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02-06-2022, 05:29 PM | #431 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Argos, though? Way more my speed, with his reasonably fleshed out motivations and goals. He's exactly the kind of character I imagine as a literal Dark counterpart to a hero, because he has aspects that both compare and contrast with Takeru, and I find all that super cool.
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I mean, he could also be saying "toucon" with a bit of a lisp, letting Takeru know which suit was his favorite...
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02-07-2022, 07:49 PM | #432 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
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A lot of people use this moment to justify Ghost as a bad show, but for all seriousness I agree with Takeru here. Being a non-corporeal being and not being able to eat anything as humanity's culinary culture progresses and evolves? Not being able to partake in the joys of lasagna and other pastry dishes ever again? Nah, forget that. I'd go insane.
I'm late with this, but Takeru isn't the only hero to hold up a nice meal as a benefit of humanity. (I also don't have much to say about Ghost - I didn't have espciall strong opinions of the Ghost movie or Ghost/Ex-Aid crossover at the time, but I think I enjoyed them fine enogh. Like a lot of Rider specials, they're decent watches even if they don't stick with you.)
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02-07-2022, 11:49 PM | #433 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Originally posted to "Kamen Rider Die rewatches Kamen Rider Ex-Aid movies" on August 30th, 2019:
KAMEN RIDER EX-AID MOVIES: DR. PAC-MAN VS EX-AID & GHOST WITH LEGEND RIDERS This was the first Kamen Rider movie I ever saw. It was during the first Kamen Rider series I ever watched. I had no idea what to expect from a movie version of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. I'd only watched, what, less than a dozen episodes? I knew Emu, and Poppy, and Hiiro, and Taiga, and Kiriya. I knew Bugsters, and Parado, and Graphite. How much crazier could things get? Friends, my eyes were opened. It could get so much crazier. I really enjoyed Dr. Pac-Man the first time I saw it for how insane things got. Characters I'd never seen before would show up in a slow-motion walk, an entire section of the climax was dedicated to endless form changes that went by in an eye-blink, a cacophony of fight songs were played in a variety of musical styles, and NOTHING was explained. The first time I saw it, I was as surprised as Emu that the skinny dude guarding the villains' hideout was actually another Kamen Rider named Wizard. I didn't realize until he henshined that Tomari wasn't some supporting cast member from Ghost's show, since Ghost knew him already. There was so much information and so little context, I just let it all wash over me. I loved the density of what seemed like nonsense to me, the bright colors and frequent explosions and huge reveals about Emu's origin. I had a great time watching it, despite lacking context for virtually everything. Here I am now, not quite 18 months later, and I'm up to my neck in context. I've watched Wizard and Gaim and Drive and Ghost and so much more. I was a little trepidatious, revisiting this movie, but also incredibly excited. On the one hand, I was scared that it maybe wasn't as good as I'd remembered it. Maybe I'd confused freshness for quality? Maybe now that I'd watched so many hours of Kamen Rider (so many), this seminal film wouldn't be as good as I'd remembered it. On the other hand, though, I was really excited to see it because I'd watched so many hours of other Kamen Rider shows. I'd seen a stack of winter films, caught up with scores of Legend Riders. I was hopeful that all this knowledge could make me see a different version of this movie than I'd seen before. Seeing this movie now, I felt like it was wasted on me 18 months ago. Back then, seeing this movie after only seeing ten or so episodes Ex-Aid and nothing else, was like seeing Infinity War if you'd only ever seen Guardians of the Galaxy. Sure, you can follow along with the story, and sure, there are some core characters you can care about, but so much of what occurs is over your head. Now, rewatching Dr. Pac-Man, it's like I've binged the entire MCU and everything in this movie is for me. Everything. And it's so much better than it was the first time. The Legend Rider stuff is maybe the best implementation I've seen yet. Everyone's there for a reason, everyone contributes, everyone gets a little bit of quality screen time. (I mean, okay, Gaim, sure, but he's integral in getting Mr. Belt back!) This movie, unlike so many Legend Rider appearances, goes to pains to explain why the other