Shin Kamen Raidâ

This is a very old-school tribute to the Kamen Rider character or that is what I felt from watching this without actually knowing the history. The way the design of the suit and action scenes can be directly placed in the 70s and won't make a difference is immediately juxtaposed with the amount of bloody violence and the introspection about it that comes right after that. There are a lot of themes that are very familiar through Anno's previous works but it never felt anything more than surface level. For the most part, it felt like a straight-up superhero story that is low-budget. But the episodic entry of characters, the monologues about happiness etc feels like it needs more time to have any heft to it amongst this campy action. As someone who doesn't have any idea about the character, this felt like it would have worked a lot better as an anime series. A lot of it is directed like an anime with the kind of shots and dialogues used but as it is not an anime, it doesn't have the same power. Also, the action would have been cooler and the cool music would have suited more in anime form.

The movie starts pretty strong, with a good fighting scene and the introduction of the Shin Kamen Rider who basically pays homage to the original Kamen Rider from 1971. Sadly, after the strong start, things started to go downhill slowly. The plot became cringy and the fan favorite Kamen Rider was more of a secondary character since they were focusing a lot on someone else.

When it comes to the fighting scenes, they weren't good, it's like they were inspired by animes like Dragon Ball Z and Nartuto, it doesn't sound too bad, but the CGI felt like I was playing a few years old PC game. Was it really that hard to make good fighting scenes like in the other Kamen Rider movies and shows?

The cast, the acting, the costumes, the bikes and the music were great, and the kid from The Last Samurai is actually our Kamen Rider.

Unfortunately, I wish I did something better with my time, compared to Shin Godzilla, the movie is a huge letdown. I'm giving it 5 stars because of the nostalgia factor and the positive things i mentioned above. It really pains to give such a low score to a Kamen Rider movie.

I have to admit that I wasn't harboring any expectations at all when I sat down to watch the 2023 Japanese superhero movie "Shin Kamen Raidâ" (aka "Shin Masked Rider"). I was only familiar with this movie by its title and from the mask worn by the main character. However, I haven't seen the Anime, so I am not really familiar with this character or the universe in which the story takes place.

However, I must say that a movie such as "Shin Kamen Raidâ" is somewhat of an acquired taste, and I think you need to be Japanese and having grown up with these type of strange superheroes in order to enjoy their movies. I found very little entertainment in the script that writers Hideaki Anno and Shotaro Ishinomori had put together. And I made it about 50 minutes through the 121 minute runtime, and then I just tossed the towel in the ring. I had found nothing enjoyable in the movie, and it was quite a struggle to keep focus on what happened on the screen, as I just simply didn't care one bit about the story or the characters.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but I am sure that the actors and actresses put on good performances. I just didn't take a liking to the character gallery in "Shin Kamen Raidâ".

Visually then "Shin Kamen Raidâ" was an okay movie. Not top of the line special effects, but definitely good enough.

My rating of "Shin Kamen Raidâ" lands on a three out of ten stars. And having made it 50 minutes through the ordeal, I can honestly say that I am not returning to attempt finish watching "Shin Kamen Raidâ".

As the third of "Shin-" series, it is safe to say this title is much better than "Shin Ultraman" but way less developed than "Shin Godzilla" in terms of story, character and most importantly, relevance to the originals. My expectation had been low mainly because of the heart-broken experience in the disastrous parody of Ultraman by the multi-titles-holder Anno, thus the first sequence in this film surprised and even betrayed me a lot in a good way. Visual character designs are retrospective but fresh (almost as always), and battle scenes are exciting and speedy even though some parts are unrecognizable to see what is going on. If you can swallow some obnoxious fetishized scenes (a strong and straightforward woman& quiet but justice boy, rustic and long wordy scene, smell of woman for example) as his authenticity, it is recommendable.

This is coming from a non-fan, better known as normie: I think it's pretty enjoyable to watch from start to finish because the movie almost didn't give me room to breath like, dude it's full of action from the Toho logo to credits! Since I'm a non-fan, the things that bother the original fans so much pass me by like wind through canyons, so hey feel free to roast me if you want. CGI didn't bother me that much like in Anno's previous two shins, I mean I could still catch what's going on. Practical effect done rightfully even brutal in some parts, like blood splattering all over the place. I wonder if Anno already had plan to make another shin series of another Japanese IP after this. Shin-Super Sentai anyone?

7.5/10.