Iké Boys (2021)

Iké Boys (2021). Iké Boys: Directed by Eric McEver. With Quinn Lord, Ronak Gandhi, Christina Higa, Billy Zane. 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.

“u0026quot;Blessed are the Geeks.u0026quot; (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 u0026quot;glue,u0026quot; and we see the plot mainly from her POV. Holds the attention, but could have been so much better. ((Designated u0026quot;IMDb Top Reviewer.u0026quot; Please check out my list u0026quot;167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))”