‘Iké Boys’ (2022) Review – Clever Love Letter To Genre Cinema Could Use Some Fine-Tuning

Directed By: Eric McEver

Starring: Quinn Lord, Ronak Gandhi, Christina Higa, Billy Zane

Plot Summary: When a magical anime transforms two Japan-obsessed teenage friends and a shy foreign exchange student into its superpowered characters, the three underdogs must discover their inner heroes in time to save the world.

Iké Boys was described as a love letter to all things anime and kaiju (monsters). This, of course, was right up my alley, as I enjoy the genre, but I am by no means an expert. Clearly, director Eric McEver is, and there is a real sincerity about his first feature film that is very endearing. This is why after watching it, I feel very conflicted. For me, it’s a mixed bag at best. Credit where it’s due, McEver does pull off a very polished looking film on what I have to imagine was a modest budget. It’s also smart that the movie is an homage to retro-anime films and television shows as you can excuse some of the rougher looking effects and green screening as just part of the charm and aesthetic.

All things considered though, on the technical side, what really impressed was the costumes, animation segments and overall look and feel of the film. It’s also commendable that, for a new director, McEver never lets the narrative or tone get away from him, which could easily happen when you are dealing with the fantastical. Although, it does maybe become a bit too restrained, but more on that later. There are some great inside jokes that will land with anime fans. The Lion King joke, for example, is great because it’s a deep cut that either you get or you don’t. Long story short, be sure to brush up on your knowledge of Kimba the White Lion. Most of the humor does land, but this too has some issues.

The young actors do a pretty good job with Quinn Lord (Trick r’ Treat) and Ronak Gandhi (The Rookie) turning in very solid performances that feel very much in step with the material. Ben Browder, who is no stranger to science fiction having starred on Farscape and Stargate SG-1, is excellent as the grizzled, well-meaning, yet ultimately wise father to Shawn (Quinn Lord). His performance really does bring the emotional core that anchors the more absurd plot elements. Even Billy freaking Zane shows up and is great, as usual, because he’s Billy Zane.

While I do find the movie to be charming and for the most part well-made, I did find it lacking in some areas. My biggest issue here is, the movie sets up a pretty interesting mythos which feels like it could have been explored with more depth. The end result is a collection of half-baked ideas that never connect in a powerful way. At one point, there seems to be an interesting sub-plot of the two friends, Shawn and Ronak, having a falling out. After all, they are getting older and you to tend grow apart from childhood friends. This made for some nice conflict, but this is resolved in a way that feels not incredibly satisfying.

There is also a fairly big sub-plot about Miki (Christina Higa) being obsessed with Native American culture. This is paid off sort-of, but not in a way that feels worth the time they spend on it. There are plot elements with a lot of potential which could have been fleshed out with another pass on the script. The emotional stakes never feel as high as McEver wants you to think they are, and it gets just a bit too sappy towards the end. While the movie is not afraid of embracing its camp, this is an element which could have been pushed much further. 

Iké Boys is a great achievement for a feature film debut, and I don’t want to take that away from Eric McEver. However, for all its polish and charm, this does feel like first draft material.

Iké Boys is currently available on Digital and On Demand platforms courtesy of Shout! Studios. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAhvH1dJlYs]