Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is a surprising anomaly of a film. Unabashedly cartoony and ultraviolent in a way that leaves most others to shame, it seems like exactly the kind of thing that could only come from Japan, as the source material does. But no, instead it's Chinese! Nice to see them being good neighbours and giving a manga a crack! Especially since there's never been a live action version of Riki-Oh from its home. But then again, maybe the Japanese already know when something can't be topped. Unfortunately the Chinese didn't learn that lesson, as there exists a sequel to Riki-Oh, and it sure is something!...
In a future wracked by environmental disaster, corruption rules. A scientific facility is trying to do good, but are attacked by a band of nazi soldiers. They managed to bestow superpowers upon two children, one of whom is taken by the raiders, and the other raised by a benevolent researcher. Years later, the boys have all grown up, and are headed for a conflict as the soldiers make a final push to take control...
The amusingly titled Super Powerful Man, or Super Dint King, is a much belated follow-up to The Story of Ricky. It bears none of the same crew, nor is it stylistically like the first, but there is one thing connecting it with the original-The lead actor! Riki-Oh himself, Louis Fan, returns once more for the role he's perhaps most famous for, and has impressively not aged a day in the 13 years since the first film.
Technically this isn't actually a sequel, but rather another adaption of the same source material. The setting and visuals are actually more faithful than its predecessor, but in terms of tone and spirit, none of the essence is captured. While Story of Ricky absolutely nailed the manga's tone despite deviations, Super Powerful Man just meanders about, getting all the superficial details and window dressing spot on, but capturing none of the heart. This is apparent when we reach the halfway point and not one eyeball has been popped out, not one arm ripped off, throat torn out, or intestines loop-de-looped. It takes 30 minutes for Ricky to throw even so much as a single punch!
I hope you liked that fight scene too, as it's pretty much the only one in the entire movie until the climax! It must have been the only day the production hired extras, as suddenly the villain's grand base of three people has a private army!
Super Powerful Man's biggest crime is that it's simply boring. It doesn't even try delivering an engaging time. The plot is just weak. Spanning across two locations, it's just a mindless back-and-forth. The film pads out its already short 80 minute runtime with lots of tricks, from a stock footage text crawl that lasts 2 straight minutes, to endlessly reused flashbacks, often of the same scene. We even get a flashback to the first time in the movie when Ricky had this first flashback! The end credits move so slow you could be forgiven for thinking they extend the film beyond an hour.
The characters here have little to them. They never seem to learn to lock their doors and keep firearms handy, in-case of superhuman invasion. Instead they are consistently surprised and caught off-guard, and are promptly massacred.
Worst of all is the insultingly bad ending. It's just a downer to end the film on, and considering the rest of the film wasn't exactly peachy, it just feels like you've wasted your time for nothing.
The cast here are never really allowed to give good performances, and any skills they might possess aren't on display. Louis Fan is the best by default, since he has the most experience under his belt, and the villains do at least get some good evil laughs, but that's about it.
Despite being set in the future, and a post-apocalyptic future at that, Super Powerful Man is betrayed by the modern day cars and homes, props, and clothes, which make the whole thing feel like it was shot at mum and dad's home, using their car in their off hours. I wouldn't necessarily mind if the product was good. Case in point, Princess Blade is a movie shot on a very low budget, and it doesn't get to show nearly as much of its similarly dystopian world as it would want. But that is made otherwise well enough that you don't mind. Also there are no scenes in that futuristic film where someone reads a Canon magazine.
The special effects are weak, and feel like something out of Windows Movie Maker. There's some fake scenery backing for the final confrontation, but I dug the visual itself, and wished the movie had done more of it. The practical effects are pretty cheap, with things like styrofoam rocks (though I liked some props), but the worst offender has to be at the end, when a character has a slash on their neck before it's even been hit!
Super Powerful Man is an interesting novelty, but one you're better off reading about than actually watching. It's boring, and has none of the charm its predecessor has...
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