| Kamen
Rider Agito: Project
G4 (2001)
Production: Toei Corporation
By Tristan "Dreamseer"
Day
Introduction
2001 saw the arrival of the second
New Century Kamen Rider series, “Kamen Rider Agito”
featuring an expansive story, a large cast of characters,
which all interconnect, and 3 different Riders to deal with.
At the time, this was somewhat of a big deal. When Agito became
even more popular than it’s predecessor, Kuuga, the
obvious answer to the surging demand was an Agito movie and
so the one-hour film, which takes place during the second
half of the series, “Project G4” was born...
Story
“RUN! Hurry, RUN!!”
This was the cry of the young lady, Saiyoko, after being assaulted
with the terrible psychic vision of her school being attacked
by the inhuman monsters called as Unknowns.
Her school is not an ordinary one- it is within
a government facility, where young children with unique abilities
are studied and learn to control their powers. But, after
the school is attacked by a horde of Unknowns, Saiyoko barely
escapes with her life, forced to leave her schoolmates behind,
only to see them slaughtered.
One other survivor of that terrible attack
was the man that would eventually become the G4. With abilities
far beyond those of the G3 armor, G4 dispatches its enemies
with lightning speed and deadly accuracy. With a power that
is beyond the capacity for humans to handle. A power that
is slowly killing G4’s user...
A chance encounter with Saiyoko plunges Kamen
Rider Agito, Gills, and G3 into a furious battle with the
mysterious Unknowns and with G4 itself, until the final explosive
showdown to decide which philosophy is true- honor in life,
or honor in death!...
“Shoichi… is going to die…”
Review
Typically speaking, a movie based
on a tokusatsu series has a very simple formula. It's really
more of an excuse to have lots of action & cool poses
and is quick, maybe not even 20 minutes! While this is fun
and entertaining, I usually find myself yearning for something
more. Such was not the case with this movie.
Project G4 is unique in that it really keeps
the tone of the series intact and remembers who the series
characters really are. They still feel like individuals with
thoughts, dreams and questions about life, not just characters
that do the weird hand-movements and then transform to fight
the monsters. Each one really feels like the person they were
created to be.
I think this is due to the fact that the movie
is a full hour long, giving the director enough time enough
to establish a story and keep with the traditions of the Agito
series. Not only that, but they have time to showcase a host
of new characters exclusive to this film.
G4 is a well-written story, though I would
certainly not recommend trying to watch this if you haven’t
already seen at least up to episode 30 of the series. It would
likely give things away that you really did not want to know
and you wouldn’t be getting the full experience without
knowing who these people really are (since the movie assumes
you know them fairly well).
Keeping with the tone of Agito, Project G4
has a deep story, discussing philosophies of life, and giving
us just a bit more development for not only some of the lead
characters of the series, but also the world that Agito is
set in. Great stuff here, but not too much that there isn’t
enough time for some nice action.
The action is great, perhaps some of the best
in Agito, though there are a few exceptions. Part of the dynamism
of the action specific to Agito is the events that lead the
Riders to whatever it is they do in battle… It’s
hard to explain, so I’ll just say that the action in
Project G4 is great, and may surprise you if you haven’t
already heard the details of the ending.
G4’s suit design is… Well, it’s
based on G3, so I can’t really say it looks original,
though they did a good job of giving it a menacing quality,
seeing as to how it is basically a dealer of death, to both
sides of the conflict.
There was one element to the story that felt
a tad bit pointless, involving cell phones, which I felt had
little to do with the main narrative and was unnecessary.
I also found that the main military commander’s character
was played by a less-than-perfect actress. I mean, I don’t
thoroughly know Japanese, but I know when someone is overacting
and I feel that she was definitely playing that character
a little over-the-top-ish (which I wouldn’t mind in
most other toku titles, but Agito is a little different, in
my opinion). Not a huge deal, but yeah…
Conclusion
Of all the Rider movies I have
had the pleasure of viewing, Project G4 is probably my favorite.
I don’t believe one can get the full experience unless
they’ve seen the series, but it is a great title with
an interesting story, and fun action. A-.
I’ll See You In My Dreams
-Dreamseer |
