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Guyver:
Dark Hero
Mr.Bueno
Introduction
I have been a fan of The
Guyver for a long time. The 80's Anime movie (entitled Guyver:
Out of Control) isn't really a prize winner to me, but around
the early/mid 90's when Anime was at it's peak, I was blown
away by the first half (Eps. 1-6) of the Bio Booster Armor
Guyver OVA series. The second half however (Eps 7-12), has
much to be desired...
After reading the Manga
and seeing the Anime, I saw the live action version sitting
on the shelves of the local rental store. Surprised that
it was live action (let alone an independant sci-fi actioner
starring Mark Hamill), I decided to check it out. Needless
to say, the movie was terrible. The design of the Guyver
was close but no cigar and the fights were definately bunk.
A few years later I see "Guyver: Dark Hero" on
the new releases rack. "Not another one..." I
thought. But then I took a closer look at the cover to see
a way better looking costume design for the Guyver. I decided
to rent it based on that fact alone and after watching it,
was pleased with the results of the movie, speaking as a
fan of the Manga and Anime.
Just for starters, here's
a little background on the storyline. A company called "Chronos"
(which creates monsters known as Zoanoids) are on a hunt
to track down the "Guyver Unit", an object of
unknown origin that encase the Guyver. The Guyver is a Bio
Booster Armor which enables it's user to have enhanced strength,
speed, and agility. In short, it makes any normal human
turn superhuman. The Guyver eventually falls into the hands
of Sean Barker, played by David Hayter (who is best known
as the voice actor of "Solid Snake" in Metal Gear
Solid 1&2) and he's forced to do battle with Chronos
and their ruthless biological weapons.
What is it About?
Guyver: Dark Hero (a.k.a.
Guyver II: Dark Hero) takes place a year after the first
movie. Sean/Guyver-1 has destroyed Chronos in Los Angeles,
and with the suit, tries to do the right thing by stopping
local criminals. Instead, the media make him out to be a
vigilante since some of the people he's tried to save have
been killed. During all this, Sean starts to have strange
dreams about the Guyver and where it came from. His hunch
eventually leads him to an archeological dig in the mountains
in which he finds a strange alien spaceship that seems to
be able to communicate with him. And to everyone's surprise,
Chronos comes in and threatens everyone at the dig to submit
all of their findings or else corpses are going to be made.
The movie's fight scenes
are amazing. Filmed in the same Hong Kong action style such
as Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, it gives the movie a feeling
of what a Hong Kong directed Tokusatsu show would look like.
It makes you wonder why director Steve Wang (director of
"Kung-Fu Rascals" and "Drive") didn't
take the helm of the first movie instead of just being a
co-director. The wire work in the fights definately adds
to the superhero element of the film and is done really
well. After seeing how the Guyver moves in this film, you
start to wonder who would win between Steve Wang's Guyver
or Sam Raimi's Spider-Man...
Steve says that he's been
watching not only Hong Kong action movies, but Japanese
superhero shows such as Ultraman and Masked Rider since
he was a kid. And it shows, both in terms of action and
special effects since Steve handles both jobs of directing
and creature make-up/effects. He did such a good job on
the movie with the design of the Guyver suit. In fact, it
looks like it came straight out of the Manga. Steve Wang's
special effects credits include working on movies such as
Predator, Beetljuice, Alien Ressurection, and Batman Returns.
And for all of you gory special effects fans out there,
there's quite a few graphic scenes. Some of which are almost
perfectly mimicked from the Manga and Anime (blood coming
out of Guyver 1's air exhaust, ripping out of the control
metal, etc.). There's even one scene where the Guyver displays
random acts of violence on one Zoanoid to the point where
ya almost feel sorry for the poor creature (but then ya
realize he's the bad guy again ^_^). As for for the CGI
effects, you get to see the Guyver fight in style using
his signature Vibration Blades, Head Laser, and even the
Mega Smasher! And to all the Guyver fans out there, I'm
sorry to say it but no Pressure Cannon in this movie. Oh
well...
If there's anything bad
about the movie, I'd say that it's some of the actors and
the fact that there's a little too much dialogue. It kinda
makes you wonder why more money was put into the drama of
the film instead of the more fight scenes and special effects.
127 minutes is a LONG viewing and definately something that
shouldn't be mostly drama. At times, the movie feels some
what drawn out and when a fight scene comes along, it tends
to pass a little too quickly leaving you with a sweet tooth
as well as a demand for more of such sequences.
My Opinion
All in all, Guyver: Dark
Hero is not a bad movie, but it's not the best one either.
Though it drags on for quite a bit, it makes up for it with
great creature designs/make-up effects, special effects,
and awesome fight scenes. With these positive points, Guyver:
Dark Hero sets an example of how Tokusatsu could look like
if a little Hong Kong action flavor was added. Every fan
of Bio Booster Armor Guyver should check this one out though.
I may not have loved this movie, but I definately liked
it...a lot. Heck, I bought a copy of it to add to my movie
collection. Who knows? Maybe someday Steve Wang'll make
a Japanese live action Guyver movie. But prehaps he won't
have to yell out "GUYVER!" to transform. Instead,
it could be "HENSHIN!". ^_-
Mr. Bueno
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