Hero Wanted Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
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.
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Liam Case |
| Ray Liotta | Detective Terry Subcott |
| Norman Reedus | Swain |
| Tommy Flanagan | Derek |
| Jean Smart | Melanie McQueen |
| Kim Coates | Skinner McGraw |
| Gary Cairns II | Gill |
| Steven Kozlowski | Lynch McGraw |
| Ben Cross | Cosmo Jackson |
| Sammi Hanratty | Marley Singer |
| Christa Campbell | Kayla McQueen |
| Paul Sampson | Gordy McGraw |
| Todd Jensen | Detective Wallace MacTee |
| Nathan Bautista | The Door Dude |
| Lisa Dunne | Marley's Mom |
| Brian Smrz |
5.70 out of 10 (864 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Going to Hell to Find Redemption
posted on 31 Jul 2009While grieving the death of his beloved wife, who drowned in a car accident, the garbage man Liam Case (Cuba Gooding Jr.) becomes a hero when he saves a young girl from a wrecked car on fire. Years later, Liam has a secret crush on the bank teller Kayla (Christa Campbell) and while in the bank with her, there is a heist and one of the five thieves shoots Kayla and Liam. When he recovers, Kayla is in a deep coma and he chases the killer; but the gang has a dark secret about Liam and goes after him seeking revenge.My first impression of "Hero Wanted" was not good, with the confused non-linear story and a disappointing conclusion. However, joining the pieces of the puzzle that compose the story later, I found it a reasonable film, at least the intentions of the writers are good. But the tag-line says that "the road to hell is paved of good intentions" and the screenplay does not work well. Cuba Gooding Jr. is and performs a charismatic character that finds redemption only after going to hell. Apparently his friend Cosmo Jackson died, but this character is simply forgotten in the end of the story. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Herói" ("Hero")
Re-write wanted
posted on 29 Jul 2009This daft DTV effort benefits from the presence of the ever reliable Ray Liotta but has little else going for it. I wonder if this is the kind of future the young Liotta saw for himself when on the set of Scorsese's Goodfellas: a succession of mostly lame and formulaic crime thrillers with few redeeming features.Cuba Gooding takes centre stage as Liam Case, a garbage man who enjoys the kind of luck that would have most people reaching for the prozac; his wife and kid drown in a car crash from which he is unable to save them, and the new woman of his dreams ends up with a bullet hole in the head that sends her into a coma. Director Smrz unwisely chooses to play with the chronology of events for no apparent reason other than he's seen it done before and evidently thinks its cool. It used to be cool, now it's become dull through its over-use by directors who don't realise it's nothing more than a gimmick with the shortest of shelf lives.Fortunately for Smrz he doesn't have to hold his hand up to the increasingly ridiculous twists inserted into the story in an attempt to keep the viewer interested. Case has to be one of the most pathetic heroes we have seen in a long time. The guy actually thinks the best way to get to know that woman of his dreams, who happens to be a bank teller, is to get his friend to stage a robbery so that he can play the hero. I mean, come on, that should be the pitch for a comedy not a 'serious' thriller.As the film grows increasingly lost, the writers throw every cliché they can think of into the mix and, in the end, we end up with a young kid talking and thinking like an adult while holding a gun on the bad guys.This is weak and lazy film-making in nearly every way imaginable.
Really enjoyed Hero Wanted
posted on 25 Jul 2009I saw the movie twice! I really enjoyed it! I love how the film was made with the flash backs, love the music, the action and love the actors! The story captivated me. As well as Gill's voice (Gary Cairns ). In the scene on the covered bridge, where the guys decided to break the bank, Gill has something very strong and intense in his eyes. All the actors played so well! Especially Cuba Gooding, Tommy Flanagan, Sammi the little girl, Gary Cairns and Norman Reedus.I recommend the movie to everyone. The film started with a nice scene. I really liked how the camera moved around...the following scene are gorgeous! The scene with the little girl in the car is Grandiose! Maybe a little bit to much! I thought taht the girl would never survive that accident!
Too much dialog not enough action.
posted on 23 Jul 2009Cuba GOODING JR, is the Shaquille O'NEAL of str8 2 video movies. He's a tremendous talent who's top heavy , and over-blown performance does nothing but slows things down your production.A heist film with plenty of flash-backs a-la reservoir dogs anyone? Been there done that howeva most of these films are interesting and funny like "The hard easy". This one is heavy and plodding. over-written and over-acted it takes the long way to get to a simple point. A heist film revenge film should boring you in and have you sitting at the edge of your seat. This one was like c'mon already kill somebody. Yes it had a great cast, yes it was well written, yes it had good productions but it was still a bad film. A boring film.
redemption is the path to hell...
