Shin Kamen Rider (2023) [Tokusatsu Review]

Shin Kamen Rider; or, Tokusatsu: Far From Home
     Please use your power for the people. Use your power to protect the weak.
A year after the premiere of Shin Ultraman (2022), Tokusatsu fans were presented with the conclusion of the Shin Trilogy of movies cooked up by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. The final instalment focuses on one of Toei’s greatest heroes: Kamen Rider, a motorcycle-riding fighter of justice originally created by manga artist and producer Shotaro Ishinomori.

Release Info

Directed by: Hideaki Anno Starring: Sosuke Ikematsu, Minami Hamabe, Tasuku Emoto

Language: Japanese Original Title: シン・仮面ライダー Runtime: 121 min

Synopsis
A mysterious group called the Sustainable Happiness Organization with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodeling (in short: SHOCKER) kidnaps Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu) and attempts to transform him into a brainwashed synthetic animal hybrid known as Augment. Hongo undergoes a transformation into Grasshopper-Aug 01, but he retains his human willpower and identity. He is rescued by Professor Hiroshi Midorikawa (Shinya Tsukamoto) and his daughter Ruriko (Minami Hamabe). Midorikawa explains that he gave Hongo the superhuman power of prana for the purpose of defeating SHOCKER. Hongo becomes Kamen Rider and starts to fight the evil organization. Soon after, another Kamen Rider, Hayato Ichimonji (Tasuku Emoto), joins Hongo in his quest.

Fanboyism: The Motion Picture
If you go back and read my reviews of Shin Gojira and Neon Genesis Evangelion, you can tell that I have issues with the auteur artist Hideaki Anno. I try to stay open-minded and appreciate his original input into the realm of visual arts, but there are times when he just takes things way too far in order to please himself. Shin Kamen Rider reflects exactly that.

Whereas Shinji Higuchi’s Shin Ultraman was an enjoyable light-hearted ride that paid tribute to the original content, Shin Kamen Rider delivers the same format but in a very washed out manner. The dynamic, nearly break-neck action is there, but it does not feel compelling. The stakes are there, but you do not feel motivated to root for the characters who are stone cold in their expression of emotions and delivery of lines. A comfortable fanboy aura is there also, but you have experienced it already in the previous entry of Shin flicks.

Perhaps Hideaki Anno wanted to play things safe, or he might have been given a tight deadline by Toei. Either way, Shin Kamen Rider is a disjointed mess that desperately attempts to satisfy 50-something fans of the original series who were children back in the 1970s. Unfortunately, fanboyism is not enough to make this movie good. Personally, I would appreciate it more had Anno gone for a traditional remake that would reintroduce the character of Kamen Rider for a new generation of cinemagoers. Show the character’s origin and give us the standard good vs. evil story without analytical breakdown of the villain’s psyche.

That being said, there are a few things that I enjoyed in the film. For example, the 70s vintage production design, the sound effects, basically the whole showdown with Hachi Aug-01 (but mainly because of Nanase Nishino’s sismance-charged performance), and of course numerous small parts done by such actors as Shinya Tsukamoto, Mikako Ichikawa, Takumi Saitoh, and Yutaka Takenouchi. Unfortunately, Masami Nagasawa’s cameo as Scorpion-Aug seems too awkward and too out-of-the-blue for the context of this film.

Recommendations
All things considered, this is definitely the weakest entry of the Shin Trilogy. When the end credits rolled in, I experienced one of the rare moments in my life that I felt as if I wasted time. However, perhaps Hideaki Anno’s fans will react differently. Shin Kamen Rider just did not click with me. I prefer to stick with the original series and explore the franchise further.Overall score: 5/10

«Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»