Zebraman (2004)

Takashi Miike constantly impresses me with his mutability. The first film of his I ever saw was Ichi the Killer, which grossed me out so much I couldn't even finish it, so I swore off his movies. No Audition or Gozu for me, thanks. But then he's making things like the adorably bizarre The Happiness of the Katakuris or the insanely badass Sukiyaki Western Django, and I can't figure the guy out. After being smitten with the summary, I gave Zebraman a try, in which unpopular 3rd-grade teacher Shin'ichi Ichikawa (Shô Aikawa) remains unappreciated by his bratty students, cheating wife, bullied son, and jailbait daughter.

To escape his humdrum life, he secretly dresses up as Zebraman, the hero of a 70's television program he enjoyed as a child. He bonds with wheelchair-bound transfer student Shinpei (Naoki Yasukochi) over their mutual love of the obscure and short-lived series, and feels motivated to become a vigilante. At first he isn't especially effective, but soon he begins to develop actual Zebraman superpowers and fighting abilities. Weird crimes are happening around the city, perpetrated by men resembling villains from the tv show, and only Zebraman can stop them! Also, aliens are involved.

Yeah so this movie sounds like it would be awesome, but it didn't exactly deliver. I think they couldn't figure out if it should embrace the campiness of the 70's action shows it is referencing, or if it should be vaguely serious about the whole thing and turn it into some sort of sappy family film. I really like the scenes of Zebraman pulling out weird fighting moves and screaming their names as he performs them, but as the film progresses it becomes less fun and shifts in tone. It gets kind of boring, to be honest. And the Flubber-ish alien things felt out of place.

I'll admit that while I know I generally enjoyed the movie, I don't remember it especially well. I think I was a bit sleepy at the time and it wasn't funny or thrilling enough to keep me wholly focused. It's fairly accessible for a Miike film, but not as interesting as I'd have expected from him. It definitely has some stellar moments, though.

3.5/5

That was a pretty lacklust review, I'm sorry guys. I'll do better next time, I promise!