[TheTakoTank]

So, I finished The Next. As a movie, I liked The First more, as that one felt more like a "Kamen Rider" movie. This one felt much more like a horror movie with Kamen Rider shoehorned into it. Definitely much darker than the previous, and the mutant pop star killing everyone for no reason (or at least not a well explained one) kind of ruined what would have been a great V3 remake for me. However, I did enjoy the suits and final fight sequence, especially all three riders standing together on the stairs. Still not sure exactly what happened to Chiharu, nor why the movie was written as something that feels so far removed from what The First was like. Also, why was Chiharu both with Kikuma and V3?

Overall, I thought this movie was okay, and I think a different plot would have helped it immensely. I think The First did a better job at being a remake, as this movie left me wanting another V3 remake sans horror elements. There were some cool moments like V3 absorbing the flames in the burning building and the fact that Hongo punched through a guys arm...lengthways.

I also have absolutely no idea as to what to think of that sequenced after the credits. Is Chiharu somehow still killing people, while the Kamen Riders have become cultural icons? Were The First and The Next just fantasy sequences based on the Kamen Rider game machines? Were the movies fiction, while the murders are reality? That part left me with more questions than answers.