posted on 27 Jun 2009A man seeks out and murders the thief 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..what is with Cuba's movies, and the fact that i get that 'urgh' feeling every time i get one of his movies through the post?he has made some bad movies, but this is an exception to the rule, it's a well made thriller, with some gaping plot holes, but it's got good actors in it, playing stereotypical parts, and it has a twist, for once that you can't see coming from a mile off.it awful to begin with, Cuba puking all over a bartender, does not equal a good movie, but then he starts to narrate, and it becomes something more.imagine Bronsan actually setting up his vengeance plot in death wish, and your almost there.Cuba does okay in his role, and even though Liottas paunch out acts most of the cast, he is great in his extended cameo.but hands up to Kim Coates, one of those actors whom when you see him, your like, where have i seen him before? and he does a good job in his role.all in all this is one of Cubas better straight to DVD movies, and even though it borrows from a lot of movies, and Ben Cross is wasted, it's worth your time.
Pleasantly surprised.
posted on 07 Jun 2009I was pleasantly surprised with the movie. Seemed to me to have a B movie feel starting out. It does seem like everyone is into the time shifting plots these days, but once I realized it everything else seemed to follow. I found myself trying to anticipate the next connection of pass and present. Cuba Gooding Jr. did a good job of portraying a man tortured with his pass and present. I do have to take exception to the bar scenes though. I'm not sure that Ray Liota needed to bulk up for the part but he did. Jean Smart had me kind of wondering what was going to happen in the apartment scene. Although there is predominately a U.S. cast, I think the feel of the movie was off because it was filmed in eastern Europe. Straight to DVD but worth the watch in my opinion.
What was he thinking?
posted on 30 May 2009On the outside a film about revenge, anguish and justice along with a 'nothing-to-loose' attitude makes a pretty good film, its been attempted many times before, most lately: Death Sentence, Punisher and Payback. All done really well, especially Payback - truly genius.What this film gained in story and good lead actors (Cuba Gooding Jr - Oscar winning actor and Ray Liotta) failed miserably with actors from the other end of the spectrum, that let alone possessed bad acting skills but even managed to bring the lead roles acting abilities down a notch. Part of me thinks this was all an attempt by the director to dull down the picture, make it seem 'real' and gritty..... But bad acting is bad acting! If a more gritty appeal was at the forefront of the directors aims, the production team should look closely at the camera work, any attempt to make a gritty, natural experience would quickly diminish with really bad camera angles and pace during the action sequences.Above all, the musical score is terrible, what place does sultry jazz music play in 21 Century motion pictures? I could feel myself cringe as the melo-dramatic tones of 'cheesy' jazz would play over the lonely scenes with Liam Case (Cuba) battling with his emotions before embarking on a revenge trip. Even Cuba Gooding's acting ability couldn't break through the thickly spread seedy jazz tones, in-experienced camera work and poor acting talents.Worth watching for the story maybe..... But leave all movie taste at the front door.
Everyone needs a hero.
posted on 28 May 2009A small town garbage collector, Liam Case(Cuba Gooding, Jr.), becomes a hero when he pulls a little girl Marley(Sammi Hanratty)from a burning car. His celebrity cools off and he becomes almost a forgotten man. When he finds himself infatuated with a beautiful young bank teller(Christa Campbell), he wants to impress her by being a hero again. He schemes a fake bank robbery, but it goes horribly wrong. She is shot and left in a coma. Skinner McGraw(Kim Coates)and his gang that was robbing the bank for real immediately become Liam's targets of revenge. Liam begins brutally killing gang members; but not unnoticed. Detective Subcott(Ray Liotta)has a hunch who the center of attention is. Soon the hero Case is hunted by the law and the confederates who betrayed him.This violent action-thriller is well paced and has more than enough to sustain interest. Some disturbing images, but don't expect a lot of gore. Also in the cast: Jean Smart, Tommy Flanagan, Steven Kozlowski and Ben Cross.
SLEEPER one of the best since GOOD FELLA'S
posted on 20 May 2009Ray Lotta never ages,,nor does his acting..Cuba Gooding Jr. is superb in this intriguing and non stop action show.No marketing done on this one...WHAT A SHAME,,,,Great acting, Great story.BEST SINCE GOOD FELLA'S We never took our eyes off of the film.Good work and hats off to the actors we have missed with such professionalism, excellent acting,,,excellent story.Cuba Gooding Jr, Ray Lotta, Irish speaking actor with scars,,,so many that made this real life show,,,You will miss one of the best action of the year shows, not to mention your heart strings pulled apart.Thank you Actors wish I could see more of them in movies,,,WHAT PRO'SWILL BUY THE MOVIE FOR MY COLLECTION Jane Wood Pryor, Oklahoma
worthable watch movie
posted on 16 Apr 2009i really enjoy the movie. All the scenes are shown in flash backs and reverse screen play. it is the story of the man who lost his wife and fell in love with a lady working in bank.He feels that what ever he lost in life can be get back only if he can loved by that lady(bank teller).so that he had planned with his friend to be noticied by bank teller with a plan.but things go wrong when his friend cheated him with local mobstars crew by robbery which leads to injured the bank teller(lover) and him.After recovering from injury his(cuba) job is to find the robbery crew and kill them.on the other hand the robbery gang want to catch him to kill.cuba acting is excellent.
