Hero Wanted (2008)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Brian Smrz

Writers:

Chad Law (written by)
Evan Law (written by)

Release Date:

10 July 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Plot:

After he awakens in a hospital, a man tracks down and murders the man that left him and a bank teller for dead during a robbery, only to end up having the slain thief's associates come after him in retaliation.

Plot Keywords:

Bank Teller | Hospital | Nonlinear Timeline | Beaten To Death | Accidental Killing

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 23	8:00 PM	BET
Fri. July 24	12:00 AM	BET

Cast

Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Liam Case
Ray Liotta	...	Detective Terry Subcott
Norman Reedus	...	Swain
Kim Coates	...	Skinner McGraw
Tommy Flanagan	...	Derek (as Thomas Flannigan)
Jean Smart	...	Melanie McQueen
Christa Campbell	...	Kayla McQueen
Steven Kozlowski	...	Lynch McGraw
Gary Cairns II	...	Gill
Sammi Hanratty	...	Marley Singer (as Samantha Hanratty)
Ben Cross	...	Cosmo Jackson
Todd Jensen	...	Detective Wallace MacTee
Paul Sampson	...	Gordy McGraw
Lisa Dunne	...	Marley's Mom
Elitsa Rajeva	...	Dawn Case (as Elitza Rajeva)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and brief sexual content.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

New Boyana Film Studios, Sofia, Bulgaria

Company:

Heroic Productions

Trivia:

Actor Paul Sampson suffered a minor eye injury during one sequence in which he is shot by Ben Cross' character due to a premature squib detonation. This footage is included in the finished film.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the cops find the dead body in the bathroom of the nightclub there is a scene where the two detectives play pool in a bar. In one split of a second you can see the que ball on the table but once the pool table is off camera the detective is clearly hitting a different ball.

Quotes:

Liam Case: I wish I wouldn't have survived in the bank that day. I wish they'd have killed me.

Soundtrack:

Scared

good idea; poor execution

this COULD have had been great . the problem here is the convoluted plot, great script but poorly adjusted for any feature(no matter what the budget might/could been). however the plot and directions DO have their "moments" and i think Cuba Gooding Jr. is exceptionally great here . Ben Cross to some extent as well, but then again. the problem is that the plot does not develops the secondary characters enough to even give actors the chance to "play it". we have Ray Liotta as the best example of such underused and/or wasted actor/character "tallents". he might as well not be in the feature at all, i would not see the difference ; as a matter of a fact a "no name" might be able to be pulling his act with less damage to the movie's rating overall.

in my personal opinion this is a guy's movie. it is NOT the "mobster" type even if has strong such elements, and even leads to get that "vibe" at first. the start looks very promising, then about 40 minutes of "flash backs|( i think they were inserted just to make the story "longer"); then again about 10 minutes of interesting thoughts( that will make you consider this not as "bad" as might seem), only to disappoint towards end by typical "b-movie" shot executions. however the last 2 scenes might leave a great impressions since , i believe, the morals and ethics here are well determined.

all inn all this should had been, at best, a 30 minutes short movie and might had even been considered for "awards". but instead is fully commercialized as for "one time pay/view" and then to be "discared