Inframan



"The man beyond bionics!"

The very first Chinese superhero film, The Super Inframan is a Tokusatsu-style film produced by the legendary Shaw Brothers Studio in 1975 and released in America the following year. It's notable for being a fairly transparent knockoff of Ultraman and Kamen Rider (although, despite the poster, not of Superman) that somehow managed to get a three-star review from Roger Ebert. Nevertheless, it's a fun, campy Chop Sockey film whose special effects and acting are, if not great, then at least in the same league as its "inspirations."

The story goes as follows: Princess Dragon Mom (Demon Princess Elzebub in the original) wakes up from hibernation and decides to conquer Earth, so she defrosts a few monsters -- including the tentacled Octopus Mutant, the fire-breathing Emperor of Doom, and the oddly cuddly-looking Nemesis -- and sends them out to wreak havoc. In order to combat them, young Science Patrol member Rayma volunteers to become cyborg Henshin Hero Inframan. Kung fu is utilized, motorcycles are ridden, Chekhov's Guns are fired, and even One Winged Angels prove to be vulnerable to Thunderball Fists.

Inframan employs such tropes as:
"James Rolfe: "This could be the best movie ever made, except it should come with a warning label. It's highly combustible, and it could go BOOM!""
 * Beam O War: The Laser Horn Monster gets into one of these with Inframan. Subverted - Laser Horn Monster simply breaks the stalemate by shooting him with the other horn.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Inframan is equipped with tiny missiles that can be used to thaw him if he ever gets frozen solid. But what are the chances of that?
 * Chewing the Scenery: A silent example: One of the monsters won't stop swaying and manages in one scene to slowly but surely move into almost every shot even though he has absolutely no relevance in the scene at all. It's distracting as all Hell.
 * Dem Bones: Dragon Mom's mooks are dressed, awesomely enough, as biker skeletons.
 * Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: For a bunch of scientists, Science Patrol can kick some ass when they need to.
 * Eyes Do Not Belong There: She-Demon, The Dragon to Dragon Mom, has long, clawed hands with an eye in the center of each. They shoot Frickin Laser Beams.
 * Henshin Hero: Transformation poses and all.
 * Made of Explodium: Everything explodes in this movie.


 * Narm: The major reason you'd want to see this is the unintentional hilarity.
 * One Winged Angel: Dragon Mom shapeshifts into her true form for the final battle, which is... well, this.
 * Rocket Punch: The mighty Thunderball Fists do this. Additionally, the Iron Fist Robots have this as their primary attack.
 * Sizeshifter: Giant Beetle can become gigantic. Thankfully -- because he's basically Ultraman with the Serial Numbers Filed Off -- Inframan can, too.
 * Sword of Plot Advancement: That's right. Thunderball Fists.
 * The Professor: Chang serves in this capacity.
 * This Is a Drill: One of Nemesis' arms ends in a drill, the other... in some sort of shovel thing.