Spoilers want a sidecar to ride along.

I think as a young viewer I was a fan of tokusatsu before I even knew what it was. In yet another iteration by Hideaki Anno, we’re getting another tribute and remake as the masked rider revs up his bike again. My experience with the IP is limited. I know of him, I was familiar with one the original TV show iterations back in my childhood, but only the visuals are familiar. The original lore and backstory are a bit of a blur. Rev it up, we’re riding out.

Shin Kamen Rider (2023) is written and directed by Hideaki Anno. Young Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu) has had his mind freed after the evil organization SHOCKER (yes, it’s an acronym, no I don’t remember what it means) kidnapped him and experimented with his body. Fortunately for Hongo, Dr. Midorikawa has gone rogue and decided to renounce SHOCKER and fight their evil deeds. To do that, he has altered Hongo so his mind is free but still able to use his powers as a grasshopper-cyborg hybrid. Unfortunately, SHOCKER has tracked them down and ended Dr. Midorikawa’s life. Now Kamen Rider has allied himself with the Dr’s highly skilled daughter, Ruriko (Minami Hamabe), who’s a mystery herself. Both along with the Cyclone bike will have to fight the evil forces of SHOCKER and their army of insect cyborgs.

This one’s definitely for the fans of the original show as well as for most of tokusatsu fans out there. It is the classic japanese superhero genre, with its share of angst and the reluctant hero forced into doing violence (and he does) albeit always wishing for a more peaceful solution. The moments of quiet contemplating and framing the combat in larger-than-life industrial locations are staples easily brought to life with added modern CGI to compensate for superhuman feats. And yet, for all the violence and blood spilled, Kamen Rider has a heart. To be honest, that is something that is both his strength and weakness here as his enemies choose violence every step of the way.

I actually found Ruriko very compelling as both a strategist and ally to the protagonist. Ruriko also has more remarkable character arc. Beneath her cold blooded calculating self she slowly reveals human traits carefully hidden behind a cold demeanor – a mask of her own, if you will. Hongo himself is at war with both his human side and his Kamen Rider persona but those issues are never reconciled and past a certain point in the film they start to stagnate. The appearance of brash Hayato Ichimonji (Tasuku Emoto) as a second Kamen Rider was a breath of fresh air in contrast with the angsty Hongo.

It works for what is intended. You get Kamen Rider in a constant set up of showdowns with different rivals. Some are more colorful and memorable than others. In the same sense, we want to see our hero battle to the death, but a few times the resolution is anti-climatic. Moments of great thrill are defused by sudden pauses of contemplation where the visuals and the music just let the tension escape. This tends to happen a lot more in the final act where we should be setting up the final confrontation. That, I’m afraid, slows the end to a crawl. We do get one huge battle against several enemies, full-on CGI and a strange cinematic decision of having it inside a dark tunnel. Probably it’s intended to highlight the burst of machine guns and explosions but we’re still having combatants dressed in full black in a black background.

Recommended for fans with reservations. The film seems to ramp up at the beginning, engaging us in this world just to slow down past the middle. The stylistic choice works with the hero, but I expected too much from the final confrontation and found the tone shift a bit jarring. Worth a watch but your mileage might vary.

That will do for now.