Review: Talk about before it’s time….

Director Keita Amamiya had some amazing foresight into the sci-fi action genre with some of the material he presented in ‘Mechanical Violator Hakaider.’ Before bullet-time effects became synonymous with hardcore-CGI, Keita created his own vision of bullet-time with the most basic of effects. Although the bullet was obviously animated, the fact that he had this new vision for how action could be portrayed makes you think, if this man was presented with a better script and more money, could he have the potential for creating the most amazing sci-fi action film ever?

Probably THE most important aspect of a film like this is the costumes. Rest assured, the costumes are wicked. The slick and shiny design of Mikhil offers the perfect contrast to the rough and dirty outfit that Hakaider wears throughout the movie. Many of the costumes in this film are directly lifted from the pages of anime, but what makes them work is that they seem authentic. Rather than having tights with designs stitched onto them or cheap plastic parts attached to it, the cheap plastic parts could pass as metal. The only other notable costumes are the dark angel outfit the cute actress wears in the film and the Jesus Town soldiers. Other than that, every one else pretty much wears your typical post-apocalyptic outfits: ripped and rough cloth with a hint of leather every now and then.

Since I’m not very familiar with Tokusatu films, I have no idea what is the norm for the acting talents. So if I was to rate the acting in this film to your average film, I’d say the acting was crap. Aside from Hakaider’s stoic speech and Mikhil’s menacing screech, most of the acting was awful. Take for instance, the scene in the rebel hideout. I can’t help but wonder if the actors in that scene had a contest to see who could act the worst and most generic. But all the blame can’t be put on the actors. The dialogue is pretty nutty too. The main actress seemed like she really wanted to give an emotional-packed performance. Well, paired with the short running time and awful dialogue, there’s no time for emotional attachment and the “touching” words she says are more annoying than emotional.

Remember the days of the ‘Power Rangers?’ Remember how the fighting was goofy in the most entertaining way? In ‘Hakaider,’ they retain the child-like innocence of the old tokusatu series, but also add a tint of face-smacking hardcore violence. The ways the enemies are executed are far more gruesome than the average Putty getting rocked, but at its heart, it’s still just a man in tights showing other men in tights the way of ass-kicking. Compared to modern day standards, the action may be hackneyed and boring. But it’s got something most of these newer films don’t have: heart. This is definitely a movie where the action is the centerpiece, and all the dialogue and “acting” is just superfluous material. None the less, it’s good stuff! It’s a little ‘Robocop 2’ mixed with old-school ‘Kikaida’ and topped with some ‘Terminator 2.’