Masked Rider 555 (2003)

In the near future, the Smart Brain Corporation is breeding creatures known as Orphnochs to replace humans. Three sympathetic Orphnochs team up with freedom fighters who are waging a guerrilla war while awaiting the return of their hero Masked Rider 555.

The Masked Rider returns in this 2004 movie spin-off from the popular Masked Rider 555 television series (2003-2004). Although geared towards kids, this is still one of the slickest action flicks to come out of Japan in recent years and features an impressive combination of motorcycle stunts, martial arts combat, CGI wizardry, and costumed mania.

The Masked Rider or Kamen Rider series is one of the most popular franchises in Japan and dates back to the early ’70s. It’s a live-action cartoon where a superhero does battle with monsters and super villains with the help of a tricked out motorcycle and his elaborate battle armor. Think Power Rangers without public service messages. Masked Rider 555, the movie is a spin-off of the most recent series and offers some slick updates that makes it one of the best of its kind.

In the none-too-distant future, guerrilla fighters are waging a war with the Smart Brain Corporation to stop them from replacing humanity with Orphnochs. These are creatures that can look like humans, but transform into white-armored monsters reminiscent of animals or mythical beasts. The corporation’s evil rulers include a cyber-council, a head in a jar and a shape-changing vixen. Their chief weapons are a villainous Masked Rider in white armor, a huge armored creature, and an army of Orphnoch warriors. The good guys are little more than a rag-tag outfit of rebels with conventional weapons who are hiding out in an abandoned amusement park. They have two mostly ineffectual Masked Riders on their side, but hold on to the hope that the best, Masked Rider 555 will return. Three Orphnochs who wish to live in peace with humans try to help, but inadvertently end up the pawns of the Corporation. 555 eventually return to take on the corporation and rescue his girl from their clutches.

I have to qualify this review by stating that I am not a longtime fan of Japanese superhero shows. Older programs like Masked Rider were rarely shown outside of Hawaii or Japan and recent crossover shows aimed even more squarely towards kids like Power Rangers came too late. That said, I’m always game for new discoveries and found myself pleasantly surprised by this latest incarnation of the Masked Rider series. With little foreknowledge of the franchise or the specific series that precedes it, I found Masked Rider 555 to stand well on its own as a superhero movie.

What is most striking about the film is the quality and creativity of the effects and stunt work and how well they are integrated. Star Wars-like laser blasts and light sabers mix with daredevil motorcycle leaps, a morphing silver minotaur and griffin, and martial arts moves. There is even a motorcycle that transforms into a robot to fight alongside its rider in Transformers fashion. The martial arts action is basic and somewhat hindered by the stunt actors’ bulky costumes, but staged with flair. The story is simplistic and the acting is nothing special, but the film’s action and effects compares favorably to what you’ll find in big-budget Hollywood flicks. The film’s big finale in a stadium where 555 faces three successive enemies is heaps of fun.

Ultimately, Masked Rider 555 isn’t smart or funny enough in its writing to entertain beyond the film’s eye candy. Viewers unfamiliar with the 555 series may also be thrown off at the start. But fans of the series and anyone who enjoys anime-esque fantasy battles should be more than satisfied.