Big Man Japan manages to be truly original, something beyond description that you’ll have to see to believe or even understand, if understanding it is even possible.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 4, 2023

With its wit and focus on media-manipulation, "Godzilla" meets "Network" comes close though. It's also damn funny.

| Jan 23, 2020

Big Man Japan is the worst of all worlds, it alternates from boring to mind-numbingly awful.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Oct 9, 2019

An affectionate parody of Japanese giant-monster hero shows to make points about the unraveling of Japan's cultural heritage.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 5, 2011

The movie's shambling, matter-of-fact approach to pulpy material is funny, as is its steadfast avoidance of visual hype.

| Original Score: B | Oct 11, 2009

Big Man Japanis built around a funny concept, vaguely akin to Hancock: its title character is a superhero who is a bit of a loser.Unfortunately, the concept is not enough to sustain entire the film.

| Sep 25, 2009

The movie doesn't get truly weird until the Power Ranger-style superheroes show up, and the special effects get even more low-rent. Then it really takes off.

| Aug 14, 2009

Big Man Japan shows a good mockumentary needs more than killer concept to make us howl.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 31, 2009

Somewhere there is a stranger film than Big Man Japan, but it would be hard to find.

| Original Score: B- | Jun 26, 2009

This inspired 2007 send-up of the atomic-monster genre gets a fair amount of comic mileage from Daisato (played by the director) being anything but a big man.

| Jun 26, 2009

Very funny in an insidious way.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 25, 2009

This is Matsumoto's first feature (he's a famously odd Japanese comedian), but it's a distinctively bizarre piece of work. Remember the name.

| Original Score: 7/10 | May 30, 2009

The film, written, directed and starring stand-up comic Hitoshi Matsumoto has, like most superheroes, a tragic flaw: It isn't funny.

| Original Score: 1/4 | May 29, 2009

If Christopher Guest made a Japanese monster movie, the end result might be Big Man Japan.

| May 19, 2009

Smart spoof of the Japanese giant-monster genre.

| Original Score: B | May 19, 2009

A cheesy B-movie that's initially refreshing, funny and a guilty pleasure, but eventually sinks into tedium while its comic energy and imagination concurrently diminish.

| Original Score: 5.5/10 | May 17, 2009

Goofy sci-fi satire aimed at a narrow audience.

| May 15, 2009

At nearly two hours, Big Man Japan is clever (in a sick sort of way) but overlong. It needs judicious editing -- more mockumentary, fewer superhero antics.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 15, 2009

As in life, the nonmonster stuff goes on too long. But wait until the giant baby shows up.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 15, 2009

You've probably never seen anything like Big Man Japan.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 15, 2009