The Guyver


The Guyver is a 1991 American superhero comedy film made in conjunction with Shochiku Films, loosely based on the Japanese manga series of the same name by Yoshiki Takaya. The film tells of a young man, Sean Barker, who discovers an alien artifact called "The Unit" which changes Barker into an alien-hybrid super soldier called "The Guyver". Barker learns that a major corporation called "Chronos" is after the Guyver unit and soon discovers that the people behind Chronos are not human after all. The film was met with a mixed reaction from critics and fans. A sequel followed in 1994 called .

Plot

Dr. Tetsu Segawa, a researcher for the corporation Chronos is on the run after having stolen an alien device known as The Guyver unit from Chronos. He is caught by Lisker; the right hand man of the president of Chronos and his thugs who transforms into a Zoanoid whereas he kills Segawa who in turn was also one of them. He returns the metal briefcase to Chronos' president Fulton Balcus, only to discover that it contains an old toaster as Segawa hid the unit in a pile of trash before he was caught. At a dojo, Max Reed; a CIA agent notifies Dr. Segawa's daughter, Mizuki, about the incident, while her boyfriend, Sean Barker, struggles to pay attention in class. Sean follows Reed and Mizuki to the crime scene; there, he stumbles upon the Guyver unit stored inside a lunch box and stuffs it in his backpack. On his way home, his scooter breaks down in the middle of a back alley before a gang corners him. While Sean is being attacked by the gang, the Guyver activates after he is kicked to the ground with his head landing on the unit and fuses with him. Sean, in his newly armored form, dispatches the gang members, but is shocked by his physical appearance before the armor quickly disappears into two scars on the back of his neck.
The next night, Sean goes to Mizuki's apartment, and discovers his sensei murdered and Mizuki abducted by Lisker's thugs. With the help of Reed, Sean rescues Mizuki before the trio are chased by Lisker's gang of Zoanoids. They are trapped in an abandoned warehouse, where Lisker's thugs hold Mizuki captive, and Sean once again transforms into the Guyver to battle them. Sean defeats the Zoanoids before squaring off against Lisker. During the battle, Sean executes a headbutt, which temporarily malfunctions the armor's Control Metal. Now knowing his weakness Lisker and the others attempt to attack the Control Metal to beat Sean. During battle after having been hit with a charged head butt from Lisker He kills Lisker's girlfriend, Weber, but he mistakenly believes he killed Mizuki as well not realizing she was only unconscious. Grief filled the Zoanoids gang up on him, and Lisker rips the Control Metal off his forehead, disintegrating the armor into liquid and killing Sean in the process.
Mizuki wakes up at the Chronos headquarters, where Balcus shows her a gallery of Zoanoids before questioning her on how Sean was able to activate the Guyver. Dr. East, the head of genetics research, discovers that the Control Metal is regenerating itself into a new Guyver unit. After seeing Reed being experimented on, Mizuki assaults Balcus and takes the Control Metal, threatening to throw it into the disposal chamber. In the middle of the heated exchange the Control Metal begins attaching itself to her hand preventing it from being dropped in the disposal chamber. Striker, one of Lisker’s dim witted goons inadvertently flings the Control Metal off Mizuki’s hand, and is accidentally swallowed by Dr. East. Lisker tries to retrieve it but East begins to frantically spasm then dies after being cut open from the inside. Soon a newly alive Sean burst through East’s body as the Guyver unit is actually able to not just self regenerate itself but it’s host too long as the Control Metal isn’t damaged. Sean and Mizuki free Reed from the experimental chamber before Sean once again battles Lisker and kills him along with the other Zoanoids. Before the trio proceed to escape, Reed suddenly mutates into a cockroach type Zoanoid and dies due to his system rejecting the new form due to leaving the chamber too early. Balcus demands Sean hand over the unit but can not as he as permanently bonded with it. Balcus reveals his true form as the Zoalord and corners Sean, but the Guyver's defensive system activates the Mega Smasher cannons on his chest and obliterates Balcus and the laboratory. Sean deactivates the Guyver armor before he and Mizuki leave Chronos headquarters as Reed's former partner Col. Castle and Striker look on.

Cast

The American version of the film, distributed by New Line, cut several scenes to focus more on action than humor. Producer Yuzna expressed confusion at some of the choices.

Reception

Glenn Kenny of Entertainment Weekly said the film features “surprisingly convincing costumes and effects, inspired casting, and energetic direction, what sinks it is its unfortunate adherence to the time-honored direct-to-video clichés: an unearned paycheck for a onetime A-picture star, and a tendency to fall back on lame humor whenever the going gets slow.”
David Johnson of DVD Verdict criticized the film's "ham-fisted over-acting", "ludicrous plot contrivances", and "nauseatingly hokey soundtrack." Johnson called the film "a big, dumb joke" and said: "Despite some good creature effects, the movie crashed and burned and crashed again, weighted down by preposterous acting corny music."
Nathan Shumate of Cold Fusion Video Reviews criticized the film, in particular “the annoying demeanor and lack of personality” of lead actor Jack Armstrong, adding: "If there ever was a movie made for fan appreciation only, this is it, but not everything can be blamed on audience unfamiliarity; there are plenty of elements in this movie that don’t work even by fanboy standards.”
The film generated enough interest for a sequel, . Armstrong was replaced by David Hayter in the role of Sean. The film was more well-received critically than its predecessor.
The original film poster is commonly used as an example of deceptive advertising; the shot is composited to imply Hamill is the Guyver, rather than playing a supporting character.