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Big Man Japan

Play trailer Poster for Big Man Japan PG-13 Released May 15, 2009 1h 53m Comedy Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
77% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
An ordinary, middle-aged slacker named Dai Sato (Hitoshi Matsumoto) uses electricity to transform himself into a building-sized superhero, able to protect Japan from marauding monsters. Despite the good he does, Dai Sato is an unpopular guy with multiple problems, including a pushy agent and a father afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
Big Man Japan

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Hitoshi Matsumoto's indescribably odd mockumentary is undeniably inspired.

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Critics Reviews

View All (35) Critics Reviews
Tom Long Detroit News Somewhere there is a stranger film than Big Man Japan, but it would be hard to find. Rated: B- Jun 26, 2009 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 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 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Very funny in an insidious way. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 25, 2009 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 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. Rated: 3/4 Sep 4, 2023 Full Review Ard Vijn ScreenAnarchy With its wit and focus on media-manipulation, "Godzilla" meets "Network" comes close though. It's also damn funny. Jan 23, 2020 Full Review David Harris Spectrum Culture Big Man Japan is the worst of all worlds, it alternates from boring to mind-numbingly awful. Rated: 1/5 Oct 9, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (358) audience reviews
roberto c No es para cualquiera, pero para su público... ¡es maravillosa! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review dave c This is a good cult classic. Shot as a documentary with a handheld camera, this is a fun satire/spoof about a super hero fighting ridiculous Japanese monsters. The lead character did a good job. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member i had a good time watching this, but it could have been a much better movie. it's got some funny parts, some very silly special effects, and some good characters, but they seem to spend too much time plodding along when the monsters aren't there, with each scene being just a few minutes longer than necessary for the jokes to get across, yet at the same time those jokes were so subdued that i think i only actually laughed one time. the last fight scene took way too long, was not funny, and the change in animation styles made it unclear whether the guy got a TV deal or if he died and was having a fantasy of belonging to a cool super family. i really can't give this 5 stars because it truly did not pan out to what i expected at all, and really there was no particular moment where i felt all of the films efforts came together in a exciting or fun fashion. there is a lot of dark humor that lands very well, but the focal points of the story are often questionably paced, and everything in between is very, very slow. i think if you have the time for it, this is a good movie to watch, but i can't give it a higher rating than 3.5 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Definitely not a high quality movie in the CGI department, but it makes for a hilarious viewing experience with friends. Only Japan can produce this level of bizarre storytelling. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/20 Full Review Audience Member One of the most bizarre and strangest movie super hero movies I've ever seen but if you know me you know I love strange and weird movies and I really liked this one, the effects are kind of dated but if you can get past this its a really good time and its actually a pretty smart movie as well. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member at first i like how the story progress but the ending feels like the film gives you big middle finger for paying attention. japanese movie at its finest i suppose Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Big Man Japan

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Cast & Crew

Big Man Japan

Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Kaiju Grandpa Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Kaiju Grandpa 2:33 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Child Monster Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Child Monster 3:00 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Becoming Big Man Japan Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Becoming Big Man Japan 2:59 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Super Justice Beating Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Super Justice Beating 3:00 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Baby or Die! Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Baby or Die! 2:39 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Grandpa vs. The Evil Red Menace Big Man Japan: Official Clip - Grandpa vs. The Evil Red Menace 3:00 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Leaping Monster Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Leaping Monster 2:31 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Evil Stare Monster Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Evil Stare Monster 2:59 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Stink Monster Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Stink Monster 3:01 Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Strangling Monster Big Man Japan: Official Clip - The Strangling Monster 3:00 View more videos

Movie Info

Synopsis An ordinary, middle-aged slacker named Dai Sato (Hitoshi Matsumoto) uses electricity to transform himself into a building-sized superhero, able to protect Japan from marauding monsters. Despite the good he does, Dai Sato is an unpopular guy with multiple problems, including a pushy agent and a father afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
Director
Hitoshi Matsumoto
Producer
Akihiko Okamoto
Screenwriter
Hitoshi Matsumoto, Mitsuyoshi Yakasu
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. Ltd.
Rating
PG-13 (Crude Humor|Sci-Fi Action)
Genre
Comedy, Sci-Fi
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
May 15, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 21, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$40.3K
Runtime
1h 53m