Gunhed (1989)
Production: Toho
Domestic Release: ADV Films
Director: Masato Harada
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Back in the late 80’s a contest was held to find a new script that would be worthy of being shot as the newest Godzilla movie. 1989’s Godzilla VS Biollante was the result of that contest, but there was a runner up entry that caught Toho’s attention, so much so that they decided to also produce the script sans Godzilla and with some other modifications. The result of those efforts was Gunhed, which was also released in 1989 to the Japanese market.

This movie has been available in one form or another for a while now in the American market, but for the most part these were never 100% accurate releases of the title or of much high quality to speak of. Thankfully for fans of tokusatsu and science fiction ADV Films has decided to release a solid copy of this film that preserves the original soundtrack and also offers a newly recorded English dubbed track.

We know this is a quality product, but how is the film? Is it everything you’ve heard about?

The Story

"On July 4th in the year 2025, the Khyron 5 Super-Computer declared war on the world. The Allied Forces attacked Khyron’s base, Island 8JO… and nobody won. Now, 13 years later, a small team of technobandits and a lone Texas Air Force Ranger are about to land on 8JO. Get ready for the ultimate confrontation between man and machine, as robots battle supercomputers in GUNHED"!-- ADV Films' Gunhed page

Review

The above summaru of the story covers all the basics so I won’t go into detail on that front. The one thing I would add to it is that the movie revolves almost entirely around 5 characters, which include Brooklyn, a mechanical engineer with an almost magic touch when it comes to all things mechanical, Nim, a Texas Air Ranger, Eleven & Seven, two children who find themselves in the middle of Island 8JO, and Gunhed, the titular mecha, which proves to be the most interesting character.

The film begins as the group of mercenaries onboard the Mary Ann disembark their vehicle and begin making their way into the core of the facility where the microchips they are hunting are located. As they traverse the industrial facility they begin to be picked off one by one by the defense systems that are protecting every floor of the complex. No one is sure as to what is happening, they just keep moving forward, never looking back. During their infiltration Brookly runs into Nim, a Texas Air Ranger who's is quick to band together with the remainding members of the Mary Ann’s landing party. One thing quickly leads to another and both Brooklyn and Nim become the only people left in the scavenger party, saved by a pair of children at the base level of the complex. Now our heroic duo has to figure out a way of getting back into the complex and putting a stop to the Khyron 5 Super-Computer’s plans. With the help of an abandoned Gunhed vehicle they might just be able to save the day.

In a nutshell that’s the setup for everything that happens in Gunhed. The movie, which incorporates a nice mix of influences that include everything from Terminator to Aliens and other cinematic sci-fi works is in many ways is really just a setup for some really awesome effect and action sequences featuring the very adaptable Gunhed mecha, which Toho just blows us away with throughout the whole thing.

The story and characters are interesting, but for the most part are not used or developed to their full potential. When the movie starts we meet a sizeable cast of people that all look and sound interesting superficially, unfortunately everyone with the exception of Brooklyn and Nim is killed off within the first 20 minutes or so of film so we never get a chance to meet them and develop some type of connection that would make their deaths mean a little more significant.

The story’s concept sounded outright fascinating to me and I think it had all kinds of potential to it, but unfortunately it only bears fruit in the last third of the movie, but when it does the payoff is really something worth the wait; when the title mecha comes to play a part in the narrative this movie kicks into high gear and show us what Toho’s creative people can really do.

Where Gunhed really shines though is in its realization of the universe the story takes place in and the way its characters act within that world. During the opening we see the crew talking to each other in English and Japanese, one would say a phrase in English and the other would respond in Japanese and vice versa. This took me by surprise, but once the idea of what they were doing settled in I was completely taken by it. It just added a layer of realism that is missing from most movies that just assume that no matter where you are in the world everyone speaks the same language you do.

The way their world is visually and physically portrayed also adds to this realization of the universe the characters live in. The entire complex where Khyron 5 finds itself in and where our heroes make their way through in their hunt for the evil computer feels like a dangerous place where you would not want to be in, especially as an enemy of the resident electronic systems. This adds to the suspense of each battle because you never know what awaits in the next corner, even when the mighty Gunhed is put to use.

Speaking of Gunhed, I was surprised to find him to be the best character in the entire movie. After Brooklyn brings him back to life he teams up with the engineer to complete the mission he was originally deployed for, which leads to a lot of dialogue exchanges between the two of them that eventually has the duo seem almost as if they’ve been buddies for a long time. This characterization of a military vehicle was another aspect of this film that came as a complete surprise; I was only expecting a cool transforming attack vehicle not a near sentient character.

Production-wise this movie is classic Toho all the way, with special effects that don’t fail to impress, even in a time when CGI can conjure up artificial actors that are as real as their flesh and blood counterparts. The model work in particular is very awe-inspiring and realistic, even more so than some of their better known effects work such as what was seen in Godzilla VS Biollante. The visual effects such as lasers and electricity beams could have used some addition work though. The sets used throughout were nicely done and did an effective job at portraying a realistic industrial complex full of booby traps and other dangers

The acting overall was good, but it wasn’t anything that would win any awards. Most of the actors just seemed like they were having problems delivering their lines at different points in the film. I would say that Masahiro Takashima who plays Brooklyn turned in the best overall performance, but even then it was nothing to really write home about.

The movie’s soundtrack was surprisingly good and came as a pleasant surprise to this reviewer. The main theme is a little overused, but outside of that the music is at points very catchy.

The overall DVD package for this release is pretty good with ADV adding a couple of extra goodies for fans of the film. First up we have a reversible cover with very cool artwork on both sides, inside the case there is a small insert with another piece of artwork on one side and a design schematic of Gunhed on the other. In addition to these the DVD also includes an original Japanese promo for the film.

The video transfer for this release is pretty good with no issues that I could pick up on aside from some scenes being darker than I would have liked them to be onscreen. Sound-wise the audio came through crystal clear with no problems on either the Japanese track or the English dubbed track.

Conclusion

If you’re a tokusatsu fan or live action science fiction movie buff with a liking for giant robots Gunhed is a must watch for you and a definite title for consideration next time you go out shopping for new items to add to your collection. The movie itself is not perfect and sometimes the plot gets very confusing, but in the end it comes through and shows us why we love these type of movies.

Jeffrey Couto