An AI intelligence with a severe God complex wants to destroy the world in no less than sixty minutes. The only people who will be spared are his faithful, creepy, cult-like servants. Naturally, the only one who stands in his way is Kamen Rider Zero-One. When he gets sidelined by the baddie, other Kamen Riders step up to lend him a hand.
Kamen Rider Zero-One: Real x Time has a solid gimmick of taking place in real time. Even though it’s only eighty minutes long, it makes clever use of flashbacks and/or showing events that are happening concurrently to open the narrative up just a bit. The filmmakers even use a little timer at the bottom of the screen during some scenes to keep things honest, a touch I appreciated. (It also helps to let you know just how much time is left in the movie, so you don’t have to keep on hitting the “Display” button.)
That said, like Kamen Rider: Heisei Generations Forever, it has way too many characters and too much cutting back and forth between them. It starts off in fine fashion with a neat opening sequence, but it quickly gets bogged down afterwards even with a semi-streamlined plot. At least there’s more motorcycle action this time around, including a fun chase scene that is done in one long take.
Another goofy touch is that all the Kamen Riders’ weapons and shit look like cheap toys. (I guess they were taking a page from the Ultraman playbook.) While it’s not exactly great, it still has a few random weird asides (like the guy with literal abs of steel) to keep you sort of invested. Fans will surely eat it up, but honestly, Kamen Rider Zero-One: Real x Time needed a bit more up its sleeve to be worthwhile for non-Kamen Rider enthusiasts.
AKA: Kamen Rider Zero-One: Real Time. AKA: Kamen Rider: Zero-One: The Movie: Real x Time.
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