Warning! This is the Spoiler-Free Review of the new Double & Decade movie. I've cut out nearly all the juicy details of the full review (seen below) though given the nature of the movie, it's hard to talk about it without giving something away.
If you want to go into this one 100% unspoiled, I would stop reading after this paragraph, close your internet browser, shut down the computer, unplug the computer, put the computer away in a box in the attic, lock the doors and windows, pull down the blinds, disconnect your phone and television, and hide under the covers for the next couple months. Soundproofing your room might help too.
For everyone else, let's roll!
Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Double & Decade: Movie Great War 2010
This is it! The ending we've all been waiting for since the DecaDriver closed in on Natsumi's yelling face. The beginning we've all been wanting to see since Double had his first explosive transformation. The movie that brings together the Riders of 2009 for the first time... again.
Because this is a 3-part movie, I will be reviewing it 3 parts, albeit all in one post.
Kamen Rider Decade: Final Chapter
Long story short: It's a fun old romp, but not exactly what we were all waiting for I think. Given that I am getting out this cut-down Spoiler-Free version a few weeks after the full review, I've had more time to think some things over, and read some of the reactions of other people to the earlier review, and the best thing to say is this: make sure you watch this one, guys.
While we all know that I'm always right and my opinion matters more than anything, you'll still need to sit down and check this out for yourself when the chance comes, because it's likely to provoke a wise variety of responses, not unlike the Decade TV series itself.
There's some discontinuity with the end of the series that's hard to overlook. What you might be expecting to see doesn't quite happen that way you'd think (or as we were lead to think, I should say.) I think it's better to know this going in, so rather than setting yourself up for disappointment, you can sort of mentally prepare yourself for the rather odd trip you're about to embark on.
There are attempts to still give Decade a proper resolution, but how well those work will depend on how literal you like things to be. There are some metafictional ideas that I actually really like, but they won't be to everybody's tastes. It's pretty clear early on that this movie is giving Decade an ending, but maybe not the one that was planned way back in the beginning.
I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out they didn't actually know how to properly end Decade. In part because Decade's format allows for it to go on as long as there's still places to go and people to see. And also because, let's face it, whenever a show changes lead writers, it's going to end up differently than it began, unless the first guy was hovering over the second guy's back for the rest of the series, telling him what to write.
Obviously as a final story that answers all the questions, this doesn't hit all the marks. It does answer some things, and makes for an interesting bookend to All Riders, though to be honest, I'm having a lot of trouble seeing how they could possibly work together, even though this movie implies that All Riders might've happened, maaaaybe... but not quite like that.
You can argue either way, but I think it's once again a case of Toei not knowing where to stop. They said All Riders was "the end of Decade's story", then we got that cliffhanger ending and now this, which is another ending... sort of. You'll understand what I mean when I get to the third part of this movie.
So while this part might might not be firing on all cylinders when it comes to the story, there is still a lot of fun to be had. To jump ahead a bit, the Double portion of the movie has a much tighter plot, though mostly keeps it within the boundaries of Double. Decade's has the advantage of being able to use a lot more Rider lore, so even if the entire thing doesn't quite hang together, there's a lot of good bits in there just the same.
The action's great as usual with Decade. It's more uncomfortable than ever because some of the battles involve very well-loved characters, and not all of them walk away from it unscathed.
The effects are what you'd expect in a Toei movie these days, i.e. great when they're practical, not so much when they're CG, though to be fair there's some good CG here. And if nothing else, I have to admire the ambition. There's some pretty spectacular stuff, and some... not so much.
The music's a mix of TV, All Riders, and some new stuff.
Onto the characters, it's a mixed bag, but that's mostly down to the script and the roles it gives them. The acting's fine, but trying to figure out how some of the character twists work is... well, you can't. Particularly so with two characters, one of whom is one many people were waiting to see get a tell-all reveal.
Of the new characters, there's two new Riders, though one of them is a new spin on an old Rider, and they're both great. A couple classic villains get return performances, and as nonsensical as the story might be, they're great when we've got them. One more recent villain has something of an irritating makeover, but I think that's more to do with my dislike of that character type than anything, and it probably won't bug most people.