old Riders are involved. Tomari's a cop who's called in on the case, and he's got history with Takeru, so it makes sense he'd want to help. Haruto saw something weird and was like, "Lemme go see what's going on over there", and bluffs his way in, which is 100% in character for him, as is no one involved knowing who he is. Gaim is an all-seeing, all-knowing god, so, duh. It's so much more than a guy in a suit just jumping in from out-of-frame. After some of the previous series' movies that seemed to fill plotholes with more Riders, this all felt so cohesive and considered. Every character felt important to the story. And that story actually mattered to the show it was ostensibly tied to! I know that might sound like damning it with faint praise, but that is a big deal. So many of these stories, the movies, feel like they're influenced by a TV show without really being a part of it. This one matters. It's got villain types from the show, it's got information that's important to the characters' development, and it centers the themes on what works best from the show. Emu even uses his doctor skills, not his Rider skills, to save the perpetually-murdered Takeru from dying again. (Makes you wonder if any of Takeru's so-called friends had bothered to learn the bad CPR that Emu learned, maybe Takeru wouldn't have had to die so often.) It's a solid story, so it doesn't need to be saved by Legend Riders, it's just improved by them. Oh my God, is it improved by them. That whole sequence at the end, scored to their individual theme songs, as they hit all of their form changes in a row, *chef's kiss*. An electric, rousing bouquet of fan-service. It's all joy during that sequence, and anything I didn't like about those Riders' shows was swept away in how awesome it was to see them kicking ass again. Even the new suits, Tenkatoitsu for Ghost and Mighty Brothers XX for Ex-Aid, are thrilling and gorgeous. It's all just so much fun, which isn't a feeling I get from a lot of these Rider movies. Far from feeling like this wasn't as good as I remembered, seeing Dr. Pac-Man again actually made me enjoy it so much more. It's not nostalgia, it's respect for an astonishingly well-told story with just the right amounts of action, mystery, drama, and, of course, superheroes kicking someone so hard they explode. Gotta have that. Everyone involved in the making of this movie should be proud. ~THIS REVIEW CONNECTED TO THE FUTURE WITH ITS OWN HANDS~ Part of me's like, No Notes. I had yet another great time watching this movie, like I probably always will. It's the sweet spot of my affection for Kamen Rider: my favorite show, with all of my favorite characters, telling a thrilling story. I've vacillated a bit, over the last couple months, on what my favorite Kamen Rider show is. Drive's so good, and Fourze's such a delight, and Ghost is really special, and and and. I honestly like every Kamen Rider show, I think. I'm not... this is going to sound nuts, but I'm not super-critical about them. I just like Kamen Rider, guys. Full-stop. But I love Ex-Aid. It's been forever since I sat down and watch the whole series. A few years, in real-world terms, but decades by the amount of Kamen Rider I've watched since Ex-Aid. But, man, the second Emu and Poppy roll up to a Bugster outbreak, it's all those old feelings, back up on the surface. I sit a little closer to the screen, eager for more story. When Hiiro shows up to tell a demolished Emu that he's a terrible doctor, it's like that shot of the Grinch, his heart growing three times its size: I am overjoyed. This show is in my blood, much like Emu's power/downfall. This movie, it's not perfect. Thematically, it's hard to say it's doing a whole lot more than letting Emu and Takeru spout catchphrases. The idea of Takeru sacrificing himself for Akari, the idea of Emu letting one lost patient destroy his self-confidence... they're real basic stories for those two characters. They aren't really saying a lot about either one of them, and there's no real pushback in the story for their heroism. They just have to Not Give Up, and eventually the day is saved. The heavy-lifting in this movie is all in the plotting, the ways Ghost and Game get added together for clever victories. (Pac-Man is weak against ghosts. I love it so much!) You get to the end, though, and it doesn't seem to be saying much. But, god, this one time? I really don't care. The chance to spend 90 minutes with my favorite Kamen Rider cast? In a top-shelf battle against the forces of evil? Accompanied by a string of Heisei Riders? It's not perfect, but it's the best.
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02-08-2022, 12:56 AM | #434 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,570
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I really love this movie for a variety of reasons.
