Guyver: Dark Hero

Three years after the dismal joke of a movie "Guyver", we are greeted with a second attempt at bringing the mildly popular manga to into live action with the movie "Guyver: Dark Hero", a loose sequel of the first guyver movie.

For starters, I am really glad that the film rights to "Guyver" has passed into more competent hands. Gone is the campy feel and laughable story of the first film, replaced with a more competent script and a serious science fiction/action feel that still threads the line of B movie-ness but is careful to not fall headlong into the category of "silly".

Needless to say, Guyver: Dark Hero is a highly enjoyable and entertaining adaptation of the beloved manga series, and is easily one of the better live action adaptations of manga in existence today. I believe it was a good move on the part of the producers to leave out the convoluted intergalactic backstory elements like the 13 "Zoalords", the "Lost Numbers", Hyper-zoanoid teams, etc. All that would have just confused the heck out of the audience who already would have trouble following the single backstory of the Guyver units' origins in this movie. Instead they left this story as "down to earth" as possible, wile still keeping the more crucial elements of the guyver mythos. In Guyver Dark Hero, the plot sees Chronos organization dispatch a team of Zoanoids to infiltrate an archaeological dig and excavate an ancient alien space craft which contains technology related to the Guyver. On face value, the storyline may seem rather simplistic to some. But upon subsequent viewings, it is actually quite a well written tale.

The main character of Sean Barker is played very close to his manga counterpart "Sho Fukamachi" with only some Slight differences in his name, age and more realistic and mature approach in dealing with the responsibilities that come with possessing the violent power of the Guyver unit. Sean discovers that the Guyver seems to bring out the most violent side of him which leads to a tendency for uncontrolled, indiscriminate killing. That and his constant obsession with taking down the Chronos organization (which was thought to have been destroyed in the first Guyver movie, but Sean believes otherwise)has left Sean Barker without any friends, all alone in the world. He is afraid to get close to anyone since he is still a target for Chronos and he fears he may accidentally hurt those he cares about should the Guyver's violent side manifest. The second difference is that unlike Sho, who seems to fine with the violent tendencies and highly destructive powers of the Guyver, Sean Barker chooses to use the Guyver merely to augment his own fighting skills, only giving in to his savage violent side and using more destructive force when absolutely necessary. He is given ample character development in this movie and ends up coming across as a very likable character in the end. David Hayter turns in a strong performance as the main protagonist and masterfully portrays the part of a reluctant individual cursed with an alien power that he would rather have not have.

Sadly, the rest of the cast does not fare as well. Aside from David Hayter's role as Sean Barker, the rest of the characters are not much to write home about. They are boring, two dimensional stock characters which might turn off some but I can safely say that the manga itself was just as much laden with the usual teenager and villain stereotypes commonly seen in such genre of comics. Some may go so far as to call it corny, but this movie is no less corny than the manga and anime OVA that preceded it.

Steve Wang's credentials as a special effects and design supervisor are evident in the impressive amount of realistic detail given to the creature costumes. The zoanoid and guyver costumes are a huge step up from the previous movie. They look quite good for a 1994 production. Steve Wang does an adequate job as director here; nothing revolutionary to "wow" the audience but nothing painfully boring either. Despite the low budget of the film (I heard it was barely $900,000), he still manages to make the most of it and delivers one hell of a viewing experience (this show manages to look better than some other movies with more than 10 times the budget.)

The high point of this movie is definitely the fights. Violent, fast paced, brutal and in-your-face. Skulls are crushed, throats are slit, eyeballs are blasted out of their sockets, and bloodletting is at an all time high when compared to other "tokusatsu" genre shows like Kamen Rider, Power Rangers or Ultraman. The fights are beautifully choreographed with slick martial arts moves and intense wire stunts with minimal camera tricks or "gimmicks" like slow motion. It amazes me how the stunt people were able to pull off such acrobatic martial arts moves while wearing such intricately designed, and most likely, heavy suits.

Do not let the low budget of this movie put you off watching it; of Guyver: Dark Hero is proof that a low budget movie can still be a highly entertaining piece of work when left in competent hands with a little fanboy dedication thrown in(Steve Wang is a huge fan of tokusatsu movies like Ultraman ) . Though this film is by no means perfect and would not stand up to being compared to more recent big screen comic book adaptations, it is quite good considering its age, technology and budgetary constraints(and seriously deserves more than its current IMDb rating). It keeps very faithful to the look, feel and spirit of the original (something so many other live action adaptations lack) while presenting a fresh perspective on the Guyver mythos.

It has been a year(Or three depending how you look at it) Since Sean Barker first became the Guyver and destroyed the Cronos Corperation and their shape changing killers the Zionoids.

As he struggles to find the purpose of the thing living inside him he is drawn to the caves of Utah where he will dicier the Guyver's true purpose.

It had been three years since the world had been exposed to the Americanization of a manga classic, some loved it,other despised it. The movie was inappropriately funny or unfunny,badly written and directed. The only redeeming feature where the really cool creature effects helmed by Co-Director Steve Wang.

Then came Guyver 2 this time helmed by Wang and it has to be one of the best sequels ever made. It stays more true to the comic,featuring some very cool monsters and some brilliant fight scenes choreographed by Drive action director Koichi Sakamoto which Steve Wang also directed.

