Didn't see the TV drama? That's okay, because even though you may
not get everything that goes on in Takuya Kimura's
small-to-big-screen drama Hero, there's still some enjoyment to be
had. A sequel to the blockbuster 2001 Japanese TV drama and 2006 TV
special, Hero is a slam dunk for rabid fans, though the uninitiated
may not respond to all the quirky characters or oblique references
to past events. However, the film's do-gooder protagonist and
charming Capraesque values go a long way towards creating universal
appeal. Hero marks the return of public prosecutor Kuryu Kohei
(Kimura), a righteous, determined young D.A. who breaks all the
rules for all the right reasons. Assigned to prosecute an
open-and-shut manslaughter case, Kuryu goes into full-on righteous
Hero mode when the defendant changes his plea from guilty to
innocent, causing a minor uproar in Kuryu's offices.
The defendant, a dyed-blond security guard, originally pleaded
guilty in a sheepish manner, but he's now ready to go to court with
the backing of a pricey defense lawyer named Gamo (Koshiro
Matsumoto). It seems the defendant is being used as an alibi in a
bribery case; a powerful, corrupt politician (Kazuyoshi Morita) has
been accused of taking a payoff, and the defendant supposedly saw
him in another place at another time. Of course, that's totally
untrue. All the players are guilty as sin, but big people with big
money don't want their corruption exposed, so they'll get the
high-priced Gamo to defend a lowly nobody, the idea being that an
unjust victory will keep their pockets full and the evil corruption
machine greased.
However, they didn't count on Kuryu, whose righteousness and
determination know no equal, though at first glance ....
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