Monsters:
The SSP office is filled with model toys. We keep getting rather closeup shots of the starship enterprise and the ship from latitude zero. It’s sort of funny how often the Enterprise appears in this.
General Plot:
Film is essentially a sequel to shin Godzilla, but maybe not a direct continuation. In the opening, “Shin Godzilla” name appears in katakana, over an Ultra Q backdrop. Then we see the films real title, and the Ultra Q theme starts, as it’s revealed that the SSSP fights monsters that appear.
An opening of montages is shown where monsters, very similar to Shin Godzilla, have been destroyed. They include Gomess, who is almost identical to Shin Godzilla. We then get a montage of monsters that humanity has defeated, and the entire thing is a gigantic homage to Ultra Q, including monsters from the series like Pagos, Juran, etc… Again, more Shin Godzilla references, as the way many of these monsters are defeated is identical to the way shin is defeated by being frozen.
We then get a scene where Neronga appears and the movie begins proper. He’s attacking an electrical power plant, the military launches some conventional attacks. Unsurprisingly they do nothing and we’re introduced to the SSSP. Neronga continues its rampage, and one of the SSSP crew goes to save a young boy in a nearby forest. Suddenly a silver Giant (Ultraman) appears. Neronga launches a beam, but Ultraman tanks the hit like it’s nothing. Ultraman fires his specium beam and Neronga is is quickly defeated.
Some time passes, while the mystery of Ultraman grows. We’re introduced to a new member of the SSSP, Asami. The office of the SSSP is filled with models that are direct references to other SF and Toho series, including the ship from latitude zero.
Gabora suddenly appears and is heading towards a nuclear dump. The military tries to kill Gabora with stealth fighters and Gabora shrugs it off. This scene is another overt reference to Shin Godzilla, including some jokey bad dialogue from the stealth pilot fighters.
Ultraman appears and a cool fight ensues. Gabora drills and drills and drills, while Ultraman dodged. Ultraman kicks him off and away, before Gabora extends his “cape” into the mountainside and absorbs energy. He then fired a beam, identical to Shin Gojira’s and IIRC the characters make a note of it. I could’ve sworn one of the characters shouts,” ITS LIKE GODZILLA’s” but I don’t want to mislead anyone.
Anyways, Gabora is defeated in a gruesome way, where Ultraman punches it’s skull in and then brings it to space.
Zarab appears,and he has this funny hat on. He claims to be an investigator, and says he’s here to help. He kidnaps Ultraman and imprisons him.
An imposter Ultraman appears. Asami frees Ultraman, and Ultraman fights imposter/Zarab. The fight is cool, they fight in a city at night and fly around a bunch. Ultraman slices Zarab in half.
A few days/time passes and other things happen. Suddenly, Asami is giant (a clear reference to giant Fuji). The SSP shows up, and she destroys some things but it’s nothing serious. Meflias’s voice taunts everyone, and I think he begins to goat humanity for being hypocritical.
Asami is embrassed that she became big, and there’s videos online of Asami being a big lady. She’s really upset, and Meflias, as a gesture of goodwill deletes the videos.
Meflias appears. There’s something where he’s making a deal with earth, to give a beta capsule, and it’s not unlike the Xilliens from IATOM (promising something good). However it’s a trap, and if I understood it correctly it would’ve altered everyone’s DNA (maybe, there was something with organisms). The SSSP knows this, but not everyone else does. Edit: I think I’m wrong here. I think it’s supposed to be a technology that can turn humans giant, and and a big question is that if humans deserve to have this technology.
A large portion of the conflict here shows that Meflias is showing Ultraman that humanity is hypocritical. Meflias talks to Ultraman in a playground, before police surround them and it’s revealed to be a set-up. They talk over booze , and then time passes. Meflias leaks Ultramans’s identity, a sort of reversal of how he erased things.
In the Knick of time the SSSP and Ultraman stop Meflias.
Ultraman fights Meflias and it’s cool, but ends with Ultraman confirming his morals. Meflias reveals Ultraman’s identity, and there’s some drama involving that. During the fight, it looks as though Meflias is about to win, but Zoffy appears and Meflias is scared off. The fight stops, and Meflias agrees to leave peacefully, taking back his device.
Zoffy confronts Ultraman and released Zetton. Zetton appears. It’s a gigantic fortress in the sky. It’s like an angel from Evangelion, but it’s still distinctly Zetton. Ultraman goes up to fight it, gets decimated, and falls to Earth/the Ocean.
There’s a slight lull while Ultraman recovers. The SSSP does something (maybe calculations) and this helps Ultraman go off to fight Zetton again. Zetton transforms into a giant space laser, and I’m pretty sure it’s about to destroy the earth. Ultraman just in the nick of time blasts off and punches through. However, it’s less of a fight and more of a heroic sacrifice. Ultraman enters a black hole, and Zoffy appears to tell Ultraman he needs to be a hero. Ultraman/Ultraman host wakes up alongside his comrades and the film ends.
If the film feels episodic, that’s because it is. However, I believe the overarching story is if humanity can be trusted/is worth saving. The film doesn’t use the term “seijin” or “uchujin” but rather “Gaiseijin”. I can’t say if the films overall approach is positive due to a language barrier at play, but I believe the film is loosely satirizing xenophobia in japan. There’s a sequence where the prime minister of japan is talking a lot of shit about “gaiseijins” and other things, only to instantly pause for a rather cheery photo-op with Zarab.
The films climax thus isn’t some big fight, but rather a sacrifice against Zetton, and decided that humanity/japan is worth fighting for. I predict some people will be disappointed by this; the fights are both some of the best and some of the worst I’ve seen in any kaiju media.