately crafted buildings, but also forming Daisato into a giant fighting hero without losing the noticeable facial features. The soundtrack courtesy of Towa Tei accompanies the intensity pretty well, and Hideo Yamamoto's cinematography makes good use of the hand held dockumentary approach compared to the static framing common in big action spectacle shows from Japan. Regardless of how muddled the pacing or tone may be, there is no denying that this film nailed its homage to its subject matter from a visual standpoint.
Big Man Japan is truly beyond words as its mockumentary style of filmmaking and storytelling is unlike anything else out there. While it does suffer from some pacing problems and a confusing story structure, its hysterical approach to honoring cheesy kaiju shows and intriguing main characters make it watchable enough to warrant curiosity from any cat. Even if you're not all that familiar with Kaiju, this film is charming enough to check out for its own merits, as imperfect as it may be. It is as thoughtful as it is hilarious, and that alone should be worth the price of admission for a few cheesy battles.
