I Am a Hero

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.

It's not a good movie. I think it will find a fan base in people who are obsessed with Japanese culture, but it's not a good product.

I love zombie movies, but this one just has zombies to illustrate that the lead is useless. And he sure is! Basically all scenes that happen happen because zombies attack him. They all end with someone saving his life or him getting lucky because some random thing happens and saves his life - repeat 100 times over. There are even several scenes where just saying something to a person would have saved their life, or hero doesn't even do that. The only really proactive scene he has where he does something proactive to save the day is at the very end where he freaks out and uses his shotgun for the first time. Then uses it 100 times more in the same scene. For like 10 minutes in a row.

There is maybe plot enough here for 30-40 minutes. And even then you would have to completely rewrite all the characters so that they would do something and try to achieve some goal. Any goal.

Disgusting zombies running after losers for 2 hours and the losers getting randomly lucky in every scene gets boring really fast. There is no likeable character here and I'm not even sure what any of the characters in the movie really wanted. The bad guy wanted to... lead? The protagonist wanted to... use his shotgun? Not really as he didn't use it when he should have. We know he would survive anyhow just be shear luck. So it didn't matter anyhow. There are also many scenes where people just stand around and watch zombies run or walk towards them. Why all characters do this in this movie I don't know. I guess the director didn't really know what he was doing.

For so long we only have English zombies and Chinese zombies, then this year we got our first Korean zombies and now we welcome the first appearance of Japanese zombies. The zombie apocalypse genre is excessively tried and tired. How Japan, having some of the most crowded cities in the world, hasn't gotten into the act is one mystifying mystery. Shinsuke Sato, adapting Kengo Hanazawa's massively popular manga of the same name, understands the source material and totally transpose the addictive page-turning frenzy onto the cinematic medium. This is one crackerjack of a movie and if you have to force me to make decision, I would choose to watch this again over Train to Busan.

Hideo Suzuki (Yô Ôizumi) is a manga artist still twiddling along long after his sell-by date. He lives with his wife who is tired of waiting for Hideo to score his first success at serialising his comic. Every night Hideo draws and stares at his self-made post-it notes of encouragement - "you rock" and "one day a street will be named after you". If that doesn't work, he will take out his shotgun for skeet shooting and pose in front of a full length mirror. He only stops short at muttering the infamous words of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. One night he is thrown out of the house and all hell breaks loose. Together with the quintessential school girl (Kasumi Arimura) in short skirt, they go on to Mt Fuji for safety because they read in one urgent posting on the internet - zombies can't survive in high altitude.

The moment the zombie epidemic starts, I am a Hero careens into one giddy blood- soaked adrenaline rush. The film doesn't push the zombie genre to new directions, but it takes the established tropes and gives it a fresh twist and out comes one sicko and satisfying monster-tainer. I love the opening establishing and main character building scenes - Hideo represents the typical male gazer, your favourite type of loser. His name notwithstanding, you know you will be watching an extreme character arc of a loser becoming a hero. How many times have you seen that in a zombie film? He is a pacifist in a cutthroat world of running zombies. How long can he stay that way in this world? Pretty long, I have to say. When the heroic moment finally arrives, and he steps up to the plate, a big smile was plastered on my face.

How else did the movie remixed the zombie tropes? Imagine zombies moving and gesticulating in Sadako (Ringu) style; zombies retaining one memory from their lifetime or a muscle memory that they repeat and repeat till someone blasts their brains out. I had a good laugh at one zombie muttering he is a taxi-driver who has won many awards for never being involved in any accident and for being the most courteous driver, and of course you know what happens next. The dark humour is just awesome. Some of them skewers the working class system and I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the absurdity of it all. In fact, I think I was the first one who started giggling. Then my wife caught the cue. Before long the audience in my section was laughing away. The dark humour was spot-on perfect and it works because you recognise the plight of the working class.

The visual effects are stellar - blackening veins, clouding eye-balls and gristly cracking noises. They move and contort like crabs and insects, which gave me the creeps. This is zombies J-pop horror style. The mass chaos on the city streets is superbly shot. Imagine people coming from all directions and you are not sure who are the infected until they get nearer. One particular action sequence on a highway is an adrenaline rush.

The middle act slows down a fair bit as Hideo and the girl reach a duty free mall at the foot of Mt Fuji. I am guessing that some of you who are true zombie aficionados would at this point cry "George Romero's Dawn of the Dead" - my respect to you if you did. But watch how the film puts a Lord of the Flies twist to it and this act comes up smelling like roses. I also love how Hideo's gun serves as a metaphor of his evolvement from zero to hero.

The film's narrative may feel familiar and a little long, but it is still one helluva inventive monster ride and Hideo is a wonderfully drawn character that will slowly but surely capture your imagination. The movie shamelessly sets itself up for a sequel but I can tell you I am so looking forward to another gore fest.

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.

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.