Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider: Fourze & OOO Movie War MEGA MAX Director's Cut (2011) Review

Blu-Ray Cover for the Director's Cut Version

The newest annual Kamen Rider crossover film, Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider: Wizard & Fourze Movie War Ultimatum, is just about to hit DVD shelves. So what better way to celebrate than to look back once again on the previous installment: the Movie War that proved that the formula could be done right? After two sub-par Movie Wars, expectations were reasonably low for the third film. However, new blood was brought in to make this the freshest Movie War yet. A longtime tokusatsu veteran and series director on the currently-running Kamen Rider Fourze, Koichi Sakamoto was given the reins as director; making this his second theatrical Kamen Rider film following Kamen Rider W Forever. With scripts handled by the head writers of both Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Fourze that for once nailed the popular aspects of their respective shows as well as a welcome return from Kamen Rider W, Movie War MEGA MAX was claimed by many fans to not just be the first good Movie War but one of the best Rider movies in some time.

The Director's Cut version of the film added almost 20 minutes of new footage, but none of it is revolutionary stuff that adds anything new to the story. What it does; however, is help the pacing out. The first segment of the movie felt especially rushed in the theatrical version, but this Director's Cut helps make the film fly by at a smoother pace with plenty more action and some new dialogue thrown in. As a result, the new running time is a whopping 117 minutes, making it the longest Kamen Rider film to date.

The evil Kamen Rider Poseidon appears from the future

The Seven Legendary Riders

Like the two previous Movie Wars, MEGA MAX is split into segments following the currently airing Rider and an epilogue to the previous Rider series capped off by a big crossover fight. However, MEGA MAX broke the formula set by Movie War 2010 and Movie War Core by introducing a more linear storyline framed by the Seven Legendary Riders and the ominous organization Foundation X, namely the new villain Lem Kannagi who aspires to become the Super Galaxy King (yes, that is a reference to Galaxy King from the Skyrider movie 8 Riders Vs. Galaxy King, evidenced by his final form and the form of his right-hand man). The segments are also broken up by a brief interlude where Shotaro and Phillip from Kamen Rider W show up, as Shotaro transforms into Kamen Rider Joker after intercepting a transport of the space sludge SOLU (which will play a major role in Fourze's portion).

Kamen Rider Stronger in action

Kamen Rider Joker on the scene

The film's three main villains (from left to right): Solaris, Lem, and Katal

Considering that none of the original seven actors who played the Showa Era Riders were invited back, it's surprising that the movie still manages to do a serviceable job with the characters. Unlike other crossovers such as Super Hero War and Movie War 2010 when these Riders are nothing more than living props, it actually feels like the spirit behind these characters are there underneath the masks. This helps the film become a proper 40th anniversary movie for Kamen Rider, far more proper than Let's Go, Kamen Rider which DID bring back Hiroshi Fujioka, Takeshi Sasaki, and Hiroshi Miyauchi. Small things like Amazon's reaction to hearing about Fourze's attempt to befriend all the Riders and the shout out to Stronger's famous speech (added for the Director's Cut) show that the director and writers actually get these classic characters.

It's also wonderful to see Renn Kiriyama and Masaki Suda once again reprise their roles as Shotaro and Philip one more time. I was not the biggest fan of Kamen Rider W, but I will not deny that the show had two awesome leads with great chemistry. W comes dangerously close to stealing the show for the third year in a row in a Movie War. Seeing them interact with Eiji and Gentaro before the final battle (especially when Shotaro reminds Eiji of the line Eiji spoke when he first appeared in W Forever) is pure fanboy and fangirl heaven. Again, I cannot stress this enough, Sakamoto and Kazuki Nakashima (Fourze's head writer and the writer of everything but the OOO section of this movie) GET IT. They get what the fans want to see, and they deliver some of the best fanservice I have EVER seen in a Rider film.

Gentaro, Philip, Shotaro and Eiji get ready for battle

W Returns Again

Between the movie's two main segments, I would have to say that OOO has the stronger story. Fourze's isn't bad, but OOO serves as a solid epilogue for the series and also delivers some interesting ideas I haven't really seen before in Kamen Rider. It's been some time since Dr. Maki was defeated and Eiji left Japan to find a way to fix Ankh's medal and ultimately bring him back to life. When several meteors crash all over the world, a wormhole to the future is opened up by the impact when one hits Tokyo Bay. Out of the wormhole comes the menacing new Rider: Kamen Rider Poseidon. Possessing brand new Core Medals and hosting all of the medals Dr. Maki had obtained inside his body, he goes on a rampage to defeat all Riders. When OOO and Birth are targeted, Kougami Foundation gathers everyone back together so they can face this new threat.

