Shin Kamen Rider2023

94/100 This is simultaneously a film which is trying to be complex, yet at the same time is aware of how simple it is. It's my first interaction with the Kamen Rider brand, and it's safe to say I want more already. First: the negatives, mainly the worldbuilding, or rather, the lack of it. So much stuff goes unexplained. Why do all the -Augs have contrasting motives as part of the same organization? Why do these random government agents know about SHOCKER and how do they know how the -Augs work? However, I can ignore these worldbuilding questions as they aren't the main point of the film. Rather, it aims to be a character-driven drama, and excels at that. The main character, Hongo, is great, and you can feel the buildup over the first half, revealing his character bit-by-bit. Through him, the film explores the moral quandaries at its core: questions of justice and how far people are willing to go for it, as well as the true face of justice and vengeance. The strongest point of Hongo's character, however, is his relationship with Ruriko, the heart of the film. In the end, it's their slow bonding over the first half and the freedom they offered each other which I ended up enjoying the most of all the character-related drama. The second protagonist, Ichimonji, I'm less fond of, but he acts as a nice audience surrogate, echoing my thoughts multiple times. However, this film may be a character drama, but it's also an action film, and that's easily the best part. All the action here is high energy, frantic and creative in the best way possible, and every new villain is entertaining enough to carry their respective action scene. We even get a sneaky Rider Kick thrown in there, with a much more brutal update. Overall, I consider this film absolutely amazing, and I definitely want to check out the 1971 original show after watching this. A superb example of modern tokusatsu.