Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2011

When Japan’s space agency JAXA re-energized its cosmic exploration program eight years ago and launched an unmanned probe to collect samples from an asteroid, one could imagine this (supposedly) chest-thumping accomplishment as a Japanese feature film. What would have been hard to imagine is that three major, big-budget pics would be planned within two years of the craft, called Hayabusa, returning to earth. Well, that’s what’s happened. Toei studios have poured ¥1.5 billion into their Hayabusa: Harukanaru Kikan extravaganza and it will feature mega-star Ken Watanabe. Shochiku studios are adding 3-D to try and enhance the deep space effect but 20th Century Fox is first to market with their simply titled Hayabusa. The story centers on an erstwhile researcher (Yoko Takeuchi) who lives and dies with every development and space movement of this eponymous spaceship. Replete with all the melodrama, over-acting and sentimentality one can handle, the flick encompasses some of the worst of blockbuster J-film techniques. There are reports Fox will release this in the US. Good luck with that. (140 min)