It seems Wang wanted to be as faithful as possible to the original comic and he does it very well. One thing worth mentioning is a good acting turn by the voice of Solid Snake David Hayter who plays the role of Sean Barker, a role horribly done by Jack Armstrong(who?) in the original.

The story is better written in which Sean struggles with his curse that is the Guyver.

Although the acting is very hammy at times(What do you expect for a sci-fi b-movie) I recommend that people wanting to find out about The Guyver best watch the original anime show then view this live action version before viewing the first movie.

I also recommend you pick up the Region 1 uncut DVD as it presents the film in all its gory glory.

If you have already seen the legendary "Guyver" manga (Japanese animation) series and enjoyed them, you are bound to love the second outing in the live action version of the cartoon. The suits and make-up are quite brilliant, but the icing on the cake is the Guyver itself - its exactly the way I pictured it to be when I saw the cartoons. The movie isn't for everyone, the storyline may seem weak on the outside, but if you pay close attention to it, it is quite well thought out. The acting is corny, but come on, is there anyone who would see a movie that even has "spectacular martial arts action" in the tagline for its acting? If you are considering seeing this, I believe it would be a better idea to hire the original 1-12 manga series and the first live-action movie, The Guyver (aka Mutronics).

For all intents and purposes, "Guyver: Dark Hero" is a fairly competent and oft-thrilling adaptation of the popular Japanese source material created by Yoshiki Takaya back in 1985. It boasts plenty of action, cool creature designs and blood by the bucketful. And as a follow-up to the generally disastrous 1991 release "The Guyver", "Dark Hero" is most definitely a substantial improvement, eschewing the comedic stylings and slapstick humor that plagued that film and replacing it with darker imagery and a more violent tone. In my review of the first American film, I noted that I almost viewed the franchise as being an adult version of properties like the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"- a claim I'll stick to. And this movie delivers on that kitschy promise for the most part, despite a clunky and sometimes unsatisfying storyline.

It's been one year since Sean Barker (David Hayter) bonded with the alien Guyver unit and destroyed the vile Cronos Corporation. But Sean's personal life has suffered due to these events... His relationship with Mizki has come to an end and he is plagued by haunting dreams and the blood-lust that the Guyver brings to him as he uses it to fight crime. When he learns of a recent archaeological dig that has unearthed strange remains and cave-paintings appearing to depict the same symbols he sees in his sleep, he sets off to discover the truth behind the Guyver unit- along the way encountering a beautiful scientist named Cori (Kathy Christopherson) and learning that his Zoanoid enemies are still out there... waiting to strike back.

What makes this film work in comparison to the previous effort is the dedication returning director Steve Wang has to craft a tale true to the darker and more adult tone of the original manga and its earlier anime adaptations. Wang clearly listened to the fan-base and its general dismissal of that 1991 original and decided to reward those who stuck around with a proper "Guyver" story. And thus, the rating has been upped to a "hard R", the action is made far more brutal and hard-hitting, and the comedic overtones have been greatly reduced, giving the entire experience a more serious flavor. While it is true that this sequel has a greatly reduced budget and was released direct-to-video in 1994... these factors really don't have all that big an impact on the final product. It's well-made, with excellent fight choreography, a wonderfully moody score and excellent effects work for the most part.

I also felt the performances benefited greatly this time with the new cast. David Hayter- famous for being the former lead voice- actor in the "Metal Gear Solid" video-game franchise- makes for a very cool and troubled brooding protagonist. Sure, he's not the world's greatest on-screen actor, but he gives Sean a nice sense of pathos and also knows how to kick some serious butt. What more could you ask for? Supporting roles by the likes of Christopherson are generally well-played. And villainous roles are all adequately cast, including Bruno Patrick as a deliciously vile cretin of a baddie.

All that being said... the story is nothing to write home about, and it does drag the movie down a bit. I don't know if its because of the reduced budget or because they were afraid to try doing too much, but the plot is just generic and pretty darned unsatisfying at the end of the day. We've seen stories like this, told better, a million times before. Sure, you could argue that the story was never the main focus of the franchise, but it was still vital. I used to own the entire twelve-part OVA series based on the manga, and it did quite a bit with the setting and the characters. But this movie just feels like any 90's sci-fi action schlock flick. You know what's gonna happen. You know the twists and turns that are coming from a mile away. And there's no surprises at all.

It all comes down to this. "Guyver: Dark Hero" is not a great film. I don't even think you could make a compelling argument that it was even particularly good. But it is fun. It is entertaining. And it does nail the tone and the spirit of the original source material. If you're looking for the definitive adaptation of the characters and the story, you won't get that here. But if you're just looking for a halfway decent time and a pretty entertaining little film to enjoy, you could do far worse. The strong action, darker tone and halfway decent performances definitely make this one I could recommend. Especially if you're a fan of the series. And so, I give "Guyver: Dark Hero" a very enjoyable but only slightly above average 6 out of 10. Great entertainment value. So-so film.

The first movie was pretty decent, except for the acting and the way the costumes look, but the sequel was better. The fighting was pretty good, and the Guyver costume was awesome. Guyver actually looked buffer in this film then in the first installment. The last fight was pretty cool, just too bad it was too short. Speaking of fight scenes, it kinda reminds of Power Rangers. Some fight scenes could of been done a little better, with fast movements and stunts like in Jet Li movies. But overall, this movie is not bad. 7/10