"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.