The cast is big, and yet at the same time focuses on just a few people like the show; everybody else is a bit player. Beyong them every other everbody is a stock Rider or monster! The inclusion of certain Riders is actually something I'm split on. On the one hand, hell yeah. The more the merrier! Plus, the movie has some classic villains, so it's fitting. On the other hand, these Riders might as well have just been anyone, though one or two of them get some nice 21st century effects to play with.
Overall, it's a tough call on this one. Great action and a lot of fun moments, but the web holding it all together is a fragile one, and I don't know if I can say that the parts add up to something greater.
Kamen Rider Double: Begins Night
I haven't talked about Double much here, or anywhere, because to be honest so far the show has fallen into that odd realm where it's very good, but I just can't get excited about it. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, at least nothing that that other Rider shows aren't afflicted with, and yet so far it's just sort of been there, doing its thing, but watching it feels more like a weekly habit than something to be excited about.
Part of the reason for this is that it's coming after Decade, which, like it or hate it, is a show that got attention. And it got my attention, owed to the fact that I really really like it. After a couple years of Rider shows which were good, but aimed more at other people than they were at me, here's a show which knew how to press the right buttons, the way Blade or Agito did. I don't think Decade was perfect, but even at its worst it always had me interested in what was going on. That's a hard thing to pull off.
Double on the other hand has been a perfectly fine little show, but it's only the recent episodes that I've really started to get into it. Perhaps I need to go back to the beginning again, because there are a few episodes I've watched once and that's it (usually I'll at least do a repeat viewing.)
The big exception to all this is the opening moments of the first episode. I loved that. It was like, movie-quality on TV. While Decade still has the cold opening to beat, Double's is very, very good. So of course I was excited at the prospect of a movie that went further into that scene.
I just didn't expect it to be this good.
Really, what we have here is a perfectly good little adventure tale. It fits into the Double series (somehow) and provides a wealth of back story, but it's also a pretty strong tale on its own (though you'll need to see the rest of the movie for the full effect, given the 3-act nature of this piece.)
To really sum it up, I felt that Begins Night could have been a movie all on its own, and I'd have been happy with it. Though actually, the fact that it's not much longer than a regular episode and part of a bigger movie works to its advantage. It's well-paced and breezes on by, yet doesn't feel rushed.
It's sort of like everything I'd want the TV show to be. I think it can be, as the show starts digging more into its own history. In my initial thoughts, I said that when Double got serious, that's when it got really good. Such is the case here. It literally gets "Hard-Boiled".
It helps that the situation's personal. The movie's central "new" character is tied to all three of the leads, so they're all really getting involved this time. The weight of the situation can be felt, and even though at the end of the day it's a pretty upbeat Christmas-flavored tale, you do get that sense where this time, they're really in trouble, and the situation's going to be bigger than they can handle (and sure enough, it is.)
In comparing this to the first part, it's definitely a much tighter story. Sanjô hadn't quite blown me away before this (my favorite episodes so far have been by one of the guest writers) but he knocks it out of the park here, especially when stacked up with Yonemura's efforts. While Final Chapter has the spectacle and the star power, Begins Night wins out in being more of a well-constructed tale that builds to a satisfying end, and leaves you with a feeling of fulfillment rather than confusion.
True, the flashback does raise some new questions. However, you'll get a much better picture of who a certain character from episode 1 was, how the two stars first butted heads, and what happens when you end a scene by writing "and everything explodes."
As for the specifics:
Shôtarô rules as usual. He's been my favorite thing in the show since day one. Even if everything else around him is just on cruise-control, he's always giving it his all. Like Hosokawa, Kiriyama's childhood dream of becoming a Kamen Rider has been granted, and he's really sunk his teeth into the role. I often comment about how I like each main Rider actor to bring something different. Even if it's a total 180 from the last guy, I'd rather have that than just simple repetition. Shôtarô and Tsukasa are worlds apart, but I love 'em both.
