Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995)

not horrible nor great

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Hakaider is about some robot on a quest to stop some fruit-loop from turning everyone into retards. The action, the visual effects and cinematography is where the movie shines. The action is very well crafted that contains some karate action and gun shooting $#!+ with exploding heads and dismemberment and some bloody crap. I know, I'm compulsive. I liked the effects particularly when the white cyborgs blew up and bled feathers for that heavenly look. The letdowns were the story and pacing. Though the concept is actually great which is about a religious coercion through an insertion of a micro chip into the cortex to make people retardedly subservient, the storytelling was derivative and stupid with these meaningless flashbacks and some annoying characterization. And pacing is inconsistent with the action scenes being fast and the dialogue scenes being slower than sloth sex. Overall the pros out weigh the cons, hence, I liked it.

This movie is a must see for any fan of "Tonkatsu" (Reflective to real life) style cinema as well as Science-fiction/action. Comparitively this movie is an unsung classic in "Tonkatsu" it has such compelling elements similar to work from Kurosawa's "Ran" and "Rashomon".As some would complain that this film is not a visual masterpiece, I would in turn ask them how much of it they have seen. There are very dynamic characters and excellent plot formation and culmination. The storyline is a very insightful view on humanity and socio-economic divisions and struggles therein. While touching these points and making an impact at doing so, the movie's elements of action and drama are of such quality that anyone can enjoy the film without struggling to get it's deeper meaning. Missing this film is an injustice to anyone who enjoys science-fiction, action, drama, and intriguing storyline. Enjoy this excellent film.

Even though Hakaider is a decent (but sadly rather short) movie with good action scenes and imagery, the thing that shined most was Yasuaki Honda. He is quite a beautiful, as well as calm and detirmined actor (I wish to see original Japanese version. Seen only Spanish verson). I also like his costume and appearance. He looks so angelic and wicked at the same time. I only wished he had more screentime though.... ....Oh well. At least Keita Amemiya shines his stuff with intricate storytelling and lovely imagery as usual.

Ok, I was intrigued by this movie. It just had a cool look, a very manga-esque feel. I really thought there would evolve something special out of this. But it didn't. Actually it became more boring every minute until I thought I'm watching a real crap fest. The visual tricks just don't do it for 80 minutes. And apart from those visuals, there's not anything good to find here.The music and the topic remind one of "Terminator 2". There's also a little "Mad Max 2" and "Spawn" added for good measure. The sets look very cheap, the acting gets worse once the movie progresses (that asexual king is really embarrassing!) and the pacing is sleep inducing. A little blood helps sustain some interest, but not much. And those dream sequences are way too long and way too empty. All in all, I'd give it aRating: 3/10