By Drew Dietsch
| Published
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was one of the biggest phenomenons of ‘90s sci-fi pop culture for kids. If you weren’t around back then, you can’t really understand the gargantuan impact the show had on its target audience.
The successful television series – which adapted footage from the Japanese show Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger – eventually led to a pair of theatrically released feature films. And both of them are big stinkers.
I say that as someone who saw both of those movies in the theater and loved them as a kid, and I own the Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger series on DVD.
It wasn’t until I discovered a different Japanese import that I found a series far better than Power Rangers (sorry, Tommy), and it led me to a movie that scratches that monster-bashing, mega-smashing itch much better.
It’s time to get bio-boosted with Guyver: Dark Hero.
The Guyver Began As A Manga
The Guyver originated as the manga Bio-Booster Armor Guyver by Yoshiki Takaya that eventually made its way into anime through a 1986 short film original video animation (OVA) and a series of OVAs starting in 1989. Both of these anime projects are awesome and worth seeking out for fans of classic anime sci-fi action and violence.
By 1991, an American film version of The Guyver was produced, co-directed by Steve Wang and one of my favorite artists of all time, Screaming Mad George, best known for his practical effects work in movies like Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and Society.
Unfortunately, The Guyver (1991) falls flat in a lot of ways, but excels at its monster suits and effects. If you’d like to hear an in-depth review on that movie, check out the GenreVision movie club episode on The Guyver wherever you get your podcasts.
The Guyver Story
All you need to know about the basic story is that a young man named Sean Barker finds an alien piece of tech that bonds with him, giving him a super-powered suit that is prime for beating up the shape-shifting monsters of the Kronos Corporation known as Zoanoids.
The Guyver was successful enough in release to get a sequel made. It’s certain that home video sales and rentals were what made this happen. Ugh, we used to live in a world where a wacked-out low-budget genre flick like The Guyver could get a sequel thanks to the video store.
Guyver: Dark Hero Gets A Lower Budget But A Better Actor
Guyver: Dark Hero drops the “The” from the title amongst some other cuts from the first film. Screaming Mad George did not return to direct, leaving Steve Wang as the sole credited director for the second entry. This does come with a downgrade in the effects but not to a deal-breaking degree. It’s also clear Guyver: Dark Hero has an even lower budget than the first film, but Wang is more than adept at making his budget work for him.
Also absent is previous lead actor Jack Armstrong, replaced by…
David Hayter?!?
Yes, Solid Snake himself, the man with screenwriting credits on X-Men 2 and Watchmen steps into the role of Sean Barker. And look, I’m realistic. I’m not asking for Daniel Day-Lewis caliber acting in a movie like this, but Hayter nails the gruff soap opera of the character so well. It’s delightful. I could watch him whip his head around to deliver a line of dialogue over and over again.
Guyver: Dark Hero Gets Serious With An R-Rating
That bit of endearing silliness aside, Guyver: Dark Hero takes a much more consistently serious tone than the previous movie, whose humor is easily its worst attribute for multiple reasons. I’m willing to bet the filmmakers behind Guyver: Dark Hero wanted to start the movie with a mission statement about how this was going to be a more straightforward take on the character. That’s why the opening scene of Guyver: Dark Hero is a stereotypical but effectively executed “hero stops a drug deal” scene, complete with violent bad guy dispatching.
In addition to the tonal upgrade, Guyver: Dark Hero is allowed to go for broke with its violence, earning an R rating over the first film’s PG-13. And if you love some over-the-top fantastical violence, this movie delivers and delivers. Part of the appeal of Guyver, starting in the original manga, is the outrageous levels of violence dealt to the Zoanoids by the Guyver. The original movie never quite seemed like it was interested in capturing that aspect, likely due to the fact that it was aiming for that PG-13 rating.
Guyver: Dark Hero Creates A Martial Arts Kick
Luckily, the sequel is also much more of a fight movie than the first film as well. In fact, this movie is the origin for a particular martial arts performance move.
This awesome maneuver has been popularized by martial artists like Scott Adkins and is known as the Guyver Kick. When your movie ends up creating a lasting fighting move in martial arts culture, I gotta call that a big win.
Why I Love Guyver: Dark Hero And Why You Should Watch It
Now, I’m not here to proclaim Guyver: Dark Hero as some forgotten masterpiece. It’s a tiny movie about silly things like alien super-suits and bug monsters. I love that stuff but I also recognize its innate juvenile nature in something like Guyver: Dark Hero.
And that’s why I’ve come to embrace Guyver: Dark Hero as something of a Power Rangers movie. What we know as Power Rangers is part of a long-running series in Japan called Super Sentai, dating back to 1975. Super Sentai was created by Shotaro Ishinomori who also created the popular Kamen Rider series, something that has a direct influence on the Guyver.
Besides that connection, Guyver: Dark Hero simply works on a basic level of sci-fi fantasy fighting fun, while not being bogged down by the kind of excruciating lameness of things like horrendous CG or an annoying kid character.
Sure, the bald pencilneck villain could absolutely be better, but I’ll take it in trade for a Guyver Zoanoid final boss who ends up melting into a nightmare puddle before being blasted away by the Guyver’s boob laser cannon.
Man, I love movies.
Sadly, Guyver: Dark Hero doesn’t seem to be getting the love it deserves when it comes to availability and preservation. The first film got a tremendous collector’s edition release on ultra high definition 4K with plenty of special features for fans. I hope the same is in the works for the sequel because it’s a much better and even more beloved film amongst Guyver fans. I’d be happy to contribute as I want everyone to have a chance at seeing this gem at its best.
I would recommend seeing both movies just because Guyver: Dark Hero is a direct sequel that doesn’t do the best job of being an entry point for newcomers. Or hey, jump right into the sequel and get to the good stuff.
Time for you to run into the comments and tell us if you’ve seen Guyver: Dark Hero, your thoughts on it and other Guyver media. The 2005 anime is fine but I’m not crazy about it. Like this video? Then, like this video! Subscribe to the channel and maybe we can take down the evil Kronos Corporation together here on Giant Freakin Robot.
