Guyver: Dark Hero

Guyver: Dark Hero
Directed by Steve Wang
Produced by Steve Wang
Screenplay by Nathan Long
Based on Bio Booster Armor Guyver 
by Yoshiki Takaya
Starring
Music by Les Claypool III
Cinematography Michael G. Wojciechowski
Edited by
Production
company
  • Biomorphs, Inc.
  • L.A. Hero
Distributed by New Line Cinema1
Release dates
  • April 20, 1994 (1994-04-20) (Japan)
Running time
 96 minutes
123 minutes (director's cut)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1 million

Guyver: Dark Hero (also known as The Guyver 2) is a 1994 American science fiction horror action film based on the manga and anime, Bio Booster Armor Guyver. It is a sequel to the 1991 film, The Guyver. Written by Nathan Long and directed by Steve Wang, the film stars David Hayter as Sean Barker/The Guyver, replacing Jack Armstrong in the role.

Compared to the previous film, Guyver: Dark Hero was much closer to the source material, more serious and violent. The flashback to the Creation of the Guyvers, for instance, is taken almost verbatim from the manga. Because of the film's low budget, Guyver: Dark Hero went direct-to-video in the United States but was given a limited theatrical run in foreign countries. Guyver: Dark Hero was Rated R (unlike the PG-13 rating of the first movie), being much more violent than its predecessor. Despite not receiving a theatrical release, Guyver: Dark Hero gained a cult following and was met with more favorable reviews than its predecessor.

Plot

One year has passed since Sean Barker came into contact with the Guyver unit and became one with it. Having destroyed the Kronos Corporation, the company behind the Guyver and the creatures known as the Zoanoids, Sean tries to use his powers to fight crime, but the Guyver's desire to kill leaves him emotionally and spiritually tortured. After watching a news report of an archaeological dig in the mountains of Utah that remind him of the visions he has been receiving from the Guyver unit, Sean travels to the site. On his way, he meets Cori Edwards, a researcher at the dig and the daughter of head archaeologist Marcus Edwards. Upon arriving at the archaeological site, he sees the fossil of a Zoanoid that resembles his past nemesis Lisker. Later that night, Sean finds himself once again battling a Zoanoid that has been terrorizing the camp, but it disappears when Cori and her team arrive. Sean is later on questioned by Commander Atkins, who reveals to him that the Guyver only destroyed the Kronos Los Angeles, and that another branch of Kronos is behind the Zoanoid attacks in the camp.

The next day, the archaeological team unearths an alien ship. After the team spends hours attempting to breach the hull, the ship mysteriously opens a hatch for them to enter. Inside, Sean tries to communicate with the ship, demanding to have the Guyver removed from him. Meanwhile, Cori discovers another Guyver unit, but Arlen Crane, who actually works for Kronos, confiscates it from her. After Sean tells her the truth about Kronos, Cori goes out to confront Crane, but overhears an operation to terminate all non-Kronos personnel from the site and is nabbed in the process. Crane reveals himself as a Zoanoid to Sean and proposes an alliance to help activate the ship to turn them both back to normal, but when Sean refuses, he is knocked out and sedated by Crane's female security head Brandi. Meanwhile, the security jeep escorting Cori is attacked by a Zoanoid, which is revealed to be her father. The two officers transform into Zoanoids and battle Marcus. Sean escapes captivity with the help of Atkins and rushes to save Cori. He kills the two Zoanoid officers before revealing his identity to Cori.

Back at the site, Atkins and his commandos stop Crane from executing the archaeological team and has them evacuate the premises. Sean tells Cori they must destroy the ship. Transforming into Guyver, Sean communicates with the ship and views flashbacks to prehistoric times with the creation of the zoanoids and the guyver units. With Cori once again at gunpoint, Crane orders Sean to deactivate the Guyver and surrender. Marcus intervenes, but is mortally wounded by Crane. A battle ensues with Sean telling Crane that the ship told him that the zoanoids were a failed experiment and the guyvers were created to fix the mistakes of the alien race who created the zoanoids. Atkins is cornered by Brandi, but he kicks her against a power generator before shooting her dead. Sean confronts Crane, but Crane transforms into a Guyver Zoanoid, becoming stronger and faster than Sean. In the middle of the fight, Crane stabs Sean in the abdomen, but Cori shoots Crane's Control Metal. Sean then removes it, with the suit then beginning to disintegrate Crane. Sean uses his Mega Smasher to put Crane out of his misery. Sean then confesses to Cori, admitting that what he said to Crane was a lie. The zoanoids were not a failed experiment but the guyvers were. The aliens tried to turn humans into guyvers so they could fight their wars for them, but the humans rebelled and forced the aliens to leave earth. Using his Control Metal, Sean tells the ship to return to its home planet. Following the incident, Atkins attempts to recruit Sean into joining the government's underground war against Kronos, but Sean drives off with Cori instead.

Cast

Suit actors

Reception

Guyver 2 was more critically successful than its predecessor. Glenn Kenny of Entertainment Weekly said the film "often plays like an R-rated Mighty Morphin Power Rangers installment [...] that's genuinely amusing if you're in the right frame of mind."[1] David Johnson of DVD Verdict said that while "the acting is wretched," Guyver 2 is "a much better effort" than the original film. "The action is 100 times better [and] it kept me fairly entertained throughout."[2] Nathan Shumate of Cold Fusion Video Reviews also felt that Guyver 2 was better than the original film, praising its action scenes and saying that David Hayter replacing original star Jack Armstrong was an improvement.[3]

Home media

A remastered version of the film was released in Japan in 2005 with an enhanced soundtrack and additional music.

Proposed third film

According to David Hayter, he pitched an outline for a Guyver III to Steve Wang but the rights to The Guyver reverted to its original owners in Japan.

Footnotes

  1. ^ The film's distribution rights were transferred to Warner Bros. in 2008.

References

  1. ↑ Guyver 2: Dark Hero review, Glenn Kenny Entertainment Weekly, October 21, 1994
  2. ↑ THE GUYVER 2: DARK HERO review, David Johnson, DVD Verdict, August 25th, 2004
  3. ↑ Guyver 2: Dark Hero review, Nathan Shumate, Cold Fusion Video Reviews, May 14, 2008

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.