Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2010

©2010「SP」プロジェクトチーム

Fuji TV’s enormously popular 2007 police series makes the transition to the big screen in the first of two films, directed by Takafumi Hatano. The story revolves around an elite unit of officers, the eponymous Special Police, who guard politicians and VIPs. Junichi Okada (Kisarazu Cat’s Eye) reprises his role as Inoue, a super cop with a photographic memory and kick-ass fighting skills. Though he’s already got his hands full chasing bad guys, Inoue begins to suspect that his own boss (Shinichi Tsutsumi) is up to no good—in fact, he’s plotting with a junior MP to overthrow the Japanese government. While the action sequences, especially the numerous chase scene tracking shots, are superbly done, the scenarios seem like they were designed by children. The climax has Inoue’s team fighting off numerous assassination attempts while guiding a cabinet minister through the streets of Tokyo on foot, despite having cell phones and a whole top-level police force on call. For thriller fanatics only. (98 min)