Movies - Ultraman

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	Movies - Ultraman

ULTRAMAN (International Title: Ultraman the Next) is a 2004 tokusatsu superhero movie in the Ultra Series and features a new Ultraman, called "Ultraman the Next". Released December 18, 2004, this film was one part of Tsuburaya Productions' three-part "Ultra N Project" of 2004, the first two involving the unveiling of Ultraman Noa and the airing of the then-new Ultra Series, Ultraman Nexus
. Ultraman the Next resembles a lifelike insectoid version of Nexus (with insect-like body armor and tissue-like skin underneath), and this was the first Ultraman ever to possess this sort of characteristic, a departure from the traditional "clean and shiny" look.

Ultraman The Next is First Lieutenant Shunichi Maki of the Japanese Air Force. A lifelong fan of flying since he was a child, being a pilot is his ultimate dream. Unfortunately, his duties distance himself from his wife, who always ends up being neglected, and his son, who is dying of a congenital blood disease and has only 2 more years to live.

Maki decides to quit the Air Force to devote more time to his family and to spend whatever is left for his son. He takes a part-time job as a commercial tour guide run by a kindly group of people who allow him time to work and to also take care of his family.

However, prior to quitting, Maki and his flight partner are alerted to a red meteor streaking towards Japan, and Maki's plane collides with the red meteor. However, he has suffered no ill effects other than brief flashes of scenes playing out in his mind. He later discovers that the images in his mind are due to telepathic messages from the strange being in the red meteor.

Maki is then kidnapped by a covert government group that locks him up, stating that he is "The Next" and that he is a threat to humanity. They inform him that a similar accident befell one of their own soldiers that was investigating a blue meteor near the ocean floor. After colliding with the blue meteor, the soldier begins to mutate into a lizard-like humanoid, slowly losing his sanity and developing a homicidal streak. Dubbed "The One", the soldier absorbs the capabilities of any animal in an undetermined radius around him. The One, absorbing the powers of spiders, escapes from his laboratory cell, in which the group's scientist was attempting to study him. It is discovered that the scientist was the former fiance to the soldier, and she is determined to stop The One and not allow another to be unleashed to the public.

Believing that Maki is "The Next" and will turn into another lizard being, the scientist learns that The One is predilected to kill The Next, as they are sworn enemies. Using Maki as bait, the government group lures The One to seek Maki and they attempt to stop him with special toxin weapons, but they fail badly.

Maki, no longer willing to be bait or be executed for something he had no control over, escapes but stays to protect the scientist, who is now also on The One's target list. Instead of becoming another creature, Maki transforms into a silver 10-meter tall giant with a rocky / exo-skeleton-like armored body and glowing eyes. As "Ultraman The Next", he successfully defends the scientist from being a victim of The One, who runs away wounded. Maki is weakened from his battle and reverts back to human form, allowing the scientist to recapture him.

Although Maki protects the scientist, she is still determined to kill him, as she thinks that he will eventually become like The One. Tired of being a guinea pig, as well as getting flashes of ESP that tells him that his son has yet another encounter with his failing health, Maki breaks out and heads toward his family. The scientist tries to stop him, but Maki's old flight partner, who is also involved in this situation, covers for Maki, giving him time to comfort his sick child. As his son recovers, he vows to stay by his family's side until his son tells him to follow his dreams and continue flying, despite being ill. His son feels guilt that his father abandoned his dreams of flight to take care of him.

Inspired by his son's selfless actions and that Tokyo is now being attacked by a giant-sized The One after absorbing all of the vermin in the sewers, Maki agrees to go with the scientist for a last ditch attempt to stop The One without further bloodshed. The One attempts to lure the scientist by playing on her feelings for his host body, the hapless soldier, and to also trap The Next into a major battle in order to kill him. Maki finally realizes that The One has lost all shreds of humanity & compassion, and vows to destroy The One.

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Movies - Ultraman

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