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A.I. Rising

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Lazar Bodroza

Sebastian Cavazza

Maruša Majer

Social engineer

Kirsty Besterman

Dimitrije Vojnov

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Mike's Movie Cave

Blog archive, thursday, may 9, 2019.

• A.I. Rising (2018) – Review

In space, no one can hear your existential crisis.

Delightful film which I unexpectedly stumbled upon. It takes its time and It’s thought provoking. Understated nuanced and effective performances from the 2 leads .. and a corporate ( government ) bureaucrat devoid of any imagination with a hive mind. Will not understandably be for everyone. But was for me an enjoyable ride.

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Seen any good Serbian sci-fi lately? How about AI Rising , a film that works wonders with two main actors, a couple of sets, some clever lighting, moody music and a small team of special-effects artists who know their stuff.

If there’s a criticism – let’s get this out of the way straight away – it’s that AI Rising might be straining so hard to be a “proper” sci-fi film on a modest budget that it risks looking like a kid in daddy’s clothes. It’s not an entirely fair charge but it can certainly be levelled.

It’s the Pygmalion story, really, done in a faintly Solaris style, with Sebastian Cavazza playing sexist “Yugoslav” (their term, not mine) astronaut Milutin, a man on a gigantic solo mission to distant Alpha Centauri, where capitalist megacorporations are hoping to make a fresh start after socialist controls have been “instated” on planet Earth to help restore order.

Accompanying him is a cyborg called Nimani 1345, played by porn star Stoya. Nimani 1345 is a robot with a variety of programs and parameters that can be tweaked by Milutin, according to what sort of companion he fancies that day, from Domestic and Friend Zone, through Corporate and Economic, to Submissive and Intimate. The male fantasy – a woman who does what she’s told, at least to Milutin’s way of thinking.

Though the film wastes no time in getting Stoya out of her clothes – as you’d expect from someone who once starred in a film called Power Fuck – and Cavazza over her, under her, front and behind, Milutin isn’t as entirely satisfied as a lot of viewers will be. He wants pushback, grit in the oyster, a more human experience, in short. To slightly over-distill Zoran Neskovic and Dimitrije Vojnov’s story, what’s the point of raping someone if they’re in rape mode? And so, in the film’s dramatic turning point, Milutin does something he shouldn’t do, bringing into play Isaac Asimov’s laws of cybernetics, number one being that a robot shall not harm its master.

Well, that’s the idea. The laws are mentioned twice, once up front, in a briefing scene on Earth, and later when the plot hits the crucial bump in the astral road, but they’re invoked only to be largely ignored, in favour of the Pygmalion aspect of the story (sculptor falls in love with statue).

As said, a Social Engineer (Marusa Majer) notwithstanding plus Kirsty Besterman’s voice as the obligatory softly spoken ship’s computer – trace that back to Kubrick – this is a two hander, Cavazza the sort of handsome, Clooney-esque middle-aged guy young men hope they’re going to turn into if ageing really is a thing, Stoya a lithe and borderline hard-faced presence, all the better for when things get grudgeful betweeen Milutin and Nimani.

A bit more jeopardy wouldn’t have gone amiss, since the film’s stretch towards the philosophical can get a bit like Existentialism 101, Solaris with most of the profundity removed. But then isn’t that sci-fi all over, with its promising-the-stars offer? See 2001 , Interstellar , Ad Astra , ad grandiosum, ad infinitum.

The real marvel here is the sense of atmosphere, remarkable things being done with mood and lighting by director Lazar Bodroza and his DP Kosta Glusica. So much sci-fi veracity has been conjured with cleverly used flashing lights and a lot of flare in the lens, a visually striking counterpoint to the overall vibe of murk and shadow. This is not a film for epileptics, be warned. But it is one for lovers of the 1980s electro mood, Nemanja Musorovic’s score alternating between the outright bubbly, burbling almost Daft Punkish and the more ambient sci-fi stylings of a Brian Eno.

Impressive too how much is achieved with barely a glimpse of deep space, or the spaceship Milutin and Nimani are in. And though critiques of capitalism are a recurring theme in sci-fi movies –  Silent Running and Total Recall to The Matrix and Snowpiercer – it’s refreshing to hear the word “Marxism” being bandied about. There is strangeness and uniqueness in here, amid the conformity to sci-fi norms. Let’s hope that director Lazar Bodroza’s next sci-fi outing, Aurora , gives him enough to space to really let rip.