My sympathy for Cuba Gooding Jr. - TELL ME WHY ?
posted on 19 Mar 2009The story: a victim with guilt takes justice into his own hands and is seeking revenge.Recently there were two great movies that have the same basic idea.THE BRAVE ONE - with Jodie FosterDEATH SENTENCE - with Kevin BaconThis movie doesn't bring anything new or better to the table, so that works against it.The non-linear structure of this movie is not necessary, but was certainly used to make the movie appear clever - it isn't.Ray Liotta as a good guy - waste of villain quality.The music, when there, is only good for a much much darker movie - like SEVEN.The director Brian Smrz has 68 appearances as a stuntman, so one can assume to see his experience in this field - NO STUNTS - NO ACTION ABOVE AVERAGE.If you still want to watch this movie then I should mention the big holes of logic in the story. After an hour runtime logic and normal human thinking is in free-fall. I won't describe it in detail, because I could write about every minute from an hour till the end.As an example I'll take the hostage scene at the end. The bad guys had plenty of opportunities to kill the main character LIAM , but they preferred to let him kill some of them first , before they are taking a hostage and are luring him out to a showdown. It doesn't matter that the bad guys had no problem to find him regularly before this incident - but now they need a hostage?? The hostage itself is another example how bad the story is. LIAM is a lonely guy, so who is gonna be a hostage? The script author had to construct a car crash with a young girl , who LIAM could rescue and build a friendship. Another nonsense scene with the young girl was , when she came to LIAM's car in the middle of the street at night and alone.And young is here not 16 or 15, the girl looks like 8 or 10 years old! It is really obvious how the script author had to construct the scene with the rescue of the young girl only to get his hostage, so cheap and artificial - just horrible. You can watch this movie if you are male, your girlfriend is out of town, you have drunk some beer,the night is near,you love B-movies,have no possibility to get a good movie and you just need some company from the TV. The only other possible audience: tasteless and dumb human beings! I can't imagine why people are giving this movie ratings higher than 6 or are describing the story as good? How can you compare a rating of 10 for this movie with a great movie like DEATH SENTENCE?Now this movie has an average rating of above 6, but I am certain that when the hardcore Cuba Gooding fans are gone the rating will fall down like a stone.
good idea; poor execution
posted on 11 Mar 2009this 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
A waste of time and effort
posted on 14 Jan 2009i have just watched this movie expecting a lot more than i got! it is amateurish and an insult to all movie goers intelligence. i expected so much more from Cuba Gooding. What is it these days with movie makers trying to be clever with their time shifting. I have no trouble following their efforts at trying to be clever but find it unnecessary and boring.The flawed hero idea and revenge concept never hits the mark and while most of us enjoy a good old revenge movie this one doesn't pull it off. It felt like a B movie and in the end thats what it was, save your money and don't waste your time with this one. Shame on Cuba Gooding for making it
Loved the opening shot
posted on 02 Jan 2009Camera 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.
Very Good
posted on 23 Nov 2008Liam Case (Gooding) is shot and left for dead during a botched bank robbery. When healed, he decides to go after the robbers.This is a very violent film so be prepared. For the longest time you have no real idea what is going on. It's like watching something in a time continuum kind of thing as in CRASH and VANTAGE POINT, and it doesn't straighten out until the last 20-minutes or so. But, as back and forth and as violent as this is, there is entertainment value in here. And, once you see the twist, all becomes very clear.Cuba Gooding is one of those actors who could be nominated for an Oscar for any movie he is in. The movie may be bad, but he is always good and that cannot be said of too many. Ray Liotta is always fun to watch and one day someone will realize he, too, is an Oscar caliber actor. I was surprised to see Jean Smart in this. I almost didn't recognize her, but once I heard that voice, I knew it was her. She is terrific. And, Sammi Hanratty will be at the finish line along with Dakota Fanning and Abagail Breslin. The rest of the cast, the bad guys for the most part, were all terrific.When you see Ben Cross you ask yourself, why don't we see more of him. He is a class act. Violence: Very violent Sex: No. Nudity: Yes, you briefly see some pole dancers on a TV screen. Language: Yes.
