Planet X Leader: This wouldn't have been a six-page
whatever if Jared hadn't plastered my comments (out of context) in the first place, which necessitated straightening out, and then answering all of Jared's rebuttals. Oh well...
One last time for the record; as having "insider" access to Tsuburaya for many years, I can tell you that with the first wave of success with the films, ZEARTH through COSMOS, the budgets increased, respectively, and then came to a stop. After this, the budgets were scaled back, and the filmmakers were told to make due. When I talk about a downward spiral in quality, I'm talking about overall, across the board (writing, direction, production values, etc.). Again, for those who didn't bother reading the previous posts, that doesn't mean that because of this, the films suck, are complete trash, and if you enjoy them, you're a moron. Never said that.
Just because some of you can't see it, it doesn't mean that it's not so, and more power to you — as I said over and over — I'm glad that people are enjoying these films, regardless of their individual quality (or lack thereof). Most of you have only seen these films on DVD or BD, whether it be legit, duped or downloaded, and on relatively small monitors. While everything looks great when observed on such small platforms, these films were made for theatrical presentation on screens many, many times bigger than your home monitors. This amplifies any blemishes these productions may have — revealing poorly masked green screen shots, poor rendering in CGI elements, and poorly lit and photographed sets.
If these films were made for television or direct-to-video, they would be perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, as Motion Pictures, they fall short of the mark. I just expect more — not anything "ground breaking", but let's have some writing above the 5-10 year-old target these films are made for, and some respect for the intelligence of the audience. If you're going to work some fanservice in, great, but let's do it tastefully and so it makes sense. Just because I expect better, doesn't mean that all of you have to boo me. Just look at the Original Video ULTRA SEVEN spin-off series. While they were low-budget, the stories and the writing were excellent. If they had the budget of one of these films, you'd have one of the best Ultra Series productions ever made.
But, these films are made for grammar school kids, anyhow. So, why should I be complaining? How dare I expect something better.