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I am an Amazon affiliate © Steve Morrissey 2022

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Review by Krunić

A.i. rising 2018 ★★★.

Watched Feb 26 , 2018

Krunić’s review published on Letterboxd:

The first full sci-fi Serbian movie. The effects are great, design is quite good, story promising and acting somewhat shaky but mostly fine. Stoya has managed to build a far better character than Sebastian Cavazza and is far more convincing than him. The movie, though easy on the eyes lacks in story as there is about 15 minutes worth of going-ons for a 90 minutes of duration. So on every minute of dialogue or some happenings you'll have 4 minutes worth of CGI space and magic lights. For a first domestic sci-fi this does kicks ass, and it's nice to know that we have our own Joseph Kosinski in the form of Lazar Bodroža. And I hope next Bodroža's movie will be a better one.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, he just wanted to become a real boy.

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He could. As David, he cast Haley Joel Osment , who had scored a great success in " The Sixth Sense " (1999). Osment's presence is a crucial element in the film; other androids, including Gigolo Joe ( Jude Law ) are made to look artificial with makeup and unmoving hair, but not David. He is the most advanced "mecha" of the Cybertronics Corporation -- so human that he can perhaps take the place of a couple's sick child. Spielberg and Osment work together to create David with unblinking eyes and deep naïveté; he seems a real little boy but lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. This reality works both for and against the film, at first by making David seem human and later by making him seem a very slow study.

David has been programmed to love. Once he is activated with a code, he fixes on the activator, in this case his Mommy ( Frances O'Connor ). He exists to love her and be loved by her. Because he is a very sophisticated android indeed, there's a natural tendency for us to believe him on that level. In fact he does not love and does not feel love; he simply reflects his coding. All of the love contained in the film is possessed by humans, and I didn't properly reflected this in my original review of the film.

"We are expert at projecting human emotions into non-human subjects, from animals to clouds to computer games," I wrote in 1991, "but the emotions reside only in our minds. 'A. I.' evades its responsibility to deal rigorously with this trait and goes for an ending that wants us to cry, but had me asking questions just when I should have been finding answers."

That is true enough on the principal level of the film, which tells David's story. Watching it again recently, I became aware of something more: "A. I." is not about humans at all. It is about the dilemma of artificial intelligence. A thinking machine cannot think. All it can do is run programs that may be sophisticated enough for it to fool us by seeming to think. A computer that passes the Turing Test is not thinking. All it is doing is passing the Turing Test.

The first act of the film involves Henry and Monica Swinton ( Sam Robards and Frances O'Connor). Henry brings David home to fill the gap left by their own sick little boy, Martin ( Jake Thomas ). Monica resists him, and then accepts him. But after Jake is awakened from suspended animation and cured, there is a family of four; Jake is fully aware that David is a product, but David doesn't understand everything that implies. Possibly his programming didn't prepare him to deal one-on-one in real time with real boys. He can't spend all of his time loving Mommy and being loved by her.

He imitates life. He doesn't sleep, but he observes bedtime. He doesn't eat, but so strong is his desire to be like Martin that he damages his wiring by shoving spinach into his mouth. He's treated with cruelty by other kids; when he reveals he doesn't pee, a kid grabs his pants and says, "Let's see what you don't pee with." After faithfully following his instructions in such a way that he nearly drowns Martin, he loses the trust of the Swintons and they decide to get rid of him, just as parents might get rid of a dangerous dog.

Monica cannot bring herself to return David to Cybertronics. She pauses on the way and releases him into a forest, where he can join other free-range mechas. He will not die. He doesn't get cold, he doesn't get hungry, and apparently he has an indefinite supply of fuel. Monica's decision to release him instead of turning him in is based on her lingering identification with David; in activating him to love her, she activated herself to love him. His unconditional love must have been deeply appealing. We relate to pets in a similar way, especially to dogs, who seem to have been activated by evolution to love us.

The center act of the movie shows David wandering a world where mechas have no rights. He is accompanied by his mecha bear, Teddy, who is programmed to be a wise companion, and they are discovered by Gigolo Joe, a mecha programmed to be an expert lover. They visit two hallucinatory places designed by Spielberg on huge sound stages. One is a Flesh Fair, not unlike a WWF event, at which humans cheer as mechas are grotesquely destroyed. David, Joe and Teddy escape, probably because of their survival programming, but is David is dismayed by what he sees? How does he relate to the destruction of his kind?

