Claiming to be a precursor to both RoboCop and The Terminator, the manga mainstay known as 8 Man could and should have made for one slick superhero flick of his own. Unfortunately, director Yasuhiro Horiuchi steered the science-fiction film down the soap-opera route, in much the same way heavy metal bands used to release a ballad in a shameless bid for mainstream acceptance.
Like RoboCop, the character of 8 Man (first published in 1963) was born out of the lifeless body of a cop (Toshihide Wakamatsu, TV’s Birdman Squadron Jetman) killed in the line of duty. A hush-hush program run by a brilliant scientist (Jô Shishido, Branded to Kill) resurrects the dead dick as a super machine, here emblazoned with a large “8” across his sleek, robotic form. To Horiuchi’s credit, his film does include some nifty sequences that shows our 8 Man in action, like running at incredible speeds or catching bullets in his hands.
Too bad these sequences are few and far between. Instead of being the hyperkinetic, balls-out action extravaganza you would expect from Asian genre efforts of that era, 8 Man generates hate by instead opting to focus on the hero’s exploration of his past and his current hobby of emotion-grappling, leading to ridiculous, soul-searching montages scored to terrible J-pop love songs. It grows sappy enough to become simply unwatchable, as if the opening (read: baffling) dedication of “For all lonely nights” weren’t an immediate clue.
On a scale of 1 to 8, 8 Man would be lucky to earn a 4. Alas, it is not that lucky. But, hey, that suit is cool. —Rod Lott