I Am a Hero

If you are a big zombie film fan, this should be your next flick to check it out. This is a Japanese live-action film adapted from the manga series of the same name. I am not saying it was the best zombie film ever, or the decade or even the year, but surely a better film compared to the recent ones. First of all the story is same as most of the same themed films, that the zombie outbreak brings chaos everywhere, and followed by the survival game. The difference in here was the characters and some of the great scenes that lifted the film up.

Hideo, also pronounced as Hero is a 'best newcomer' manga artist award winner a few years back. Now in his 30s looking for a breakthrough in his career. But after receiving a backlash when his book was denied to publish and followed by break up with his girlfriend, he begins to witness a series of strange events around him. While the entire city turned into madness, he and a random school girl join the hands to escape from the horror. So their journey begins to nowhere, but be safe. Later a couple of twists come into play and brings an end to the narration.

The script was not praiseworthy, but the filmmaking was, including the performances. The actors had given their best shots. The scenes involving the conflict between humans and zombies were carved so awesomely. Being a film fanatic, I'm used to this kind of themes, so none of these flicks can scare me. Not just the sci-fi horror films, but also the supernatural horrors. That's a drawback. But if I was a normal guy or a little kid, this film would have been in a different league. Still, I enjoyed it. Because overall film offered me a great entertainment.

"What you seek isn't dream anymore! It's delusion. Only a small, special group of people can achieve success."

I don't understand the Japanese, except a few simple words, but from my observation, they never mentioned the word 'zombie'. They called it by the virus that caused it, ZQN. I don't know what those alphabets stand for, but all I got was the word 'Zokyun'. The equivalent English word is 'bang', like a sudden sharp thud sound. Anyway, coming to the film, the characters are unpredictable. You can't trust anyone of them, except our lead guy. Not just because of the infection, but their intentions, more like it is about survival of the fittest. I mean like usual, the man's weakness, power hungry.

After Hideo, the school girl Hiromi is the next in the lead, but there's nothing much to expect from her. They kept that role very mysterious, that I was looking for an explanation which never came. That was really disappointing, but it also mean a hint of a possible sequel. I hope they make one, after all this film was received so well. The details in the film were very impressive, even the small ones. Not just they focused the human characters, they have given strength to zombies to strike the survived human ruthlessly, but uniquely like an athlete. So basically, no traditional zombie theory was followed. They bent the rules to make it a unique product, as well as to entertain the viewers, mostly funnily.

Shot in the fine places, especially in the second half. This film redefined the zombie film from those days before the evolution of superheroes and space-age flicks. It was a perfect mix of comedy, action and thriller. But I laughed surely better than those recent full length comedy flicks that had best comedians. This is not a remake material, so I'm not expecting the west to do that. Like I always say, whatever world film I watch, I'm happy to end up in a Japanese or a French film. It was a bit long, worth it though. I am not overwhelmed and blindly recommending it, but this film was really good, particularly if you like black comedy, sort of.

7/10

I saw this movie at the Stockholm International Filmfest. today and I really enjoyed it.

If I had to sum it up in a brief sentence i'd say it's as if the guy who wrote the "The Walking Dead" comic had written a Shaun of the Dead comic, and they made a movie out of that (I haven't read the manga this film is based on, but I assume that's more or less what it is).

It looks pretty expensive and has good effects and action, it's very well directed and acted, making the aesthetic of the film really paint its own manga-inspired universe.

The parts I didn't like is whenever it attempts to do somewhat serious drama, when it does it just seems entirely tone-deaf and alien. I'd give this movie a 3/5 and if they skipped the 20% of attempted drama and replace it with more over-the-top zombie comedy/action it'd be a 4/5.

I'd recommend this movie to most people and for zombie/nerd culture fans it's a must-see and likely a cult classic.

Maybe its because I've read the manga that I didn't like this movie that much, but the beginning was promising and I had hope for it but it fumbled at the middle and end.

The plot deviates from the manga but its still the same thing. Hideo is still the same but Hiromi doesn't do anything for the movie, you could have removed her from the movie and nothing will have changed. In general characters lack development and its hard to get invested in them. The ending is bad, we don't really understand what will happen to the characters, in particular what is with Hiromi.

Read the manga you will not regret it but the movie its just another bad Japanese live action.

For the past few months, I have been hearing praises for "Train to Busan", South Korea's contribution to the zombie/undead genre. After watching it, I was left unimpressed, as it was a bit too tame for my personal tastes. I sought something more graphic, gory, and indicative of a more adult take on the genre. Fast forward to two hours ago, having finished I AM A HERO, and I am still giddy with excitement. The film is impressive in almost every conceivable way; As a film based on a well-respected manga, I did not expect much from the movie. Usually, movies made from manga reflect a very sophomoric take on the story, to appease more "sensitive" audiences. This film, however, goes all out with the blood and gore, and keeps all of the useless stuff (sex, romantic interests, comedy) to a minimum.

The directorial style is indicative of an understanding in how to perfectly translate manga to film, the cinematography is impressively nuanced and clear in its presentation, and the acting is superb all around. The real stand out, however, are the special effects. Every single instance of a head exploding, an arm being ripped off, and blood spewing from an open wound is handled with so much love and care, that even Hollywood films could learn a thing or two about being restrained with showcasing blood and gore, but when something is shown, it should be done with this much knowledge and skill in the craft.

I was thoroughly engrossed with how the story transpired, and I was happy with the lack of romantic interest in favor of creating a story about an ordinary guy thrust into a very extraordinary situation. For anyone with a more discerning horror/action/comedy palette, give this film a watch. I guarantee that it will satisfy even the most ardent of gore hound, while still appeasing the average movie fan. Overall, the best Japanese film (outside of anime) I have seen all year. I offer a very enthusiastic recommendation.

"I am a Hero" was a movie that just came out of nowhere and would have slipped past me unnoticed, if I hadn't happened to come across it by some sheer cosmic luck. And what is more impressive is that the fact that this is a zombie movie, and still it almost managed to elude me, especially since I am huge fan of everything zombiesque.

This 2015 movie actually turns out to be one of the more entertaining and solid of Japanese zombie movies. Japan has a tendency of combining the zombie genre with too much comedy, which often makes for a somewhat questionable result. Or they tend to have very poor special effects, which usually makes it painful to watch on the screen. "I am a Hero", however, didn't fall into these traps, and that was a refreshing change of pace.

The movie starts out in an adequate pace, but it quickly escalates into a much more fast paced movie and storyline, which did suit the movie quite well.

As a zombie movie, it is quite important that the special effects are good and believable, and luckily "I am a Hero" had just that. The movie combines the traditional shambling decaying walking animated corpses with something new. But it was a nice approach and a nice angle to the genre, and as such it was a refreshing change of pace for the zombie genre. Lots of great special effects and zombie make-up.

There is a good amount of action throughout the course of the movie, spiced up with some drama and just a pinch of comedy, which made for a rather enjoyable cocktail.

A zombie movie must have blood and guts. There is also a good amount of blood and gore in "I am a Hero", which is definitely a crucial thing for a zombie movie to have.

"I am Hero" also have some really intense scenes where the audience get their adrenaline pumping. Such scenes are, for example, the scene with the zombie in the taxi, and also the scene exiting the mall.

All in all, then "I am a Hero" is a rather entertaining and enjoyable movie. It is a fast paced story that mixed elements from different genres quite well. And "I am a Hero" puts Japan solidly on the world map of zombie movies. And if you enjoy zombie movies, then you should definitely take the time to check out "I am a Hero", and if you enjoy Asian cinema, well then you get a double up on goodies here.