MOVIE REVIEW: Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995)
I love movie previews. They are a great money-saving medium when considering what movies you should see. More often than not, they’ll tell you whether a movie is worth seeing or not. In many cases, I don’t listen to myself and NOT go see a bad movie, because I know I’ll have a good time nonetheless. That was the case with Underworld (2003) and Waterworld, but a grave misstep in the case of the recent Uwe Boll film House of the Dead.
What’s important about this next example is that the preview I saw led to another preview, which led to another movie. All three Asian movies and their trailers are videos released by TOKYO SHOCK!, a division of Media Blasters.
I first became acquainted with TOKYO SHOCK! through Craig Kilborn’s “5 Questions” clip of someone getting their head crushed. That is a clip from the film Riki-Oh: the Story of Ricky. I went out and bought it and it still is an entertaining romp to this day, especially when I saw a preview or another TOKYO SHOCK! video release: Keita Amemiya’s Moon Over Tao. I watched that film and saw the trailer for another Amemiya film called Mechanical Violator Hakaider.
Hakaider is the name of the villain in the manga/anime/live action show “Kikaider”. He’s more cyborg that robot because his brain is easily seen from the transparent glass over it. While Kikaider would be the normal choice for a movie character in the United States (‘cuz he’s the hero), Amemiya decided to turn Hakaider into an anti-hero. Channeling Schwartzenegger in Terminator 2 (complete with Winchester shotgun in motorcycle holster) for the entrance to our setting of Jesus Town, he’s all kinds of bad-ass; a major point in the story.
The story is about rebels fighting against the misguided, angelic King Girjev (Yasuyaki Honda) and his utopian dream where people no longer have freewill via a simple lobotomy. The rebels aren’t shining examples of goodness either; stealing and counterfeiting money as they see fit. One member, the young love interest Kaoru (Mai Hosho), seems alone in her dream for a good world where people can be free. While dreaming of freedom for the people, she is also plagued by nightmares where she’s menaced by an evil white angel and the only one who comes to save her is a black knight astride an ebony steed…
Enter Hakaider in a battle for his life. He barely makes a getaway from Girjev’s troops with the help of the rebels. With most of the engaging troops destroyed, the survivors must face an even greater threat: Girjev’s trusted robot lieutenant, Mikhail (voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue). The presence of Mikhail can only mean one thing in a movie like this: ROBOT SHOWDOWN. And what a showdown it is. Will Jesus Town be free of Girjev’s mad dream? Will Kaoru’s dream of a world that’s filled with good and love be realized? Will Kikaider make a cameo?
Mechanical Violator Hakaider has the most interesting tagline that I’ve heard in a while:
“IF THIS PEACE IS FICTICIOUS… I WILL DESTROY IT!”
Sounds like “Engrish” to the untrained movie watcher, but if you actually see the movie and have a small understanding of how the native Japanese sci-fi fan thinks, you’ll understand. You’ll still laugh at it when it’s in the trailer.
The movie itself is very cheap-looking in the street throng scenes, achieving the look of a dystopian future. The street battles are awesome. He may have blown up many a mannequin, but Hakaider’s off the hook! There was an artistic idea that was placed in this movie that wows me to this day: when Hakaider and Mikhail fight in Girjev’s chambers, they damage the pristine white walls and reveal bright red insulation. It’s almost as if Girjev’s chamber is made of flesh and blood. A similar effect is achieved when Hakaider damages Mikhail, showing Mikhail’s interiors of red piping and wiring. The battle between them slowly begins to turn the pristine world Girjev puts forth into a bloody-like representation of its true form. This is further cemented through Kikaider’s cameo (it’s very brief and you’d have to know he was there to see it.)
CHOICE CUTS:
- Hakaider’s shotgun. Watch the guy who tries to use it on Hakaider.
- Kaoru’s dreams. She is so damn shoujo.
- The rebels. Who ever thought that a Black man could function well in Japanese sci-fi?
- Mikhail’s design. I am in love with the simple lines and pale pastels used for this character. That lone angel wing attack he as ain’t too shabby either.
- Every time Girjev talks, he shows me what’s fucked up about Japan.
- Kazuhiko Inoue’s impressive voice work credits on IMDB.com
PRICELESS QUOTE:
From the trailer, as stated above:
“IF THIS PEACE IS FICTICIOUS… I WILL DESTROY IT!”
This movie shows why Keita Amemiya is the perfect person to do a sci-fi action movie: he’s boiled the look down to a science.
Originally published at http://gedren56.blogspot.com.