Iké Boys

"Blessed are the Geeks." (dialog). In the grand tradition of Stranger Things and Paper Girls we have yet another movie where a small group of teens is again tasked with saving the world. The setup is clever, almost overly complicated. A Japanese anime genius creates a game about superheroes who prevent an evil cult from destroying everything. The game is mysteriously shelved, but a lone copy finds it way to Oklahoma where two teen boys are (coincidentally) hosting a female Japanese exchange student. While playing the game, they are unaware they were granted superpowers. The setup is hobbled a bit by a clearly limited budget and a pervasive PG-13 vibe. The female Japanese lead is the "glue," and we see the plot mainly from her POV. Holds the attention, but could have been so much better. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Iké Boys is a blast. It's an adventure that anyone can fall right into, especially those of us who grew up in the 80's and 90's, or felt out of place in our hometowns, or were absolutely obsessed with anime. This film was clearly made with love, in particular for the vintage Japanese films and shows that inspired it. When I first saw Iké Boys at Fantastic Fest, I could tell everybody in the crowd was in love. It's impossible not to be charmed if you've got a heart. And for such a small project to have an original score and animated sequences that absolutely kill -- it's worth a watch. Also, truly Billy Zane's finest performance.

Iké Boys is a blast. It's an adventure that anyone can fall right into, especially those of us who grew up in the 80's and 90's, or felt out of place in our hometowns, or were absolutely obsessed with anime. This film was clearly made with love, in particular for the vintage Japanese films and shows that inspired it. When I first saw Iké Boys at Fantastic Fest, I could tell everybody in the crowd was in love. It's impossible not to be charmed if you've got a heart. And for such a small project to have an original score and animated sequences that absolutely kill -- it's worth a watch. Also, truly Billy Zane's finest performance.

Well maybe if you are 7 and dont know any better. The special effects are horribe. I guess they are trying to do a send up of japanese monster movies where the likes of Godzilla and others are men in costumes romping around Tokyo. Unfortuately, in this movie the budget is so low the romping is done in super close up with what appears to be blue screen, and some overlays. And it's done horribly. Real horrible. It's too bad because it reflects poorly on the clasiic Japanese monster movies that have such a large cult following both in Japan and worldwide. At the end of the day I guess if you have really small kids they may enjoy this film but if you are a fan of Anime or Japanese monster flicks you are not going to like this movie at all.