Then there is Rouge City, sort of a psychedelic Universal City, where Joe takes him to consult a Wizard. Having been fascinated by the story of Pinocchio, who wanted to be a real boy, David has reasoned that a Blue Fairy might be able to transform him into a human and allow Monica to love him and be loved. The Wizard gives him a clue. After Joe and David capture a flying machine, they visit New York, which like many coastal cities has been drowned by global warming. But on an upper floor of Rockefeller Center, he finds that Cybertronics still operates, and he meets the scientist who created him, Dr. Hobby ( William Hurt ). Hobby is Geppetto to David's Pinocchio.

Now again there are events which contradict David's conception of himself. In an eerie scene, he comes across a storeroom containing dozens of Davids who look just like him. Is he devastated? Does he thrash out at them? No, he remains possessed. He is still focused on his quest for the Blue Fairy, who can make him a real little boy. But why, we may ask, does he want to be real so very much? Is it because of envy, hurt or jealousy? No, he doesn't seem to possess such emotions--or any emotions, save those he is programmed to counterfeit. I assume he wants to be a real boy for abstract reasons of computer logic. To fulfill his mission to love and be loved by Mommy, he concludes he should be like Martin, who Mommy prefers. This involves no more emotion than Big Blue determining its next move in chess.

In the final act, events take David and Teddy in a submersible to the drowned Coney Island, where they find not only Geppetto's workshop but a Blue Fairy. A collapsing Ferris wheel pins the submarine, and there they remain, trapped and immobile, for 2,000 years, as above them an ice age descends and humans become extinct. David is finally rescued by a group of impossibly slender beings that might be aliens, but are apparently very advanced androids. For them, David is an incalculable treasure: "He is the last who knew humans." From his mind they download all of his memories, and they move him into an exact replica of his childhood home. This reminded me of the bedroom beyond Jupiter constructed for Dave by aliens in Kubrick's "2001." It has the same purpose, to provide a familiar environment in an incomprehensible world. It allows these beings, like the unseen beings in "2001," to observe and learn from behavior.

Watching the film again, I asked myself why I wrote that the final scenes are "problematical," go over the top, and raise questions they aren't prepared to answer. This time they worked for me, and had a greater impact. I began with the assumption that the skeletal silver figures are indeed androids, of a much advanced generation from David's. They too must be programmed to know, love, and serve Man. Let's assume such instructions would be embedded in their programming DNA. They now find themselves in a position analogous to David in his search for his Mommy. They are missing an element crucial to their function.

After some pseudoscientific legerdemain involving a lock of Monica's hair, they are able to bring her back after 2,000 years of death--but only for 24 hours, which is all the space-time continuum permits. Do they do this to make David happy? No, because would they care? And is a computer happier when it performs its program than when it does not? No. It is either functioning or not functioning. It doesn't know how it feels.

Here is how I now read the film: These new generation mechas are advanced enough to perceive that they cannot function with humans in the absence of humans, and I didn't properly reflect this in my original review of the film. David is their only link to the human past. Whatever can be known about them, he is an invaluable source. In watching his 24 hours with Mommy, they observe him functioning at the top of his ability.

Of course we must ask in what sense Monica is really there. The filmmaker Jamie Stuart informs me she is not there at all; that an illusion has merely been implanted in David's mind, and that the concluding scenes take place entirely within David's point of view. Having downloaded all of David's memories and knowledge, the new mechas have no further use for him, but provide him a final day of satisfaction before terminating him. At the end, when we are told he is dreaming, that is only David's impression. Earlier in the film, it was established that he could not sleep or therefore dream.

Why would one mecha care if another obtained satisfaction? What meaning is there in giving David 24 hours of bliss? If machines cannot feel, what does the closing sequence really mean? I believe it suggests the new mechas are trying to construct a mecha that they can love. They would play Mommy to their own Davids. And that mecha will love them. What does love mean in this context? No more, no less, than check, or mate, or π. That is the fate of Artificial Intelligence. No Mommy will ever, ever love them.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Rated PG-13

145 minutes

Sam Robards as Henry Swinton

Haley Joel Osment as David

Jude Law as Gigolo Joe

Frances O'Connor as Monica Swinton

William Hurt as Prof. Hobby

Brendan Gleeson as Lord Johnson-Johnson

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A.I. Rising (2018)

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A.I. Rising (2018) – Review

The best science fiction stories will often be those that explore social and political aspects of the world we live in, while often trying to extrapolate where we as a people may end up in the future, and now with director Lazar Bodroža’s R-rated science fiction thriller, we get a film that not only does this but also answers the question, “What would happen if you fell in love with HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey ?”