Terrible movies are better than this one . . .
posted on 23 Nov 2008How did this movie make it to the shelf at my local video store? A decent movie needs 2 of 3 things. Those things are 1. Dialog 2. Filmography 3. Acting. I rate them either pass or fail. Keep in mind that i'm a movie lover and I enjoy watching movies. I don't always need to watch an A+ movie. I can be happy with a D+ sometimes. 1. Dialog/script: Failed. Unbelievable. Unconviencing. Uneducated. 2. Filmograpy: Failed. It just wasn't interesting enough to make up for the failed dialog. 3. Acting: Pass. Even with crappy lines, the actors add some credibility to the over all film. I believe that the script is the heart of any movie. If the script is good I can deal with bad acting. Or sometimes if the filmography is awesome I can deal a bad script. There are good things to pull away from this movie. Even if those things are the "what not to do next times". If want to watch a bad movie. This is a good one!
Mr Cuba Gooding Jr is back
posted on 11 Nov 2008Well, first of all, I must tell, I used to like Cuba Gooding Jr's acting in his early films. (You may remember the movie called "What Dreams May Come".) Unfortunately, in the last some years he had too many too bad roles what ended with ridiculous performances (Just remember "Daddy Day Camp" or "Norbit"). He might have been burned out or just exhausted, or else his agent should have been fired in time, I do not know. However, He is back now! In this movie ("Hero Wanted") his performance is well-thought, believable, and matured. It grabbed me at first. Unfortunately, the director chose the 'cheaper' way, meaning more action and less internal struggling, but the first half of the movie is pretty enjoyable, and time to time good right timing is. The twists are quite good in the first half of the movie, unfortunately, it becomes more predictive, and because of the "B movies" action scenes, the movie turns to be slow and boring. Nevertheless, Mr Cuba Gooding Jr acts pretty good all over long, skipping his typical 'faces'. The cast is more or less a good choice (and Mr Ray Liotta's character could worth a whole -but another- movie). All in all, it is worthy to watch, if you like a returning 'A movie' star in a 'B movie'. (And I liked him very much.)
Smarter than your average action-movie.
posted on 02 Oct 2008A lot of people might get confused with all the time-shifting that goes around in this movie. While most movies tell the story from beginning to end this one jumps from Middle to Begging to End to Middle and back again, a lot! But just like in for instance the TV-show LOST this has proved to be an interesting concept and it does work quite well actually.The movie is an Action-movie But it's also a mystery of sorts, you have to puzzle and think a lot of how it's all connected.The director BRIAN SMRZ does his directorial debut, HOWEVER he is no rookie, he has worked on plenty of movies as Stunt-Cordinator and Second Unit Director. A lot of these movies have interestingly enough been movies about heroes such as LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, SUPERMAN RETURNS and he also has been involved in a couple of the X-MEN-movies.This is interesting because the "Hero" in this movie is not truly identified as a hero, He is just a regular guy at the right place at the right time.But this hero is truly flawed and he does have his share of secrets, and the movie almost takes a psychological approach to the complexity of being called a hero and the strive for fame and glory.Most actors does great, of course CUBA GOODING Jr in the lead but also the underrated NORMAN REEDUS steps to the plate.The bad guys are played great as well even though they are kind of One-dimensional. But I think this was SMRZ idea in order to make it "hero-movie-like" but still having enough interesting twists to not making it a "hero-movie", if you catch my drift.I am however NOT happy with the choice of RAY LIOTTA, who seems rather bored with the making of this movie and doesn't deliver with the same intensity as the rest of the cast, which is a shame.Although there are some plot holes not fully covered and some scenes not handed with the greatest care, all in all it's much smarter then your average STRAIGHT-TO-DVD-releases.
Cuba Gooding not suitable for the role
posted on 10 Sep 2008Now don't get me wrong - cuba G is a versatile Oscar winning g actor, its just that this role was completely unsuited for him. Cant figure out why the director/producer/promoters shortlisted him for this role that needed a far more intense almost brooding character. Otherwise the movie is,as they say over here, Good Time Pass! Pretty violent and fast moving, with a rather confusing plot that unravels itself towards the end. found the 'bad' guys rather good actually, and the good guys, well, not so good, not even Ray Liotta who is also wasted in the smallish part that he plays. Ben Cross' also smallish role is played with the panache that ben does to all his roles. Hes; one of those actors who can play Victor or villain with equal ease and effectiveness. George Menon, Goa
- 1
- 2
better than the review i read,not as good as hoped
posted on 24 Aug 2009There are no great surprises in this,but i did overall enjoy it non-the-less.Before i watched it i had read a review on here referring to it as nothing more than a B movie,and that cuba should never have agreed to do it,but it is better than that-not a great deal admittedly,but definitely better. The story is told in flashbacks a lot,which is over used these days,but it does have the effect its supposed to without being confusing.(however because its so linear in its style it doesn't leave any great surprises. Its a watchable film with OK acting and OK script,which is a lot better than a lot of the stuff around these days so i was happy with it and gave a reasonable 6 out of 10,missing 7 only because it was reasonable rather than actually good.