A man forced to bear power and stripped of humanity. A woman skeptical of happiness. Takeshi Hongo, an Augmentation made by SHOCKER, and Ruriko Midorikawa, a rebel of the organization, escape while fighting off assassins. What’s justice? What’s evil? Will this violence end? Despite his power, Hongo tries to remain human. Along with freedom, Ruriko has regained a heart. What paths will they choose?
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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…