Based on a 1980s short story by Zoran Neskovic,  A.I. Rising (also known as Ederlezi Rising ) is set in a socialist dystopian future some fifty years from now, where corporations are apparently setting up colonies on Alpha Centauri. Astronaut Milutin ( Sebastian Cavazza ), a veteran cosmonaut with numerous trips to Mars under his belt, is sent on a long space flight to deliver an ideology to the colony there, and along for the ride is Nimani ( Stoya ), an android designed to respond to the cosmonaut’s desires, who will also work as nurse, psychiatrist and to keep him focused on the mission, as well as being the perfect sex toy to Milutin.

As we are first introduced to Milutin, we see a man without much humanity left — there are hints of past failed relationships that may have driven him into space — and his treatment of Nimani as a “fuck toy” will not have many viewers on his side. The Ederlezi Corporation has programmed the android with many subroutines that Milutin can access through a variety of drop-down menus, “Do you want a naïve woman, one who is new to sex?” A click of a button later, and you have a coquettish girl who you can then rape to spice things up. Or you can choose the “Argumentative” setting which can then be followed quickly by the “Make-Up Sex” designation, all to fill out any particular fantasy you could come up with, and being this is a long space voyage, I can “sorta” understand the variety being important. But the moral quandaries of this situation aren’t lost on Milutin, and it’s his decision to emancipate Nimani that becomes the key arc of the story, which leads to such questions as “Can artificial intelligence move beyond its programming into pure self-awareness and sentience?”

Lazar Bodroža’s A.I. Rising is a science fiction gem that explores themes that have been addressed in such films as Metropolis and Blade Runner , yet done here with a graphic flair all its own. That Bodroža is a visual artist-turned-director is quite apparent when you see just how beautiful this film looks — from the smart use of Belgrade’s socialist architecture to the wonderful sets and costumes provided by Aljosa Spajic and Senka Kljakic. But what makes this film stand out from its many predecessors is the characters on hand, who are so amazingly brought to life in what is basically a two-person stage play — we do get a couple of scenes with an Ederlezi corporate “Social Engineer” ( Marusa Majer ), but 90% of the film is about the interactions between Milutin and Nimani — and Sebastian Cavazza gives a very thought-provoking portrayal of a broken man trying to be better, a character who audiences will have, at times, problems sympathizing with. Then we have Stoya’s wonderful acting as the android Nimani and her ability to switch personalities on a dime is a tour de force of acting, with Nimani being the film’s rational and emotional driving force as Milutin’s many flaws and delusions are exposed.

In space, no one can hear your existential crisis.

This film will certainly not be for everybody, its languid pacing mixed with overt sexuality will not be to everyone’s tastes, but it does explore some very pertinent themes that are becoming more and more relevant each and every day as it tackles serious relationship issues between men and women in the guise of a science fiction movie. It’s also great to see the Siberian film industry producing such quality gems, giving Hollywood a run for its money. I would recommend this film solely on the basis of how gorgeous it looks, with its collections of amazing shots of the ship gliding through deep space, but it’s the heart of the story, and the acting on display here, that makes this a film not to be missed.

A.I. Rising (2018)

• Movie Rank - 7.5/10 7.5/10

Fans of the genre will not want to miss out on this science fiction gem, director Lazar Bodroža has crafted a film that not only looks amazing but tells a thought-provoking story in a very original way.

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Fabulously fabulous story line & brilliant acting from both central characters who make everything ultimately believable & erotically & sexually enjoyable.

The visual impact throughout is both mind blowing & erotically beautifully significant at all times‼️

Regards,  Dr Nick. Practise random kindness and senseless acts of beauty; carpe diem!

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A.I. Rising

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A.I. Rising is 985 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 314 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than Just Mercy but less popular than Cemetery Man.

