[Sh Ranger]

Like I also said before in the Kabuto thread, Surprise Future is my favorite Kamen Rider summer movie. That's why, I'm here to defend it!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DRIVE: SURPRISE FUTURE

(I?m a fan of Kiriko, full-stop. MAKE. HER. DRIVE.)

Krim tried, but Kiriko's mind wasn't compatible with the Rider System. She got those cool shoes instead, which were sadly forgotten about after a few episodes.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The action, especially in the finale, is really well done. I don?t love the Type Special suit, but Super Dead Heat is solid, and Type Next is a great futuristic-villain look.

The climax is so awesome. There's Shinnosuke dramatically shouting, "Start! Your! Engine!", before Krim triumphantly comes back to life and that sweet vortex in Type Special's finisher! Dark Drive is my second favorite Dark Rider suit after Dark Kiva and I agree with En-chan that Type Special is equally cool.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Let?s hit the superhero part first! I cannot take Eiji?s claims seriously, from the jump. The idea that Krim is some ticking time bomb? no? No, I will never ever believe that? It?s a huge swing for the movie to start off with, and if I?m honest, it never really recovers from it. The post-reveal part of the movie is better than the pre-reveal, but you are asking the audience to believe that Shinnosuke?s Belt Dad is going to subjugate the future and bring the world to ruin. That is a ludicrous ask when the series is already forty episodes deep. If you want to come in with a plot where Krim is reprogrammed, or there?s an evil copy made, fine. But to come in and say Krim Is A Secret Evil Mastermind Who Has Been Lying To You All Along? man, what the hell. There?s no real twist in learning that Drive?s been lied to, because it?s such an unbelievable claim. The only twist is who?s lying, and why.

Not sure if you've forgotten the episodes that lead up to this movie? Krim's betrayal is actually explained, as Banno planted an evil chip in the Drive Driver's system while he was unconscious. Of course, nobody but Banno knew about that, so Paradox, disguised as Eiji, was able to use that to deceive Shinnosuke by hiding the fact that Eiji was originally Dark Drive before he stole the Driver. You're right to believe in Krim, since a recurring theme in this movie is believing in your friends and don't trust someone you just met, even if they claim to be your son from the future.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Which, uh, some new Roidmude! Okay. He?s just a monster to fight, and that?s? I don?t know, whatever. There?s no real grudge, no reason why he?s using Eiji other than to enact his scheme. He doesn?t have some huge beef with Shinnosuke; he just wants to destroy Drive. It?s all fine, nothing memorable or special.

As a character, yeah, I'll agree with you here, Paradox isn't deep or anything like that. But I think he succeeds in being intimidating and once he revealed that he murdered Eiji, it gives a lot of personal motivation for Shinnosuke to defeat him.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The biggest flaw with the superhero side of the plot - aside from its ridiculous opening gambit - is that Eiji, the real Eiji, never gets to take part in the story. The villain spends the entire movie using his son?s face, but Shinnosuke never gets to spend a scene with his actual son. Eiji only exists as a weapon from the future, so we?re robbed of any catharsis. We never get to see an actual familial connection (beyond a nod to a ghost hologram?), which feels like the least we?re owed by the end of this story.

Well it does give a little foreshadowing to Shinnosuke/Kiriko. And when Sanjo Riku is writing, you really need to take whatever foreshadowing you can get. What we do learn about the real Eiji may be minimal, but it's still important, like how he became a cop like his father and grandfather and looked up to Shinnosuke by keeping his tie for sentimental value. It's possible that someday Eiji might become Dark Drive once more, but in a better future.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Then there?s the whole plot about the police rallying around an officer accused of excessive force, in which a high-ranking police official is heroically guilted into shielding said officer from investigation, which? WOW. Wow. That is? I mean, maybe it played less terribly in 2015? I don?t know! I don?t think it should, but I don?t know! But, boy, in 2022? I do not have a ton of interest in a story that browbeats a cop out of holding other cops responsible for their actions. Accountability is an okay thing for the police to adhere to! Kiriko?s great, but when she?s like HOW DARE YOU QUESTION SHINNOSUKE?S MOTIVES, YOU SHOULD HAVE HIS BACK, I was cringing in my chair. It?s? this whole plot is a real bad look, man. Probably some stuff in there about being more dedicated to ideals than the appearance of ideals, but, no. Absolutely not, to this entire part of the movie.

But Shinnosuke was innocent! Going back to the theme of believing in your friends, the police should absolutely have faith in him, especially after he outed Brain and Freeze (Brainfreeze?) and Nira as double agents. They owe him big time for that, so it's honestly pretty bad that they continue to treat him like some suspicious criminal after all the good he's done. I totally agree with Kiriko scolding the executives for behaving like that.

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

I remember liking the Ghost Cameo for how different it is

Then every time I see it somewhere I just see people going "If Ghost was like this then it would be good" and I've seen that take enough times to where I just actively dislike this cameo now.

I know right! Tenkuuji Takeru was all about building connections with people, the power of emotions and the infinite potential of humanity. I seriously don't think he would've been as effective at advocating those things if he was some monotonous edgy guy. I mean, this weird Ghost cameo is basically how the Ganmaizers act!