Kamen Rider THE FIRST ~Spoiler-Free~

Hey, guess what? The Kamen Rider franchise will be celebrating its 35th
Anniversary next year, and to get a head start on the festivities, Toei
announced over the summer that the end of 2005 would see a revival movie
featuring the original guys that started it all, Kamen Rider 1 & 2! Promoted
neither as a sequel or a remake, but as an all-new, original take on the
Kamen Rider story, Kamen Rider THE FIRST was released on November
5th, 2005 following sneak preview showings in Tokyo the previous two
weeks, including the official premiere at the annual Tokyo Film Festival on
October 23rd. Whereas I didn’t get around to seeing the Kamen Rider
Hibiki film until the last showing in my area, I actually got to see Kamen
Rider THE FIRST at the very first showing, on opening day! Whoo!

If I could sum up the movie in one sentence, it would be this: “If you like
Shocker, you’ll love the movie”. Seriously. Shocker completely rocks this
film! It’s handled extremely well, with a good mix of feeling like the original
Shocker while also drawing on newer Rider villains, and it comes off very
creepy and evil, just the way I like it. But I’ll get back to that later.

Overall, I loved Kamen Rider THE FIRST, although I do have a few
critiques. Without going into to much detail (well, if you really want to know,
read the other review) the ending felt a bit rushed, although it most likely will
indeed "leave you wanting more". I’d be surprised if we don’t see a sequel in
some format now.

My other gripe is the pacing and editing of some scenes, which goes along with the problems of the ending. Some things go by
way too fast, and especially midway through the film when a lot starts happening all at once. But really, these are pretty minor
complaints. I found everything else to be quite enjoyable.

Kikawada Masaya (Hongô/Rider 1) & Takano Hassei (Ichimonji/Rider 2) both do a good job provided the shoes they have to
step into. No, they’re not Fujioka & Sasaki, but who is? The new actors manage to take the characters and really make them
their own while still paying tribute to the originals. Especially Takano, who is always good in everything I’ve seen him in. The rest
of the cast is all pretty good, and Tsuda Kanji in particular is great as he embraces his evil side with manic glee, and manages to
make all the scenes with his character, the Shocker Kaijin Bat, solid gold. Miyauchi Hiroshi’s appearance is brief but especially
welcome, and Amamoto Hideyo– what to say about him? Granted, the fact that all his scenes were done using old footage with
remixed original or new lines means that sometimes the lip synch was a bit off, but since it’s supposed to be on a distorted static-
filled view screen, I could overlook it. Besides, it’s just cool as hell to have Doctor Shinigami back in a new Rider production.
Overall, I thought it was very tastefully done and a nice tribute to the late, great Amamoto.

Plot-wise, the movie felt almost like what we might have seen had Fujioka never gotten injured and the character of Midorikawa
Ruriko continued for the rest of the show. The movie draws from the original series as well as the comic version, yet is not a direct
translation of either, so the plot was really all new in a sense. After one viewing, a couple of the more complex plot points were
lost on me, but after seeing it again I should be able to keep them all straight. Mostly, it's pretty straightforward if you're already
familiar with the original story, both the TV series and Ishinomori comic versions.

The action scenes...wow. I only wish there could have been more. What we do get, does not disappoint. The wire work in
particular is very well-done, and, as is evidenced by the ending credits, a lot of people racked up some serious hours erasing all
those wires in post. The actual physical fighting is great, with some very impressive moves, and the Rider Kick never looked so
good. Visual effects-wise, the film is pretty tight. There’s a minimal use of CG compared to, say, the Hibiki movie, which helps to
give the film that older-style flavoring. And the bike stunts–! It’s great to see some bike action again, with Shocker goons flipping
through the air. Special mention goes to the Shocker Combatant stunt actors...they really steal the movie, and you will be hard-
pressed not to love their antics. They also get to keep their signature sound effects, which I'm pretty sure is one of the few actual
cardinal rules of all Kamen Rider.

Music...well, I have yet to get my hands on the soundtrack and listen to it all in detail, but from what I remember offhand the music
was great. Some nice moody themes reminiscent of music in the original series, and some hard-hitting themes for the action
scenes. To my pleasant surprise, “Let’s Go!! Rider Kick” is briefly used during the opening credit scene, before fading into some
new music as we get a nice shot of Rider 1 on the Cyclone leaping in front on an explosion. The ending theme “Bright! our Future”
has grown on me a lot since listening to the recent CD release, and I can say it fits the feel of the movie well.

And of course, being the big return of Kamen Rider 1 & 2, the movie is loaded with tons of references and nods to the original
show and comic. You might be surprised at what doesn't make it into the movie, but I found there was enough for die-hards of the
original series like me to love every minute of it.

On the whole, Kamen Rider THE FIRST is more tribute than anything else: it pays respect to the original Kamen Rider series
while also updating it in a sense. It’s really almost like a blend of the older and newer Rider shows while at the same time being
some thing all new and different. Despite the flaws, Kamen Rider THE FIRST is one fun ride, and well worth checking out. Of
course, you were probably going to see it anyway even without my recommendation!