On a lonely mission to Alpha Centauri, Milutin is teamed up with Nimani 1345, a female cyborg designed to fulfill his every need. At first thrilled to be able to control her, Sebastian grows tired of having his desires fulfilled so easily. Longing for human intimacy, Sebastian alters Nimani's programmed responses, but in doing so he risks the mission's security — and his own life.

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• 42:19 Running Time
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• Country United States
• Running Time 42:19
• Date 15 May, 2023
• Producer ABC
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‘Ultraman: Rising’ Review: Netflix Adaptation Is One of the Best Superhero Movies in Years

Shannon Tindle’s feature directorial debut brings the Japanese character to life in vibrant and emotional fashion

“Ultraman” is one of the most iconic and popular characters in Japanese history, running since 1966 with countless reboots and sequels across different mediums. Though it hasn’t really broken out in the West, we’ve seen titles like “Shin Ultraman” and the “Ultraman” adjacent anime “SSSS. Gridman” gain popularity outside of Japan. Now comes “Ultraman: Rising,” not only a spectacular addition to the franchise, but one of the best superhero movies in a long time and a strong contender for best animated movie of the year.

Directed by Shannon Tindle (in his feature directorial debut) and John Aoshima, and co-written by Tindle and Marc Haimes, the Netflix original film reinvents the “Ultraman” mythos.

Here we don’t follow an alien superhero, but rather a young man named Ken Sato (Christopher Sean), son of the original Ultraman, who returns to Japan after years in America to live a double life as a superhero and a baseball superstar. He’s arrogant, he’s egotistical, he’s a good athlete, but he’s angry and resentful toward his dad, Professor Sato (Gedde Watanabe), for placing this responsibility on him — and for failing to prevent the disappearance of Ken’s mother during a kaiju attack. An already busy and complicated life gets even more hectic when Ken reluctantly adopts Emi, a baby kaiju, after defeating her mother.

The story of an egotistical rich guy forced to care about others as he learns what it means to be a superhero was the bread and butter of early MCU movies — Ken even has an AI assistant that’s his equivalent of Jarvis, named Mina (Tamlyn Tomita). But “Ultraman: Rising” understands that simplicity can lead to universality, and the simple premise is what makes it easier to translate the “Ultraman” lore to audiences unfamiliar with the franchise, making this a perfect entry for newcomers.

This is a superhero story but not an origin story, and the script smartly avoids over-explaining the character and what makes him different — like the timer that allows him to transform into Ultraman but only for a few minutes at a time, or the science of the kaiju. Instead, the film lets the world speak for itself.

For longtime fans of “Ultraman,” the movie feels like a natural extension and continuation of the mythos, with plenty of references to old foes, stories and powers, all treated with reverence and love. That the film follows Japanese characters and is set in Tokyo helps avoid the biggest and most common hurdles in adaptations of Japanese franchises. There is no whitewashing, as the cast is Japanese American, and there is no forced translation of concepts or names in order to move the action elsewhere. Instead, it’s like watching a brand new entry in the “Ultraman” franchise, just told from a different perspective.

The biggest addition to the franchise is the focus on parenthood, and the relationship between Ken and Emi. This is the emotional crux of the film, and where it stands out from the crowded pack of superhero films. Ken reluctantly takes care of a child and struggles to find balance while learning what Ultraman is meant to be, and it’s effective at pulling at the heart strings. Tindle is no stranger to using animation to tell highly emotional stories, whether it’s with “Kubo and the Two Strings” or “Lost Ollie,” but “Ultraman: Rising” is the story he’s been slowly building toward, and it pays off.

This last bit is important, because even as a CG animated movie, “Ultraman: Rising” is still very much a tokusatsu movie, a love letter to every aspect of the genre, whether it’s the giant monsters, giant heroes, or robots. Kaiko Murayama’s angular and elongated designs make the characters and creatures look different from both other animated features and other kaiju movies, while still very much feeling at home within the long history of “Ultraman.” Granted, there’s still plenty of kaiju action and Tindle recognizes that the real stars of the franchise are the monsters. If the first “Spider-Verse” felt like the start of something new, then this feels like the arrival of the next step in blockbuster animation. ILM’s first movie since 2015’s “Strange Magic” (and the Oscar-winning “Rango” in 2011) proves they’ve still got it.