It's this and Generations Final to a lesser extent that really gave me something I wanted out of like, mass crossover movies like this. Because this is far beyond the scope of any Movie Wars. And that's... remembering forms exist. All the Ex-Aid Riders go through their available forms, Specter and Necrom bust out all of there's. Takeru uses his major upgrades and even brings in a few normal Parka's into the mix. The Legend Riders utilize every major form they have to them, and we even get some cool Tire Koukan stuff from Drive too with the auxiliary tires. I also appreciate how much they were able to utilize Gaim in this given he's just a suit and recycled voice footage. Like, he's believable enough and I commend that. Also Dr. Pac-Man is a god tier villain purely on aesthetics alone and I don't think we've come close to or will ever top him at all. |
02-08-2022, 01:14 AM | #435 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
I really love this movie for a variety of reasons.
It's this and Generations Final to a lesser extent that really gave me something I wanted out of like, mass crossover movies like this. Because this is far beyond the scope of any Movie Wars. And that's... remembering forms exist. All the Ex-Aid Riders go through their available forms, Specter and Necrom bust out all of there's. Takeru uses his major upgrades and even brings in a few normal Parka's into the mix. The Legend Riders utilize every major form they have to them, and we even get some cool Tire Koukan stuff from Drive too with the auxiliary tires. I did laugh a little this time at Haruto's whole Hey Lemme Introduce Kamen Rider Gaim Who Will Not Be Out Of His Armor For This Adventure. He's the one guy who, on the first viewing, I could not get a read on. Those limitations keep him from having much character to his performance, or integration into the plot. Gaim literally drops out of the sky, hands Mr Belt to Shinnosuke, fights a Mad Scientist, and then goes back to his home planet (which needs him). It's fine, but it didn't lead to me getting excited to watch his show or anything.
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02-08-2022, 07:41 AM | #436 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,570
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I did laugh a little this time at Haruto's whole Hey Lemme Introduce Kamen Rider Gaim Who Will Not Be Out Of His Armor For This Adventure. He's the one guy who, on the first viewing, I could not get a read on. Those limitations keep him from having much character to his performance, or integration into the plot. Gaim literally drops out of the sky, hands Mr Belt to Shinnosuke, fights a Mad Scientist, and then goes back to his home planet (which needs him). It's fine, but it didn't lead to me getting excited to watch his show or anything.
Oh right, now that I think of it we're back onto a crossover segment so... this movie ranks in at #5 on my list. So start of the top five! Though to be fair, any movies 5 and below on like the winter crossover rankings are still genuinely loved in my eyes, I just love some a bit more than others. So since we're getting towards the end... 2nd: Megamax 5th: Generations 6th: Full Throttle 7th: 2010 8th: Sengoku 9th: Ultimatum 10th: Core 11th: Genesis |
02-08-2022, 07:50 AM | #437 |
Reiei
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 3,691
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HeiGen final is a cool movie to me. And it was my 2nd exposure to Ghost after his appearance in Drive's final bits.
Im pretty sure it was this movie, but I felt emotional when they had these tiny scenes of Shinnosuke remembering he can't exactly transform. That's powerful to me, man! I watched this movie and I saw Takeru and went "Hey, this guy's not so bad. I wonder why people don't like his show?". It did, evidently, take a while to check his show out tho hahaha. |
02-08-2022, 09:49 AM | #438 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,410
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I actually remember this one. I absolutely love Ex-Aid and Haruto is one of my favorite Phase 2 Riders, so this was the first time in a while that I watched a Movie War out of excitement instead of a sense of obligation. It’s not one of my all-time favorites, but I did enjoy it.
Probably the part that has stuck with me the longest has to do with one of the villains. As a Sakamoto film, we obviously get an attractive badass woman as one of the bad guys, someone who he can film doing flips and kicks in slow motion. For this movie he went with an actress named Chihiro Yamamoto, who’s actually a very talented tai chi competitor. After this movie, she would also go on to star as Laiha, one of the main characters in Ultraman Geed. |
02-08-2022, 09:56 AM | #439 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: World of Ataru
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Sakamoto was also the main director ot Ultraman Geed too.
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02-08-2022, 10:27 AM | #440 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,410
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