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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