Hero Wanted (2008)

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

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:

Greg Grunberg was originally set play Detective Wallace MacTee but was forced to drop out last minute due to scheduling conflicts with his role on "Heroes" (2006/II).

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the end credits Cuba Gooding Jr. is credited as "Liam Chase" when his name in the film is in fact "Liam Case".

Quotes:

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

Soundtrack:

Blue Dreams

Loved the opening shot

Camera work on the opening shot is just awesome.

Was is a solid straight camera leading from the street, through the apartment, out the alley, down the lane and back into the street? If it was, I think that was just a fantastic piece of direction, even though the apartment and alley didn't hold any value, but the camera work was really cool.

Overall, I liked the film a lot and thought the story was really well and most of the characters were written and portrayed good.

There was some overkill on the gunfire and the standard overdone nightclub gangster stuff, but in general, the rest was really good.

What I am trying to understand is why a bunch of movies are being filmed in Bulgaria now to represent an American city.

With a 12 million budget, filming in some small town in the US or Canada would definitely cover the bill, but a bunch of shoots are being flown overseas...how does that help on budgeting? Really...it loses it's originality.

I remember times when Vancouver would portray New York or Detroit...and while that was not fit either...Bulgaria certainly doesn't cut as inner city America or Canada at all...just the little details that make it not gel.

Aside from a few minor things, I think it's an overall good production with a great opening shot.