Shin Kamen Rider review | is it a let down? Movie review

This movie was freaking beautiful. I'm surprised people hated it. It felt true to the original vision of the series and told a simple, beautiful story.

Honestly don't understand the hate this movie is getting from "real" kamen rider fans.

The movie was good, I felt that it crammed too much stuff and it felt that Toei didn't have faith in it. I hope that the success of this films means we'll be getting more Kamen Rider shows and movies official Releases

From a person who watches more than just Toku stuff and watched even more obscure cult following films, I think it was great. I don’t mind the convoluted stuff as long as it’s done right like a Gaspar Noe or a Lynch film. But it’s hard to recommend the movie for a general audience without prior knowledge to Rider lore. I do appreciate the fact Anno doesn’t dumb stuff down and not holding the masses hands. It definitely is a thought provoking movie since you have to actually pay attention otherwise you’re screwed if you missed one line like a Nolan movie. It wasn’t difficult for me to follow but I can see why it can be a turn off for some folks including the ones that want the reiwa tone and such. Shin Goji is still the best for the general audience but In the end overall, I think this is by far the definition of what a “rider” hero should be by Ishinomori intent especially if you compare it with the manga. The pacing felt fast to me but then again I did mention Lynch so I can handle slooooww burn films. For me the Fan boi score is a 9/10 and a general audience score is a 8 or 7/10 cause it is a lot to process for a person to take. The reason why it lost a point on the fan boi section is cause of the scorpion…after reading the prequel manga it was disappointing for her arc. P.S - do read the original manga and Shin Kamen Rider Shocker prequel manga so it’ll help enhance the experience(optional of course). It’s funny too how folks complain about darkness and the shaky cam, I can tell you now they’re way better than the majority of budget horror/martial arts films I’ve seen.

As someone who has 0 attachment or knowledge of Tokusatsu outside of whatever Hideki Kamiya took for Viewtiful Joe and the Wonderful 101, I had a blast with this and it’s getting me to check out and research more of the old show. It got me hooked, and I assume that was the end goal.

I think this looked like a summary of a full season more than a normal movie, like, it cut some parts of the episodes and tried to make it make sense. As someone who actually read the manga (whatever was in english at least) it didnt bother me that much, but I completely agree when you say I wouldnt really be able to recomend it to someone despite my personal feelings towards it

Personally, I liked it. It was very cool to see a Kamen Rider movie in theaters, in the west. It does feel like an updated version of the original Kamen Rider. It does have pacing issues, some wonky cgi moments and design choices... but I was hooked on this movie. One criticism that I can't overlook... I wish they made Takeshi Hongo more likable and have more personality... Ichimonji/Rider 2, was easily the best part of the movie because of his personality. Still, it was fun to watch and I'm glad I got to see it. At my theater, there were Kamen Rider fans in their 40, 50s and 60s, with their kids and grandkids... by the end of the movie... the kids were singing the theme song.

It feels like a compressed abridged version in the original understanding of the term with wink, nods, and references throughout.

To be fair Shin Ultraman had similar problems, like cut up episodes meshed together trying to be a movie.

From my opinion I think SKR is the best out of the current Shin films <3

I'll never regret watching this movie. I though it was a good mix of original and the manga. At theater i met an ichigo cosplayer and the youtuber Ez rider. Also the scorpion augment was in the Shocker side prequel manga (it focus on ichiro, K, spider and scorpion augment)

I loved it and a lot of kamen rider fans may disagree. True, K (as a character) was never fully realized. I wish I saw more too. Shin KR is not a rider movie, it’s a human movie. Rewatch the the fight scenes and pay attention to Hongo’s expressions… behind the mask. (Ex: him shaking putting on his helmet). It’s the humanity of Kamen Rider that Anno tries to capture in SKR. The movie forsure has a lot of exposition and a lot does happen in the movie. I agree on that point. The movie does feel crammed but I did not mind it. Maybe, if the movie had an extra 30mins or so, the movie wouldn’t have that effect.

You do bring up a good point. I probleby wouldn't of gotten to movie id i wasn't already in on the joke. But at the same time i cant really fault this movie for staying in its niche. Its certainly leagues better than ANYTHING dc or marvel is putting out these days.

I thought it was a weird movie, but the original series was a weird show. I enjoyed every bit of Shin Kamen Rider and thought it paid great tribute to Kamen Rider.

I felt the 1st 16 minutes setup things well enough but it slide off from there. I really didn't like kamen 1 fighting 2, but the bee woman fight was great. Basically the pacing seemed off, I didn't get a "final boss" energy at the end.

Since there was an announcement this movie is coming to Amazon Prime next month, I will be either buying it or renting it (I don’t know yet) because I didn’t get to see it because pandemic and I’m trying to move so I look forward to this movie.

To be honest I liked the movie but this movie ain't for the masses. It's no wonder people in Japan have divided opinions on this movie.

She Ride on my Shin 'til I Kamen

I agree with your criticisms and have heard similar criticisms from some Japanese reviewers, but I rather liked the movie. I'd probably give it a 6.5 or 7 out of 10. It was well-shot and entertaining in its own way. After seeing so many superhero movies with origin stories, I am honestly kind of sick of it so found this style to be refreshing. My biggest gripe was the exposition. Especially with Hachi-aug. But both Ikematsu and Emoto also gave solid performances. Plus the final battle was quite entertaining. Though your average American viewer would probably not like it, especially with its lack of handholding. Black Sun was a disappointment, though, especially because I am a fan of Shiraishi.

I agree with you. The storytelling part needs more improvement. In this movie, I enjoy the most are the casts acting, Hongo and Ichimonji when they didn't wear the masks, and the first henshin scenes. So sad when I see Hongo ends like that 😢 Perhaps the movie can be better if Anno has effective discussion before taking the scenes. Even the actors and action director are fed up with his attitude