Movie Quiz....With a Hidden Twist

OK, I have a quiz for you movie buffs out there, which may seem pretty straightforward at first, but which has a hidden twist that makes it worthy of inclusion in this blog which is so much about hidden meanings and allusions in literature.

But.....you DON'T need to know anything about Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Joyce, PD James, Mark Twain, Charlotte Bronte, or any other famous author in order to answer this quiz--all you need is to be a movie buff who is NOT a film snob!

OK, so here are seven clues which describe this movie very distinctively---and some might even suggest, uniquely:

1. The film begins with a brutal murder, a murder which is drug-related and which occurs in a large American city.

2. The murder was performed by a thug or thugs hired by the main villain, a corrupt powerful man.

3. The hero of the movie is the one who tries to discover the truth about the murder, and to keep alive the person or persons who know the identity of the murderer and the villain.

4. The hero is subject to a desperate manhunt to prevent him from revealing the truth, but, in part thanks to the help of good samaritans (who help him recover from injuries suffered by him as a result of this case) and in part from his own resourcefulness, he survives and eludes capture and punishment.

5. The hero is played by a big movie star.

6. The climactic scene is one in which the villain is faced down in public by the hero and other people.

7. The director of the movie is either American or Australian.

So... I am looking for the name of the movie, the name of the big star, the name of the director, and (most important) an explanation of the hidden twist, which, again, transcends those other answers, and explains the inclusion of this quiz in this blog devoted to mysteries hidden in plain sight.

Please post your answers here as comments, and I will reveal the answers tomorrow (Sunday) at 9 am EST.

Good luck!

Cheers, ARNIE