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The Guyver Directors: Steve Wang, Screaming Mad George Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Closed-captioned Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 92 minutes Studio: New Line Home Entertainment Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-08-17 Buy from Amazon |
 "Part human. Part alien. Pure superpower. (All dud...)"I saw The Guyver (1991) a bunch of years ago on the recommendation of a friend and I recall not really being all that impressed at the time, but, since the years have passed, I thought maybe I'd give it another try. The passage of time did little to change my initial impression of the film, but I do believe I can now appreciate certain elements in the movie more, if not the production as a whole. I guess the main reason I opted to give this film another chance was the fact it was produced by Brian Yuzna, of whom I've always been a fan, based on his involvement in such films as Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Return of the Living Dead III (1993). While he may never garner acclaim from the mainstream, he seems to thrive in his position on the fringe, enjoying the freedom to develop projects on his own terms. The film boasts two directors, both primarily known for their special effects works and proving you should stick with what you know, in Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang. The film stars Jack Armstrong, probably better know to soap opera fans rather than moviegoers, Jimmy (Dy-no-mite!) Walker, the ever charming and instantly recognizable Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, also the bald-headed mutant biker in the John Hughs film Weird Science), Vivian Wu (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III), David Gale (Re-Animator), and finally one Mr. Mark Hamill, who, after seeing him in this, you really can't help ask yourself, "What the hell happened to you?". Okay, so what's the movie about? Well, let me see if I can lay it out. There's this alien race, and it seems, a long time ago, they somehow planted the seeds of humanity on Earth, for the purpose of creating an evolved species of life to used as fighters, or some such thing. It also seems there are those who walk among us that look like normal humans like you and me (well, me at least, as I have no idea what you look like), but can change into hideous monsters imbued with super strength. These human/monsters, called Zoanoids, have gotten together and formed a corporation, headed by the most powerful of the bunch, the Zoanlord (Gale). Finally, this corporation has somehow come into possession of a bio-mechanism called the Guyver, which was also left by the aliens (I am unsure if they, like the creatures on Earth, are Zoanoids, or what...I'm sure the comic book details this better). This Guyver, a proto-type (one of a kind) seems to possess great power, but no one seems to know how to activate it. Also, we learn that if a Zoanlord gets a hold of the Guyver and figures out how to use it, the consequences could be extremely dire...to us normal humans, I guess...(again, something not made entirely clear in the film). Anyway, a scientist working on the Guyver, fearing for the sake of humanity I suppose, steals the device, and it ends up in the hands of Sean (Armstrong), as he accidentally activates it, but not before Zoanoid henchmen, lead by Lisker (Berryman) and including Striker (Walker), kill the scientist. Sean transforms into the Guyver, a character looking much like Spectraman, a Japanese show I used to watch as a kid. Sean is involved with Mizky (Wu), whose father was the scientist who got killed, and now the Zoanoids are using her to get the Guyver back. Hamill plays a CIA agent Max Reed, contacted by Mizky's father before his death, and is trying to uncover the secrets behind the corporation. Okay, let me start with what I liked about the film. I thought the special effects, done by the same guys who directed the film, were really good, especially the monster costumes as they were extremely detailed and highly life-like. That's about it for what I liked...what I didn't like? That list is a bit longer...The acting was pretty bad, except for Gale, who sort of revives his Re-Animator character of the evil, lecherous Dr. Hill. The poor acting is only magnified by the truly awful script. The characters were pretty lifeless, especially that of Hamill's. Given they got someone with his name recognition, it became painfully obvious he was only there so they could use his name (just look how prominently it's displayed on the DVD case). And who let Jimmy (Dy-no-mite!) Walker in the picture? He was the worst, especially when his character tried to rap, which he did often. (Did you ever notice that if you add the letter `C' to rap, you get a new word?) The fight sequences, of which there were many, were fair at best, and the choreography was painfully obvious. I suspect it's hard to create realism with the stunt people having to perform encased completely within their respective costumes. These scenes reminded me much of an episode of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, only with a larger budget and better special effects. Re-Animator fans will enjoy an all to brief appearance of actor Jeffery Combs, who play Dr. West in the Re-Animator film, as a scientist, aptly named Dr. East, working for the corporation. I was glad to see the film didn't take itself too seriously, as there were a number of humorous points interjected throughout, especially the brief homage to the film Jaws (you'll know it when you see it). The wide screen picture here looks pretty good, but I did notice a few minor flaws. The sound quality is better, offering three audio options, including Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1. Special features are few, including trailers for Critters (1986), The Highwaymen (2000), The Butterfly Effect (2004), and The Mangler (1995), but not one for the film itself. There is a sequel, called The Guyver: Dark Hero, but I haven't seen it. I guess if I learned anything from this film, it's that Jimmy (Dy-no-mite!) Walker shouldn't rap (or act). Cookieman108 "This movie was mostly terrible."But they were a few good scenes. But who on earth is selling this mess for $35!? You have got to be kidding me. "Mostly garbage but a few good scenes here and there"But who on Earth is trying to sell this for $35? I have not seen the Anime version, but I guess it can't be any worse than this.  "So much potential"Attempting to cash in on the recent success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the studio imported Japanese manga hero Guyver with high hopes of big draws. The film succeeds on certain points and fails on others. The first problem is the script. The script went after the parent's wallets and attempted to appeal to kids, yet had probably a bit much graphic violence for parent's tastes. The music was also an issue. Honestly it sounds like a really bored guy on a Casio. The lightness of the music took away from many scenes. Jimmy Walker as a Zoanoid? Why the hell did he have to rap? Seemed like he had fun, though. Some of the Zoanoids looked a bit cheesy too. The lizard bird chick for example resembled a furby. Mark Hamill must not have known how cheesy the film was going to turn out cause he actually put a lot into it. As much as he could, anyway. Of course it was mostly based around effects and it didn't disappoint there. The Guyver suit looked great. Though the costumes looked like costumes they were better than many I've seen. Plus there was a robot of some sort of dragon reindeer. The Gore helped though it made the film seem bipolar. Had they altered the script to be more adult and match the darkness displayed in the directing and tweaked the music so it wasn't so slap-sticky this movie would be perfect. However due to it being simply fun to watch it deserves a 4/5.  "Good enough to see for yourself"I liked this movie because it is one of a kind (knowing that there is a Guyver 2) and it has set a standard for other movies that might be similar to it. If you liked this movie then you should see the second Guyver movie, it is better. |
