A very simple 'underdog' film this turned out to be, wasn't expecting too much so can't say I was disappointed but really didn't turn out to be a movie that will come highly recommended even though it stars Erika.
The main two plotlines revolve around a serial bomber who is creating havoc around Tokyo and a new transfer to the K-9 department Hayakawa(Ichihara) who didn't want to go to the K-9 division but was a bit too rambunctous for his previous supervisor. Hayakawa was not that fond of dogs but all the officers in this unit needed a dog of their own and he selected the worst of the bunch but one he had some special feelings for as he saw that dog being born helping out a fellow officer in his previous division. His mentor on training dogs was Mizuno(Erika) who really was an expert at this, seemed to know almost everything even though she was such a young officer. Well, things don't go so well at first training the new dog named Shiro but seeing how everything in this film came together so nice and neat it did happen and fairly quickly too as Shiro somehow came to be the top dog at the K-9 unit.
Mentioned about a serial bomber, the K-9 unit though not highly thought of ends up helping the main investigative team out as they can't get the bomber. They did eventually find out who it was and even though he sent them clues on where he was going to plant the bombs they still couldn't stop him nor could they find the bomber. The K-9 unit with the help of their dogs sort of come galloping to the rescue and end up both finding the bombs that were set to go off at a mall and also find the bomber. In a real over dramatic ending Hayakawa and his dog chase the culprit through the subway and find him hidden away where he has set another bomb to go off but trying to capture him another explosion happens and Hayakawa is injured and trapped. So in a scene which is just too unbelievable the dog goes back through the subway to the mall, grabs Mizuno and returns with her where she is able to rescue Hayakawa and drag him to safety before the main bomb goes off, this all happens in about 5 minutes of real time and there is no possible way that rescue could have happened like that, wasn't a great film up until then but it dragged it down even lower.
Sorry it's not a long review but I really didn't enjoy it too much, few other reviewers have the same thought too which is a shame because it had the potential to be good but ended up for the most part a flop. The cast did well but not great but they didn't have solid script to work with, Erika was fine, she at least was believable but she's had better and more demanding roles which you should check out first though she did look good in the film. Overall would rate it a 6/10, not a complete waste but just too many things were hard to believe, everything worked out too well at all times, like I said it was one of those 'underdog' films which there are too many of, formula for that has been running dry for the last few years. Really wouldn't recommend it unless you're an Erika fan which is why I watched it but wouldn't watch this again, there are better films with her in it but like I said she did look good as you'll be able to tell by the next few posts which have a whole bunch of screenshots of her from the film.
Year: 2011 Running time: 104 minutes Director: Go Shichitaka
Cast:
Erika Toda as Natsuki Mizuno
Hayato Ichihara as Yusaku Hayakawa
Saburo Tokito as Hiroshi Mukai
Jun Murakami as Satoru Takekiyo
Takanori Takeyama as Takashi Nishimura
Shinnosuke Abe as Kousuke Nagai
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