[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER W RETURNS: KAMEN RIDER ACCEL



Basically the perfect Kamen Rider V-Cin, assuming you can get past some of the directing choices.

I mean, look. I love Sakamoto. This has got his hallmarks all over it: tons of out-of-costume stunt action, leggy dames, slow-motion sequences throughout, verticality in the costumed fights, and a solid grip on pacing. This thing keeps a remarkably tense atmosphere for the majority of its run-time, with a constant pressure that never becomes anxious or suffocating. It’s, in almost every way, exactly what this movie needs.

What it did not need was for the Director of Photography to juggle the camera during every single shot, nor did it need the Editor to make sure that no shot lasted longer than three seconds. Those choices created a film that is a rough watch, even as the story had me completely hooked. Basic chase sequences are rendered nauseating by how heavily the camera swings around the frame, and the really good fight scenes become difficult to follow as the edits keep the geography of the players obscured. Everything’s frenetic and frantic, which I get as an aesthetic choice – it’s to simulate how little room there is for Terui to breathe – while bemoaning it as a storytelling choice. I don’t know that the visuals needed to be this jittery.

Everything else, though? Perfect. Perfect movie.

I love how the two main threads, the Commander Dopant and Terui’s marriage, are really just about one idea: the way personal growth is hindered by both our past and the judgment of others. It’s a crime movie about how recidivism is the consequence of both the criminals and the cops, which is such a neat Kamen Rider Accel concept to explore. Terui’s a grim executioner who became a hero, and he’s also a grieving man who became a loving husband. His whole story is about finding reasons to live and abandoning reasons to kill, so he’s the perfect vessel to explore a tale of criminals who can’t escape the suspicion of the cops, and cops who can’t see a reason to extend grace to evil.

Like, the very fact that Sagami views criminals as evil is such a clever extrapolation of A Cop Who’s A Kamen Rider, and how the need for empathy is what really makes someone a Kamen Rider. Terui isn’t a hero because he detonates monsters or catches thieves; he’s a hero because he cares about the citizens of Fuuto, even the ones who’ve turned to a life of crime. Without allowing for things like rehabilitation and penance, what’s even the point of fighting for justice?

And how the movie ties that into the Terui/Akiko marriage is brilliant. Terui’s kind of a not great husband in this – he doesn’t communicate well with his wife, thoroughly and continuously, DON’T QUESTION ME as terrible spousal advice – but he’s trying to be a good husband. He loves his wife, and he shows it in the ways he knows how. His inability to call her by her name is because he respects her too much to not refer to her as Chief. She’s the boss, and he always wants her to know that. All of this lines up with the hard work that Terui’s asking Aoi to do – find someone that’s worth being a better person for, and live up to what they’ve given you. It’s not going to happen immediately, and you’ll always run the risk of falling back into old habits, but remember that they want you to succeed. Terui’s romantic comedy storyline is Aoi’s noir criminal storyline, all the way through.

All of that expert storytelling, with a non-stop action veneer, makes this a top-shelf Kamen Rider installment. It honestly might be one of my favorite pieces of Kamen Rider W entertainment.

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DIE-A MEMORIES



-Androzani’ll run down the lengthy roster, but EVERYONE is someone in this movie. Top of my head, we’ve got Piano Man, Kekera, and of course Sawa. Easy to see why someone casting a Kamen Rider show a few years later that needed a secretive beauty who could also kick ass thought to bring her back full-time.

-The weirdest part of this movie is how much it feels like a pilot for a completely separate Accel spin-off series. There’s a real attempt to give this film a different vibe than W, complete with new recurring sets. Accel’s even got his own cafe to hang out in!

-Much like how the Skull feature smartly brought back folks from the Sokichi story in W, this one takes Lily and her grandad from one of the Terui spotlights and makes them his supporting cast. It’s cute!

-JINNO FINALLY NOTICED MAKURA’S HAIRCUT!