The Guyver (1991)

A young man discovers a mechanical device that merges with his own body, turning him into a cyborg superhero. When strange creatures start appearing, trying to take the device back, he ... See full summary »

Directors:

Screaming Mad George, Steve Wang

Writers:

Jon Purdy (screenplay by), Yoshiki Takaya (based on characters created by)

Stars:

Greg Joung Paik, Jimmie Walker, Peter Spellos

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greg Joung Paik	...	Dr. Tetsu Segawa (as Greg Paik)
Jimmie Walker	...	Striker (as Jimmy Walker)
Peter Spellos	...	Ramsey
Michael Berryman	...	Lisker
Spice Williams-Crosby	...	Weber (as Spice Williams)
Mark Hamill	...	Max Reed
Jack Armstrong	...	Sean Barker / The Guyver
Johnnie Saiko	...	Craig
Vivian Wu	...	Mizky Segawa
Deborah Anne Gorman	...	Ms. Jenson (as Deborah Gorman)
Danny Gibson	...	Aikido Instructor's Assistant
Willard E. Pugh	...	Col. Castle
David Gale	...	Fulton Balcus
'Evil' Ted Smith	...	Ronnie (as Ted Smith)
Doug Simpson	...	Quinton

Storyline

A young man discovers a mechanical device that merges with his own body, turning him into a cyborg superhero. When strange creatures start appearing, trying to take the device back, he begins to uncover a secret plot to genetically engineer terrifying monsters.

---

Plot Keywords:

cyborg | monster | superhero | reference to robocop | conspiracy | 

---

Taglines:

Some mutants are more equal than others.

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1992 (France)

Also Known As:

The Guyver

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 92 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jeffrey Comb's character is named Dr. East, a pun to his role as Dr. Herbest West in the Re-Animator movies that also deal in experimenting with the human body.

---

Goofs

The Guyver's extended elbow blades wiggle and bend like rubber as he twists and turns in fight scenes.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
[opening scroll]
Narrator: At the beginning of time, aliens came to the Earth to create the ultimate organic weapon. They created Mankind. By planting a special gene into man they created the ZOANOIDS - Humans who can change at will into super monster soldiers. Eons later, the Zoanoid leader, called the ZOALORD, has awakened formed the Chronos Corporation to further develop the Zoanoid technology for world domination. Among the alien remains, was found the "Unit" - a bio boosted alien armor. ...

---

Crazy Credits

Get your own Guyver unit at S-Mart, Shop smart, shop S-Mart.

---

Alternate Versions

Differences between the "Director's Cut" (actually the original theatrical version) and the VHS version are as follows:

• A text prologue explaining the origins of the guyver and zoanoids, as well as leading up to Dr. Segawa's predicament with the other zoanoids.
• Slightly different opening credits. The "Guyver" title is shown in glittering, silver chrome that splis. The VHS version shows a cheaper black/brown title that swipes in and fades out.
• Slightly more dialogue when Max tells Misky of her father's death.
• The scene where Balcus makes Lisker punch himself has music in the theatrical cut. In the VHS version, no music is present.
• Extended dialogue between Max, Misky and Castle at Dr Segawa's death scene. This also includes a little more footage of Sean spying on them.
• When Sean encounters the punks in the alley, he yells "Hi-ya!" with a ready aikido stance. The punks laugh at him and then they all yell "Hi-ya" mockingly with the same stance.
• An intimate scene between Lisker and Weber in the van as they wait for Striker & Ramsey. He mentions the two of them going shopping in Brazil, and she absolutely loves the idea.
• In the warehouse sequence, the shopping bit is brought up again between the zoanoid Lisker and zoanoid Weber. This was cut short in the VHS version.
• Zoanoid Striker yelling down to Zoanoid Ramsey is shown in two cuts in the theatrical version, one in the VHS cut.
• Major scene transitions in the "director's cut" are accompanied by slash going across the screen with a two-note techno theme. None of these are in the VHS cut. Additionally, 3 violent scenes are not in the so-called director's cut:
• When zoanoid Lisker crushes zoanoid Segawa's head, blood is shown gushing onto the ground in the VHS version. The "director's cut" has a very slightly shorter version showing a shot of zoanoid Segawa on his knees with no blood.
• When the guyver kills the snake-headed zoanoid, the VHS version shows him getting his arm ripped off and his neck snapped with blood splatter. The "director's cut" edits this out in favor of a cheap insert shot of the other zoanoids looking on.
• When the guyver slashes zoanoid Weber, the VHS version shows blood splattering across her face and Misky's. The "director's cut" cuts away to a cheap close-up of zoanoid Striker looking on.

---

Connections

Follows Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor (1989)

User Reviews

Twisted Mutant Insane Cyborgs

Despite what many reviews say, I really liked this. It may be dated in special effects, and be crawling in flaws, but it is a generally enjoyable movie. Sean Barker finds a strange alien mechanical looking device that merges with his own body, turning him into a cyborg-like superhero. When Zoanoids, Werewolf like people that can turn into mutants, appear and start chasing him down in order to obtain the device, Sean uncovers Khronos Corp.'s evil schemes.

Fans of the Guyver cartoon and comics may or may not like it. A lot of the "best bits" from the cartoon's storyline are involved in this movie but are done slightly differently. While the action and Zoanoids(monsters) seem like an adult version of the Power Rangers, and some of the tongue-in-cheek gags almost take over the Guyver's story, something about the movie is just irresistible. The problem is it's impossible to put your finger on what it is.

Reminiscent of a lot of the late 80s to early 90's action comic inspired movies, the movie never takes itself too seriously. Weather that's a good or bad thing is your decision. There are times where the comic relief, or purposely amusing action scenes can start to become annoying, as any fan of The Guyver is obviously looking for some serious action and gore. It does have it's moments in that department, however.

The movie covers most of the main Guyver story, apart from the actual origin of the Guyver. A sequel, "The Guyver: Dark Hero" spawned from this(although it can be watched on it's own and understood, especially if you have seen the cartoon or read the comics), which takes The Guyver much more seriously, and uncovers the origin of the Guyver, whilst at the same time throws constant violent action at you.

Casting is good in the means of appearance, Mark Hamill as a CIA agent must have boosted the sales of the film, and Michael Berryman makes the perfect mutant, with his bald head and evil stare, but the acting could use some work.

Hardcore fans of the cartoon or comics may be iffy about the tongue-in-cheek humor used in this movie, but as long as it's not taken too seriously it can be a great movie to watch. The important part is that it FEELS like The Guyver. If you don't want to put up with lots of flaws and comic relief gags, then go for "The Guyver: Dark Hero" which is much more similar to the cartoons and comics.