Philip is also good, with Suda playing it cranked up to 11. I didn't quite know what to make of Philip at first, and actually not because of the clothes, but his onscreen presence. It's like he's playing to a different audience sometimes. While Shôtarô always comes across as kid-friendly, there's something kind of weirdly psychotic about Philip, with his strange interest-swings. I could see him as the kind of guy who would run around in an undone straight jacket and demand Shôtarô and Akiko bring him lots of mustard some day. Or maybe it's just me. All the same, he's good here and he gets one dramatic scene that's sure to please his fans.
Akiko's been a polarizing character for some, but give her some plot (involving daddy) and I find she's quite good. The slipper business is a tiresome retread of Natsumi's gimmick, and considering she's supposed to be Kansai I'm wondering why she isn't my "Character of the Year" yet. Well, aside from the fact that 2009 also gave us Tsukasa, CARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY AU TheBee guy and Apollo Geist. But other than that, I like her okay, and she's great here, clearly bothered by one of the antagonists, but not angsting about it too much. She's more clever than she appears, I think. Also, she wears the shortest skirt I've ever seen in this movie.
The aforementioned "new" character (who isn't exactly "new")... he's about what you'd expect. Which is pretty awesome. It's good that we got a glimpse of him in episode #1, so we don't have Tendô's Grandmother Syndrome (that being, I had always assumed Tendô's Grandmother to be this grand, wise old Yoda-like figure. Then the Decade version is just a selfish old cow. Okay, so she's not Tendô's per se, and she redeems herself in the awesome ending scene. Still, that's one character that's better left unseen, to maintain the mystique.)
Uh... but back to this guy. There's a twist with him which I admit I didn't see coming, because they were smart enough not to give away the details in advance, which is hard to pull off these days, and building up another villain to trick you. I got to give Double this: it does freaky horror excellently. Since it, you know, ties in to the story and involves monsters that Double is actively trying to stop.
There's a new Rider who's pretty good. I went in expecting a pretty typical movie Rider: shows up, makes an impression, dies. Has some redressed weaponry, doesn't even touch a bike. The redressed weaponry part is pretty much spot-on, but not so with the rest. He's a neat character and he affects more than just this part of the movie...
The other original characters in the movie are fine. The rest of the TV regulars get their little moments. Mick rocks of course. I have to give this movie credit for making me like the Futo Irregulars. So far on the show, I've just found them annoying and unnecessary. Really, they could be merged into one character who fulfills all the same basic functions (informant, plot device-giver, informant... other informant.) However, put them all together like here, and they're great. They're Shôtarô's own oddball little group of friends. I suppose their brand of comedy is sort of like Otoya's, who always worked best for me when he had someone else to play off of (like Jirô.)
There's plenty of good action. Double gets something to add to the arsenal, which is neat, and the new Dopant are good. The big fights in the middle and end are great. The flashback stuff looks cool. There's some very good cinematography on display. The music's in line with that on the show (and most of it's probably from the show, for all I know.)
All in all, a very good time. I hope Double's own summer adventure will be this good. Of course, it's not over yet...
Movie Great War 2010
There isn't much I can say about this at all, other than it's completely off-the-wall crazy, doesn't make much sense, and it's a ton of fun. A fitting end to the movie.
All in all this is one helluva movie. I think All Riders is still the Rider movie of 2009 because it's a more cohesive package, plus there is the whole "All Riders" thing. But this is pretty awesome too.
The 3-act structure is interesting, and the way the third part comes about is particularly interesting.
There is some lack of cohesion. The Decade part was pretty weak on story, but had great action. The Double part was good all-around, and this final part was... weak on story, but had great action. But then, for something like this part, the story can be pretty minimal. It's doing all it needs to do, and there are still some good character moments.
Oh, and Gackt's Stay Alive the Ride the Decade Whatever Shamalamadingdong (Stay the Ride Alive) song is nice.
Will Toei take this approach next time? Maybe, maybe not. I'm sure we'll be seeing Double again in the movies soon, and probably Decade as well. All in all, a fun-filled action-fest. It doesn't even try to answer all your questions, but I suppose you can only seek those out so much. Sometimes you just got to sit back and watch the bug men kick things and make them explode.
***
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