“Ultraman: Rising” is filled with striking shots designed to become wallpapers or turned into collectible prints. VFX supervisor Hayden Jones and animation supervisor Mathieu Vig understand the power of a good pose, taking aesthetic inspiration from manga and anime. Echoes of “Akira” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (itself heavily inspired by “Ultraman”) inform the dazzling and memorable stances and shots, not just in the fight scenes (of which there are plenty, and are all stunning) but also in the emotional scenes, like a simple yet gorgeous shot of Ken holding Emi at night, with the ocean and a crescent moon behind them. Indeed, it’s a movie full of vibrant colors, a world like no other, but perhaps most impressive is how clear everything looks. The lighting in “Ultraman: Rising” is spectacular, with plenty of nighttime scenes coming across as clear and vibrant, which is especially unique in an era of streaming where every movie and TV show is too dark. 

“Ultraman: Rising” is a contender for best animated movie of the year, one of the best superhero movies in years, and one of the all-time greatest American adaptations of a Japanese franchise. Whether you’ve never even heard of “Ultraman” or you clearly remember where you were when the Ultra Brothers were crucified, this is a film worth watching.

“Ultraman: Rising” premieres on Netflix on June 14.

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‘Ultraman: Rising’ Review: A Japanese Icon Gets the Netflix Treatment in a Kid-Friendly Kaiju Adventure

David ehrlich.

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Unfolding like a family-oriented cross between “ Pacific Rim ” and “ Big Hero 6, ” this eye-popping CGI adventure makes no mention of the fact that its titular superhero is canonically an alien, just as it makes no attempt to explain why baseball star Ken Sato — an original character — and his estranged father can both transform into skyscraper-sized, Evangelion-esque fighting machines at the push of a button. Is Ultraman actually a robot, or does he just look that way because of his uncanny resemblance to the Iron Giant? Instead of straining to answer such questions, Tindle and Marc Haimes’ script focuses its attention on ensuring that any kid from around the world can watch along without a pressing need to ask them in the first place. The only barrier to entry here is a Netflix subscription.

Tempting as it is to demonize this movie as a test-run for the dark future of streaming, where a great promise (access to and enthusiasm for content from across the globe) is betrayed by a grim reality (the dilution of national iconography into flavorless slop with “universal appeal”), the reality is that “Ultraman: Rising” is a fun, sincere, and thoughtfully conceived piece of kids entertainment. And it’s liable to make young viewers more curious about the world around them — not less. At the very least, it maintains a healthy respect for how difficult it can be to balance domestic concerns with larger obligations.

When Ken receives the call to return to Japan and become the new Ultraman (under the guise of bringing his baseball talents to the Yomiuri Giants), the preening narcissist leaps at the chance to bask in the glory of being Tokyo’s biggest hero, even if no one will know that he’s the one doing it. The movie will tell us that Ken is motivated by attention, specifically the attention he never received from his absent father as a child, but denying us a chance to see the impact that absence had on him tends to stifle the emotional core of the movie that follows. 

That job isn’t made any easier by the fact that Ultraman refuses to kill the kaiju, who are really just big, scared animals looking for a way back home. Under the direction of Dr. Onda (Keone Young), whose family was killed in a kaiju attack a few decades earlier, the government-funded Kaiju Defense Force doesn’t share the same compunction. Needless to say, that discrepancy will cause a few extra headaches for Ken when he suddenly becomes a parent himself — not to a human newborn, but to a baby kaiju who imprints on Ultraman the moment it hatches. 

Ken may not have called his father a lot over the last 20 years, but that’s the funny thing about having a kid: You suddenly need your parents in a way you haven’t since you were a child yourself. More to the point: You suddenly understand them in a way you never have before. Ken is an insufferable buffoon even by the standards of a cartoon primadonna, but his initial jerkiness makes it that much easier for “Ultraman: Rising” to trace his dawning recognition of the dilemma that used to make life so difficult for his dad. Professor Sato’s superpowers made him strong enough to save the world, but they didn’t make him strong enough to save his family; he was his son’s first hero, in the way that so many parents are heroes to their children, but the history of Ultraman has taught us that all giants eventually shrink down to size.

“Ultraman’s most important task is finding balance,” Professor Sato explains at the start, and Ken will have to learn that lesson the hard way. But this story is only as satisfying for adults as it is for their kids because it gradually inverts that wisdom over the course of the movie — finding balance is what makes Ultraman a hero. 

“Ultraman: Rising” premiered at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It will be available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, June 14.

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