or years, mercenary soldier Kawamata (Nagakura) has been waiting to utilize the complicated combat suit he and his assistant Matsuzaki (Machida) stole from the crumbling Russian military. So when Japan is bombarded by strange meteors containing parasites that transform terrestrial creatures into gigantic monsters, he's overjoyed to finally get the chance put his high-tech getup to use. After being dropped from a specially equipped helicopter into the crowded Shinjuku commercial district, Kawamata confronts a deadly 20-foot beast. He quickly slays the creature, but in the process also kills more than 40 bystanders.
A year later, Kawamata is a prisoner awaiting execution for his crime when he is offered his freedom in exchange for once again donning the combat suit--which only works when he's in it--and fighting the parasitic aliens. His first adversary is an enormous chicken attacking tourists at a rural amusement park. The bird pecks off Kawamata's leg and arm, but finally is destroyed when it swallows the warrior's armored glove, which self-destructs after coming into contact with any unidentified DNA.
With his missing limbs replaced by robotic prostheses, the stalwart soldier continues battling the aliens. However, after a while he tires of the ongoing confrontations, and another convict is drafted to wear the suit. But before the new warrior's training can be completed, Kawamata is gunned down by his former commander, Sergei (von Schuler), who--in his own combat suit--is on a mission to retrieve the original stolen outfit. Soon thereafter, Sergei is accidentally infected within his armor and mutates into a formidable foe. Forced to use Kawamata's gear before he's fully trained, the neophyte gladiator must now face the ultimate "meteor monster."
Of parasites and psychopaths
Released in Japan on video as three separate half-hour episodes, Dark Soldier D mixes elements from such "mecha" anime programs as Mobile Suit Gundam with giant "kaiju" (monster) movie threats like Godzilla and a dash of Ghostbusters-type horror humor. Unfortunately, the live-action combination is marred by contemptible characters, uneven special effects and a scenario that is neither bracing nor believable.
Throughout the tale, Kawamata is portrayed as a psychopathic antihero. He doesn't just get angry when the crippled Matsuzaki fails to fulfill his needs--he relentlessly pummels him. At the same time, the steely warrior views the accidental murder of dozens of onlookers during his first alien encounter--including a mother attempting to save her child--solely as collateral damage. Matsuzaki is similarly deranged, although he at least on occasion shows contempt for Kawamata. In fact, there are very few good-natured people within the tale: almost every individual--from a girl Kawamata reluctantly saves from gangsters to Tanaka, the special agent who arranges the mercenary's release from prison--is unlikable and untrustworthy.
The phosphorescent green goo that emerges from the meteors hardly looks menacing at first, but once the parasites fuse with their organic hosts the creatures are appropriately scary (or, in the case of the gigantic "chicken monster," suitably humorous). The hulking beasts are clearly computer-generated, and often don't quite blend with their surroundings, yet they're adequate for the production. DVD extras include storyboard and monster art galleries, which regrettably add little insight into the
overall adventure. Dark Soldier D isn't a total washout, but the stale story, combined with invariably offensive characters, plainly fails to fire the SF imagination.
