Hard Luck Hero (2003): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2003, Hard Luck Hero is an action, comedy and crime film directed by SABU, running about 79 minutes.

What it’s about. Sometimes it is simply the wrong place at the worst possible moment and get to see their lives change because of this. Such is the case for the film's six heroes, as you can come in three parallel documents which are then woven into each other in a subtle and smooth way. We have Asai, dishwasher that suddenly may act Thai boxer to save the skin of his friend Ishii, who would have ordered an opponent of the evening fixing kickboxing match. We have two "salarymen" Ikeyama and Kishimoto, who by chance ends up at the restaurant where kickboxing match takes place. And last but not least we have the two amateur thieves Fujita and Kudoh, who are both indebted and somewhat desperate. All they will have to fly more or less for their lives from the restaurant and you suspect it will all end in disaster.

Who’s in it. Hard Luck Hero stars Masayuki Sakamoto as Tadashi Ikeyama, Hiroshi Nagano as Kenta Kishimoto, Yoshihiko Inohara as Naoto Ishii and Go Morita as Kenji Fujita, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.4/10, Hard Luck Hero has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Hard Luck Hero page.

If you liked it. Fans of Hard Luck Hero tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.