Eiji once again transforms into Kamen Rider OOO TaToBa Combo

However, Poseidon attacks Hina and Satonaka to draw out the Riders. His plan succeeds as Eiji appears, only to be swiftly knocked out. Gotou and Date once again transform into Birth and Birth Prototype, but the both of them are handily defeated. However, it is discovered that Eiji wasn't actually Eiji...it was actually Ankh! Ankh steals several Medals from Poseidon and returns them to Eiji, giving him the ability to once again transform into Kamen Rider OOO. Why has Ankh returned, and what is the true story behind Poseidon? Is Poseidon fighting on his own free will, or is Poseidon actually a man who wishes not to fight Riders but to fight for justice?

Just your typical Koichi Sakamoto film

Eiji and Ankh march into battle one more time

The Rider from the future: Kamen Rider Aqua splashes into the fray!

I have to admit, I had a severely mediocre reaction to Kamen Rider OOO. However, one thing the show got right was its ending and this segment manages to build onto its strong finale quite successfully. The explanation for Ankh reappearing is satisfying, and Poseidon's story is some cool stuff. Plus it's not very often you see water-skiing as a set-piece in a KR film, and I would love to see a Rider series with that gimmick.

Sometime after a sample of the SOLU that Foundation X has been collecting from the fallen meteorites escapes, Amanogawa High School is holding its school festival. This year, the Kamen Rider Club is holding an exhibit trying to educate the students on the Legendary Seven Riders. When a young girl inexplicably falls from the sky, Gentaro catches her and becomes immediately smitten. She is suddenly targeted by the Dustards, and Gentaro transforms into Fourze to fend them off. However, the young girl ends up copying Gentaro and becomes a Kamen Rider herself: Kamen Rider Nadeshiko!

The Kamen Rider Club playing dress up as some familiar characters

A girl falls from the heavens

The moe Rider Nadeshiko gets ready for action

After the fight, Nadeshiko whisks Gentaro away and the two go on a brief "date". Gentaro decides he has fallen for her, but soon discovers that Nadeshiko isn't all that she seems. When the Kamen Rider Club offers to return her to where she came from, Gentaro shrugs off all doubt and refuses to give her up. When Foundation X decides to take matters into her own hands, Gentaro must fight as Fourze for his friends and his first crush!

Gentaro and Nadeshiko on their date

Gentaro confesses

The Kamen Rider Club standing together

The Fourze portion is also solid, but not as well written. Gentaro and Nadeshiko's romance is rushed, even in the Director's Cut. Nadeshiko is cute, but for Gentaro to completely fall head over heels when the two have barely known each other for half a day seems far-fetched. There are more solid set-pieces, including extremely impressive wire-work and bike stunts. It's also nice to see the entire club get a chance to shine together, proving that the cast has some strong chemistry thanks to the strong performances from these young actors.

Finally, the segment everyone has been waiting for. When Eiji summons Gentaro to meet up with him, Shotaro and Philip, the four Riders think up a way to stop Foundation X. When they are immediately discovered, the four jump into action and the battle for Earth begins! For the next 20 minutes, W battles Foundation X's lackeys while OOO and Fourze try to intercept the launch of the Exodus, a rocket that houses Lem's base and where he will launch his plan of attack by combining the power of the future Core Medals and SOLU which has been transformed into an Astro Switch.

Gentaro and Eiji revive the sealed Seven Riders, who thank them and fend off Lem's puppets: a series of revived foes from W's and OOO's past. When it becomes apparent that OOO and Fourze won't reach Exodus, Kamen Rider Aqua appears to give Eiji new Core Medals. Aqua then works with the Seven Legendary Riders to face off against these revived monsters. Meanwhile, now equipped with their new powers, OOO and Fourze get ready for their biggest fight yet!

OOO Super TaToBa Combo and Fourze Super Rocket States stand side-by-side

Easily the best Movie War battle yet, Sakamoto devotes an episode's worth of content into this lengthy climactic segment that features eleven Riders doing what they do best: fighting for justice. Super Galaxy King makes for a solid final boss; even if Lem doesn't have much in the way of character development, he gives OOO and Fourze a good fight. The CG gets silly and dizzying at times, but it is used minimally enough to be brushed off quickly. W, OOO, and Fourze all get their theme songs to play during this big sequence, and it just adds more to the fanservice exploding off of the screen. It's not a huge mess (unlike Movie War 2010) and the villain is actually intimidating (unlike Movie War Core), so it completely works.

Movie War MEGA MAX is a strong addition to the Kamen Rider canon, and serves as a strong connecting point between all of the post-Decade Riders. With numerous callbacks to previous crossovers and the use of an ominous organization, it's as if we are in a period when Riders are closely interconnected once again. Hopefully, Movie War Ultimatum can hold up to the standards that Sakamoto set for MEGA MAX. Considering that Sakamoto is once again directing, I'd say the odds of that happening aren't too bad.