ACTION-FLIX.COM

By: The Cinema Drunkie

Welcome to FOOT FIST FRIDAYS! A weekly dose of fight action where the Action-Flix.com experts share their thoughts on some of the greatest scenes of fisticuffs in action cinema history!

This week, The Cinema Drunkie is back with a vengeance and this time he’s bringing some cult classic fisticuffs with him in the form of the action drenched sequel Guyver 2: Dark Hero. Just like Aliens, Guyver 2 is better in every sense of the word from the original and this is the film that introduced action fans to the famous Guyver Kick which action superstar Scott Adkins has made popular ever since. The finale is a battle soaked brawl of cosmic proportions as The Guyver unleashes his death defyng moves on this week’s edition of Foot Fist Fridays!

I don’t have to tell you how much I loved Power Rangers as a kid. You know I did. It’s obvious. Come to think of it, I may already have. But anyways, stuff like Power Rangers was my jam. I was into all of it: Power Rangers, VR Troopers, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, Masked Rider, not Big Bad Beetleborgs, etc… I loved it all.

So imagine my excitement when I discovered this low budget, american Tokusatsu on cable called The Guyver, starring Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. Featuring all the hallmarks of those aforementioned productions, as well as gooey violence thrown in for good measure, it was a blast for my young mind to take in, although I was little disappointed that Hamill wasn’t actually playing The Guyver (that box art is soooo misleading).

And then the sequel came a few years later, which is the subject of today’s edition of Foot Fist Friday. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’m talking about…

GUYVER 2: DARK HERO!!!

Guyver 2 stars the great David Hayter as Sean (taking over for Jack Armstrong from the first film), who now finds himself once again battling the Kronos Corporation and its legion of Zoanoids, this time at an archaeological dig, where scientists have uncovered an alien spacecraft, which might hold the key to discovering the origins of the guyver unit which Sean possesses…

I don’t have to reiterate how awesome this movie is, but I’m gonna. This. Movie. Is… AWESOME!!! I loooove Guyver 2 sooo much! And I know I’m not alone. I know I could walk into a room of 10 people and scream “GUYVER 2 RULES!!!” and at least 7 of them would yell back “HELL YES!!!” It’s that loved. I mean, how could you not?? Badass martial arts action against evil mutants for 2 hours straight. That’s the definition of pure bliss.

Sidenote: If you need any more proof of its relevance, it’s the movie that gave us… the Guyver Kick. The glorious kick used by the legend that is Scott Adkins. Most people try and call it the Boyka Kick, but Scott himself will tell you it’s called the Guyver Kick. So pay homage.

There are so many great battles to choose from: the opening sequence, the bear attack, the lake battle. All fantastic fights. But I’m going for the crème de la crème. The ultimate battle. And that most definitely is the final one. Sean vs Crane.

For context, Crane is more or less the main baddie in this one, the big bad Zoanoid. As Sean lays waste to the other Zoanoids, Crane comes into possession of a guyver unit, and activates to become a new breed of ultimate evil. A Guyver Zoanoid. It is here where the final battle begins. And it is a piece of pure beauty.

What master fight choreographer Koichi Sakamoto brings us here is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Known to many as the man behind many of the best fight scenes from Power Rangers, as well as the classic action movie Drive, this sequence here definitely ranks as his magnum opus. The level of expert choreography on display here drips profusely of martial arts magnificence.

It is a fight that has stayed with me ever since I first saw it, and has remained one of my favorite fight scenes ever. When people bring up their top fight scenes of all time, I always make sure to mention this one into the conversation. And I know many out there would agree with me as well.

But enough chit chat, let’s just get to the goods already. May I present to you… Guyver 2 final fight!