The Super Inframan (1975)

I rented this DVD because I really like Shaw Brothers movies, not because I am a fan of shows like the Power Rangers and the like. However, I figured with this Chinese studio behind the production, I might still enjoy it. Well, now that the film is over, I can say that I was not at all impressed, as it seemed like a movie only for kids--not fans of serious martial arts films. I appear to be in the minority, though, as all the other reviewers gave it glowing reviews. Now I am not saying that they are wrong--it's just that how much you enjoy this film will really depend on what you think of seeing superheroes and monsters in rubber suits beating each other up for most of the film. They liked it, I didn't--it's as simple as that. I grew up long before the Power Rangers--during the era of Ultraman and even then, I was the only boy in the neighborhood that didn't like the show. So, keep this in mind when reading my review.The film begins with monster attacks occurring all over the place. Only after this has occurred many times did the leader of these monsters show herself. Now I could not understand why some hot Chinese lady in an odd costume was the queen of a bunch of guys in rubber monster suits or Grim Reaper fighting costumes, but I guess you just have to accept this for what it is. The group of humans sent to fight these monsters is really pathetic and so it's up to the brilliant doctor to turn one of these men into the monster-fighter, Inframan! Inframan can do just about anyth8ing and one by one he beats the snot out of all the baddies--leading to a rather unexciting and highly anticipated finale.On the plus side, the costumes are pretty cool and SOME of the martial arts are pretty good (particularly later in the film). On the negative side, these are guys in rubber suits beating the crap out of each other! 'Nuff said!

I first watched this movie back in the 80s. I was much younger then and I thought that this was the coolest movie on earth. I had a talent for hyperbole even back then. So my opinion, naturally, is colored by nostalgia.I watched it again a couple of weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it -- though not for the same reasons. I was amazed at how earnestly the entire cast tried to make such a cheesy script work. It also reminded me of what it was like to be a kid again. When I first saw it, I was not bothered with such questions as:1. Where does a group of villains asleep since the last ice age get their hands on motorcycle helmets? 2. Did they really have to glue horns to said helmets before wearing them?3. Did the director intend for us to see that one of the monsters was wearing white running shoes underneath his rubber costume?So it was nice to see all the things I just sat back and accepted as a kid. All in all, a nice trip through memory lane.

Let's get one thing out of the way right up front: Infra-Man is NOT a good movie, in fact, it's downright awful. Let's get another thing out of the way: it's a blast to watch anyway.Basically, Infra-Man is every Ultraman/Power Rangers cliché ever imagined rolled into a single movie. A heroic young fellow who's part of a barely explained government agency (that's clearly hi-tech, since everyone wears clothes made out of tin foil) volunteers to be turned into an overgrown action figure named Infra-Man to stop the evil Princess Dragon Mom and her band of mutants from destroying mankind. That's pretty much all the story thee is, and it all happens in the first ten minutes.Technically, Infra-Man is a spectacular mess. The pacing is terrible, with periods of incomprehensibly frantic speed sandwiched between stretches of mind-numbing boredom. None of the characters have any personality at all (they're more like props that talk) which is problematic, since none of them get more than half a second of introduction for us to get to know them. The acting is awful on it's own, and the pathetic dubbing only makes things worse. The `monsters' wouldn't even make it onto a Fox Kids show; The Banana Splits were scarier (and they had better special effects, too). Lapses in logic abound (Why does Princess Dragon Mom call us `Earthlings' when she's a `prehistoric super human'? How does every one know to shout `Infra-Man!' when the hero first appears when he's only been around for about thirty seconds? Why does our hero suddenly jump from being powered by a nuclear battery to solar power? Why is he even called `Infra-Man' when he has nothing to do with anything infrared? Why does She-Devil always look so bored?) but the film is clearly a lost cause at this point.Yet, Infra-Man is an absolute blast. Why? Simple: it's one of those few movies that's so deliriously bad that you can't help but laugh. All that bright and colorful spandex jumping around, the absurdly over done sound effects, the almost seizure-like bad acting, the almost nonexistent special effects, and the complete absence of plot are thrown at the viewer at a speed and volume that is mesmerizing simply because we can't believe anyone would actually do this sort of thing. It's all so grossly bad that you can't help but be entertained by it, sort of like a fart but with spandex and monsters.Every other reviewer so far has apparently been so swept up in watching this cinematic train wreck that they actually call it good, but don't be fooled. No one is laughing WITH Infra-Man, we're all laughing AT it; and in that sense, it's a blast.

I saw this movie when it was first released to theaters in the US in 1975 as Inframan. The mid 70s were the days of Johnny Socko and Ultraman, so Inframan kind of felt like a souped up version of those.The fact that I remember seeing this movie so vividly, even after 28 years have gone by, should be some indication that it's at least not humdrum. Sure, the monsters are fake, and the plot is ludicrous, but you aren't MEANT to take Inframan any more seriously than you did Ultraman (if you ever watched that show). This movie is nothing more (and nothing less!) than campy Japanese techno-samurai heroics at its Technicolor best.Inframan does amazingly gymnastic things and defeats amazingly craptacular foes, and does so with great style and lots of intense colors. Though I was too young to have tried any hallucinogens back in 1975, I can say now, after more life experience, that this IS the kind of movie you would greatly enjoy while on hallucinogens; and even if you aren't tripping when you watch this movie, you'll get some of that same feel anyway. It's just that kind of movie. ;)