arromdee wrote:I am pretty certain that the typical method of holding funerals in Japan is not to burn the body on a pyre. I can't think of any reason they'd do that aside from having read the script.
Mmmn, technically not a pyre in modern days but most of the time the body is cremated. Historically speaking until the 20th century most people were buried because it was cheaper, but there were pyres for the rich.
So you can mayyyybe get away with it but really it's just cause it looks cool.
At the beginning I found the movie kinda meh, at the middle it was great, and the final battle felt a little same-old. The movie definitely had a better directing style than the majority of Ghost (it has a notable directing style, in any case). I also like the mix of creating a modern, economic revision of Shocker while also keeping the original group; it felt like there was some argument on whether to modernize the group or keep it as the original, and that was the compromise they came up with.
I’m feeling particularly grateful that Takeru and his friends were more guest stars through a lot of the movie, when I’d been worried it’d be the other way around. Takeshi teaching Takeru how to be a Kamen Rider was a definite high point, and once the movie got going, the Ghost cast wasn't nearly as comic relief as they are in the show. That said, I spent quite a while thinking that clipping out a bunch of the bits with just Ghost’s cast would make it a better movie overall. I’m also going with 4 stars.
It was great to have a decent rendition of Let's Go Rider Kick playing this time. The last anniversary special with that song used the worst product the Rider Girls ever did.
Finally got around to watching it. Besides the fact that they don't, in any way, explain where the new suit comes from, it was okay. It would have been better without the Ghost crew though.
Edit: And when's Toei doing the rest of this Super Hero Year thing? After this movie, that's the last I've heard of it for 6 months now
TankCoyote wrote:
There's also the original power-up that Stronger had
True, and Black also had his power-up gloves. The key is that their power-ups weren't game-breaking or there just to sell toys. Stronger got.. well... stronger for a time. Black's gloves changed colour. Compare that to Ghost having a recolour form, Grapefuit form, Infinity form, plus modded forms for each Luminary, each of which had its own gimmic and design quirks. That's technically 48 different forms, with 47 being powerups or special ability forms.
In a sense, even Ichigō could power up using wind. But those powerups were done more subtly or (as in the case of Stronger) as an essential feature of that Rider. Heisei Riders have powerups to sell toys, and many are used only once and then forgotten. Giving Hongo a new powerup would have given future Heisei writers an excuse to screw with one of the most beloved characters in tokusatsu and bog him down with cheap gimmicks.
Stronger's meant something. It took Tackle's death for it to happen, for Black, it was saving a puppy from splatting after falling off a cliff and having a boulder chase it down