Well that was definitely their best winter team-up movie yet. It's still not without some issues, but these movies are finally steadily improving each year. They've really cut down on the stupid gimmicks that don't work and are putting more effort into the writing, which is paying dividends.
While the villain of the year was unremarkable as a standard old guy wanting world domination/immortality, the writing supporting all of this was pretty good. Swapping partners worked really well; it not only forced the characters into new situations, but it allowed each team to be a bit off-kilter without outright sidelining someone for a stupid reason. And while I agree that Banjou's crisis of faith isn't setup as well as it should be, I do think it worked here. Banjou started out being self-interested, trying to clear his name and avenge his dead girlfriend. All of which only started happening 2 episodes prior to this movie. So having these thoughts when he's not fighting Faust to fulfill his own desires is an interesting bit of reflection, made all the better since he was paling around with the Doctor Riders, who are heroes even in their day jobs. Plus, yes, it was a somewhat heavy-handed way to explain why the Riders are heroes.
There were also some neat bits of character interactions on the side. In particular, Onari feeding Dan's megalomania about being a god just
felt right. That it was not only in character for both, but that it's exactly how an interaction between the two of them would go.
On the whole, the Legend Riders are a meh. At the end of the day it's still fan service. But I appreciate that the writing around them has gotten a little better, and that while they still don't have a ton to do, they get to contribute more than just showing up to kick someone's ass. (Okay, maybe not Kouta, but I'm surprised they could get his actor
at all). After 2 years of this I really hope to Dan that Toei doesn't keep doing this, but if they stopped here, I could argue they went out on a reasonably high note. And as an aside, I swear that's a new mix of Ghost's leitmotif there when he first shows up. Normally we don't hear the choral part so clearly.
Though OOO certainly stole the show, didn't he? It wasn't OOO's movie, but I could have totally gone for another 10-15 minutes of him here. I've never been a huge fan of the show, but the strongest part of it - if not the heart - always was Eiji and Ankh's interactions. So having the guyliner-wearing popsicle fiend revived and reunited with Eiji does warm the heart. I really just wish we could have gotten a little more, since immediately after their reunion it's back to the movie and the two of them don't get much more time together until the bitter-sweet end.
The action here was on-point, and in fact they fixed the big problem with last year's movie where there was far too much of it. All of the fights near the beginning are relatively small and over in a few minutes. And the final fight is 15 minutes, and that's after counting in Banjou's musing on being a hero. So nothing goes on for longer than it should. Though the bike fight certainly seemed to be the most tacked on, not helped by the fact that it was so CGI-heavy. (Hey, remember when Build would involve a bike virtual every episode in its first arc?)
They also did a good job integrating some brief shots of wire-work here. The superhuman movement it allows really helps to put these movies over the top, especially since it's so uncommon in the series proper these days. The fight on Enigma also impressed me a bit by not being an awful CGI mess the entire time. While there was plenty of that - and some bad green screen moments - it looks like they actually built part of the top of the hand that they were fighting on. So in most shots the suit actors aren't awkwardly trying to pretend that they're on this uneven surface, and all the lighting and effects are consistent with each other. Also, speaking of CGI, I liked that they included OOO's all-green (Gatakiriba) form in the movie, as that form was infamously expensive to use due to all the CGI and compositing required.
Finally, I see why they brought over the Gear suits to the series proper, and then kept the around for as long as they did. They clearly put a lot of effort into them. Though it doesn't change the fact that Bikaiser in 90 minutes is more interesting than the Hell Bros were in 20 episodes.
Lunagel wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 4:18 am
njb wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 2:17 am
That part in 1:05.42 with all the catchphrases is intentionally encoded like that?
Yes, cause they're all talking over each other.
That was a good call. It's a shame that the subs kind of spoil the joke itself (since the text needs to be synchronized), but I got a good laugh out of it. It's only fitting that the subs are as crazy as the audio.
takenoko wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:25 am
It's also a epilogue to OOO weirdly enough? It seems like every few years we've got to revisit a dangling Rider thread from a past series? Which is pretty good, I like that so please keep doing that.
I know it hasn't been 10 years quite yet. But the timing is right for 10 Years Later style movies, if you ask me. Especially as Riders (currently) don't qualify to be part of the Space Squad series.
The movie is pretty long, but I'd argue that it works in its favor. I hate how rushed other movies of this type feel. They take the time to do it right, and it shows.
Agreed. It was 90 minutes long and that felt like just the right length; the pacing was appropriate to support it.
Just let Eiji resurrect Ankh already. I don't know why you keep killing him off again.
Also agreed. I presume that they need to do it so that any future works can be consistent with the end of the series - that is, you don't need to have seen this movie to know where things stand - but dammit, it's heartbreaking to see Ankh die yet again.
Also the Enigma design is cool. Apparently it's based off of Gabrin from Kyoudain:
Neat!
Catastrophe wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:44 amI'm still pretty sure they are going to have another movie considering the next series is still going to be Heisei.
I'm wondering that myself. We won't hear about the next movie for a while, but as it's July the next series is going to be premiering here pretty soon. So that should give us some kind of idea about how they're going to frame the next era.
takenoko wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:41 am
Does someone have a before and after pic to show this photoshop work?
Agreed. I've looked at the scene a few times and I still am a bit lost as to what exactly I'm looking for.