[Switchblade]

I think this might be my new favorite Rider movie. Everything (well, almost everything) about this worked perfectly. I loved the OOO part, I loved the Fourze part, I loved the linking bits, I loved the finale - this movie just did so many things right.

Unmarked spoilers 'cuz I'm lazy. I'll still try not to get too specific.

I'll start with the Showa Riders since they were in here first. They didn't do a lot, but I still think this is the best handling of them we've had in the modern era. All seven seemed closer to the actual characters as opposed to just being stunt actors in the suits. What little dialogue they had sounded like the characters, they used the original characters' fighting styles, even the voices sounded close (except for Amazon's, which sounded more like the Decade version - but even then they kept his screeching during the fights). I also really loved how they updated the original finishing moves, keeping them mostly intact but adding updated (yet still accurate to the original) effects. We got to see V3's Reverse Kick done in full, X still drew the X in the air and did his spin on the Ridol, Stronger had the 70s-esque glowing lines around his Den Kick... as a fan of the Showa Riders I really loved that part.

The OOO portion I think was probably the stronger of the two main sections (although not by a huge margin). It did a really nice job of not only bringing back all the characters but also referencing and continuing the show's storyline. I wasn't hugely impressed by Poseidon or Aqua, but I did like the way this part used time travel (I loved the idea that Kougami is still alive 30-50 years in the future and still crazy about birthdays). I also liked that they managed to sneak in a few new Medal combos that we hadn't seen on the show. This part was great and it stands leagues above all OOO's other movies.

I thought the Fourze section was really good, too. It wasn't as big or important of a story, I suppose, but considering it couldn't really do anything to seriously alter the status quo of the show it was still a lot of fun. In a lot of ways this felt like an extended episode of the show - or possible a condensed two-parter. I liked the stuff with Gentarou and Nadeshiko - I don't think he fell in love with her too fast, this is Gentarou we're talking about after all. Following his heart instead of his head has always been one of his defining traits. Nadeshiko as a Rider I was a little less sold on, though. The school girl scarf on the suit looked silly and the girly sound effects they gave her when she hit people was just plain dumb. Still, the story was solid and it felt like everything fit in with the show, which was a major relief after the massive discrepancies we got with the current show section of the last Movie Wars.

Oh, and did anyone else notice that the smaller chest pads on Shun and Kengo's Rider Club costumes were totally made with leftover Akiko slippers? That really amused me.

I loved having Philip and Shotaro back, even if I wished they'd had more than a guest starring role (I kept waiting for Cyclone/Joker Gold Xtreme to fly up and take part in the final battle, but it never happened ). It was really nice that we had the original actors back and, even though they didn't have much to do, they still felt perfectly in-character (right down to Philip passing on a fight because he was too busy researching soup - yeah, it was mostly an excuse to use the Joker suit again, but it was still totally something Philip would do). Their interactions with Gentarou and Eiji were fun, too, especially the way Shotaro and Gentarou reacted to each other (laughed so damn much at those parts).

Having Foundation X back not only made for good villains and plot progression, but it continued to keep them around as a big threat for present, past, and even future Riders. The specific badguy this time around wasn't that compelling or complex, but he worked well enough and I like the idea that Foundation X is still out there working on other projects besides the one that the current Rider is tackling. The fight with the big baddie at the end worked well, although I have to say that the single biggest failing in this movie is the Super TaToBa suit. Red, yellow, and green on a black background works - hell, it's one of my favorite main Rider suits ever - but reversing the colors looks fucking terrible. That may well be my least favorite suit design in the history of Kamen Rider. Still, it wasn't enough to ruin the last part of the film, especially after that epic fight with Eiji and Gentarou versus the mook army. The Scanning Charge medley was awesome (that was what, the second time we ever saw the TaToBa kick?) and the Switch medley was... the Scanning Charge part was awesome (I'm sorry, you will never sell me on Magic Hand or Hopping, and definitely not both at once).

So yeah, great movie, loved the hell out of it. Hopefully the next Movie Wars will be even half this good. I'd love it if they can get Shotaro, Philip, and Eiji back for that, too.