Atomic Rulers of the World (1964)

The Japanese are probably by far the leaders in campy B-movie cinema, if not they are responsible for starting the trend which dates back at least 1954 with the premier of Gojira aka Godzilla. So it should be of no surprise that the campy films of early Japanese cinema would branch out to other characters maybe not as well known as Godzilla. Atomic Rulers of the World is the United States first introduction to the Superman themed hero known as Starman. Played by Ken Utsui, Starman had grown to popularity in nine previous films in Japan under the name Super Giant. Keeping up with B-movie tradition this first Starman film, boasts campy lines, outlandish fight scenes and incredibly bad costumes, but like most Japanese science fiction of this time it's still unbelievably entertaining, no matter how bad it is.

Earth is threatened by atomic annihilation from a group known as the Mirapolia. A distant planet who are observers of Earth find it to be their responsibility to intervene and stop an atomic attack which could have dire effects on surrounding planets in the galaxy. To prevent this from occurring the planet sends their human cyborg named Starman, who is equipped with a globe meter (a watch) which allows him to do three things, detect radioactivity, gives him the ability to fly, and to speak and understand any language. Starman must intercept the device being delivered to the Mirapolia which is need to complete the bomb before it's too late.

Atomic Rulers of the World is basically a Japanese ripoff of Superman, and therefore features many similarities. If your were a fan of the Superman series back in the early 1950's then you might especially get a kick out of this. Like all similar films of this era, it lacks a real solid story, often making absolutely no sense but is still quite humorous in it's ignorance of it's corniness. Overall, it's a brainless science fiction film that is sure to please fans of similar films of the era.

What I Learned:

- It's so bright inside Japanese airplanes that the women have to wear sunglasses, even during rain storms.
- Nuclear bombs come in easy to carry sizes.
- Starman can jump backwards out of the depths of the ocean.

7/10