Hero (Japan) (Variety Review)

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Hero
(Japan)

A Toho Co. release of a Fuji Television Network, Toho, J-Dream, FNS production. (International sales: Fuji, Tokyo.) Produced by Chihiro Kameyama.

With: Takuya Kimura, Takako Matsu, Nene Otsuka, Hiroshi Abe, Fumiyo Kohinata, Masanobu Katsumura, Toshiro Matsumoto, Takuzo Kadono, Kiyoshi Kodama, Haruka Ayase, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ittoku Kishibe, Ryoko Kininaka, Lee Byeong-heon, Kiichi Nakai, Norito Yashima, Kauyoshi Morita, Bokuzo Masana.
(Japanese, Korean dialogue)

“Hero” rocks. You don’t have to have seen the hit 2001 TV series or 2006 two-hour special to appreciate this bigscreen continuation of the legal adventures of an unconventional Tokyo DA who takes on political corruption in contempo Tokyo. Produced by “Bayside Shakedown” mastermind Chihiro Kameyama, and with the same warm mix of comedy and drama, pic has become Japan’s big local scorer of the year since its Sept. 8 release, racking up nearly $60 million to date. Asian biz looks to have a similarly meaty trajectory, though, as with “Bayside,” this highly accessible crowd-pleaser unfortunately looks like it will be bypassing Western marts.

Much of the draw for Asian auds is the presence of top boybander Takuya Kimura in the role of longhaired Kohei Kuryu, a punkster-turned-public prosecutor who (shock!) wears jeans and plaid shirts to the office. But even without knowledge of who Kimura is, there’s still plenty to enjoy here in the ensemble perfs (reuniting the original casts), plot twists and well-drawn characters, directed with bigscreen panache by Masayuki Suzuki (“GTO”), who also helmed the two tube outings.

Six years (literally) have gone by since Kuryu last strolled into the Josai branch office of Tokyo’s public prosecutor, after having been “exiled” at the end of the 2001 series to an out-of-town position (the subject of the 2006 special). His loyal assistant, Maiko Amamiya (Takako Matsu), gives him a hard time for never calling her but still carries a major torch for the red-haired thirtysomething.

Kuryu is assigned an apparently simple case of manslaughter, in which a blond-haired security guard accidentally killed a guy during an argument by a cigarette-vending machine one night. But when the guard suddenly changes his plea from guilty to not guilty, Kuryu and his team find they’ve been handed a political hot potato.

Turns out the guard also is a key alibi for Hanaoka (Kazuyoshi Morita), a former transport minister accused of accepting a huge bribe that same night. Hanaoka claims he was at his dentist’s, where the guard worked; but if the guard was actually elsewhere getting cigarettes, Hanaoka’s alibi collapses. Hence the guard’s sudden switch (under pressure from Hanaoka’s men) to a non-guilty plea.

Kuryu’s pursuit of the truth takes him and Amamiya to Busan, South Korea, to track down the guard’s van, which has mysteriously gone missing. There, amid much linguistic comedy involving the non-Korean-speaking Kuryu and Amamiya, they get caught up with local gangsters, from whom they’re rescued by a local cop (Korean star Lee Byeong-heon).

Back in Tokyo, Kuryu and the whole Josai team scuttle around Tokyo to get visual proof of the guard’s whereabouts that night, prior to a courtroom showdown in which Hanaoka is called as a hostile witness.

Though fans of the TV series may feel shortchanged by the relatively small amount of screentime devoted to Kuryu and Amamiya’s six other colleagues, helmer Suzuki and scripter Yasushi Fukuda (“Hypnosis,” “Umizaru”) still manage an ensemble feel to the movie, with brief refs to each character’s backgrounds. Though there’s less action than police procedural “Bayside,” tone is the same mildly goofy one, with moments of pure drama and excitement as the case unfolds.

Kimura makes a likably louche lead and shows excellent on-screen chemistry with Matsu, as the bespectacled, super-loyal Maiko. Other playing is strong down the line, especially Teruyuki Kagawa as the hardboiled head of the DA Office’s Special Investigations Unit and Toshiro Matsumoto as defense attorney Gamo, a wily ex-DA who develops a professional respect for the maverick Kuryu.

Look of the pic is considerably different from the edgier “Bayside,” with much glossier lensing and immaculately composed widescreen visuals by d.p. Takahiro Tsutai, especially in office and courtroom scenes. Score by Takayuki Hattori plays up the heroic moments as well as the quieter, more romantic ones between Kuryu and Amamiya.

Directed by Masayuki Suzuki. Screenplay, Yasushi Fukuda. Camera (color, widescreen), Takahiro Tsutai; editor, Takuya Taguchi; music, Takayuki Hattori; art director, Atsuhiko Arakawa; sound (Dolby Digital), Kiyoshi Kakizawa. Reviewed at Pusan Intl. Film Festival (Open Cinema), Oct. 5, 2007. Running time: 130 MIN.

http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/4577/1/