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Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ray Liotta in Hero Wanted (2008)

User reviews

Hero Wanted

33 reviews
6/10

Going to Hell to Find Redemption

  • claudio_carvalho
  • Jun 13, 2008
  • Permalink
6/10

better than the review i read,not as good as hoped

There 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.
  • FFAxDAVID
  • Apr 23, 2008
  • Permalink
7/10

Very Good

Liam 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.
  • bob-rutzel-1
  • Aug 30, 2008
  • Permalink
3/10

The plot was just too dumb to make a decent movie out of it

  • rlange-3
  • May 6, 2008
  • Permalink

Excellently gritty, but couldn't escape Hollywood. *spoilers*

  • Nexual
  • Mar 7, 2008
  • Permalink
6/10

A flawed movie about a flawed hero

There's some real depth to Hero Wanted, but it's often buried under contrived and clichéd writing. The characters are interesting, but much of their development depends on plot elements that didn't really make too much sense. Still, if you're more interested in the themes and characters than you are in the actual plot, this movie can work for you.

The story is kind of interesting, but it's a bit complicated. Basically, Cuba Gooding, Jr plays a depressed loser who seeks meaning in his life, after terrible loss. Finding his inspiration, he is torn between seeking redemption and revenge, when it is taken away from him. Sounds kind of interesting, right? Well, the execution is a bit flawed, but I did appreciate the attempt to give me more than a basic, streamlined revenge movie.

Cuba Gooding, Jr has done quite a few of these direct-to-video action movies, and all have been flawed in some way. Still, I like him (and Ray Liotta) enough that I'll continue to watch them, even though they tend to get rated rather poorly on the IMDb. If you're the same way, then I recommend Hero Wanted. If not, maybe it's best that you just avoid it.
  • krachtm
  • Aug 7, 2012
  • Permalink
4/10

A waste of time and effort

i 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
  • sheilacarr46
  • Apr 13, 2008
  • Permalink
7/10

Everyone needs a hero.

  • michaelRokeefe
  • Sep 24, 2008
  • Permalink
4/10

Re-write wanted

  • JoeytheBrit
  • Jul 27, 2008
  • Permalink
6/10

Cuba Gooding not suitable for the role

Now 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
  • kinderhead
  • Jun 22, 2009
  • Permalink
5/10

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
  • beregic
  • Jun 5, 2008
  • Permalink
8/10

Pleasantly surprised.

I 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.
  • hattonej
  • Jun 9, 2008
  • Permalink
7/10

worthable watch movie

i 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.
  • mailtorajeshiv
  • Apr 21, 2009
  • Permalink
3/10

My sympathy for Cuba Gooding Jr. - TELL ME WHY ?

  • dominik96
  • Apr 13, 2008
  • Permalink
1/10

So Disappointing

  • lordbarney
  • Mar 8, 2011
  • Permalink
7/10

Mr Cuba Gooding Jr is back

  • reprisecompilation
  • Jan 2, 2009
  • Permalink
2/10

Terrible movies are better than this one . . .

  • r-f-bradford80
  • May 20, 2008
  • Permalink
7/10

One of the best that Cuba Gooding has done in a long time...

  • fistjedi
  • Jul 13, 2008
  • Permalink
2/10

What was he thinking?

  • fellattiouk
  • Apr 6, 2008
  • Permalink
6/10

Could have been a great movie

  • ashleynwaldron
  • Feb 16, 2012
  • Permalink
3/10

Written and directed like done as by 15 year old Tarantino fans

Calling the characters 2 dimensional is generous. Epitome of style over substance. Gratuitous curse words in awkward places. Doses of one-upmanship machismo, again, in awkward places. Convoluted mess of a story & convenient characters shoe-horned in. Kind of uncomfortable/embarrassing to watch. One example: the little girl (who's life he had previously saved) is riding her bicycle in the city at night by herself) - comes to see CGJr's charactet & intimates she's "into" him ROMANTICALLY! Total cringe/douche-chill moment. Just BIZARRE! I threw it some stars for really cool effects and action scenes but overall nonstop doses of WTF throughout.
  • Neuro-4
  • Dec 29, 2020
  • Permalink
8/10

Pretty solid movie

  • derirre357
  • Mar 16, 2008
  • Permalink
5/10

My hero

  • jotix100
  • Aug 30, 2009
  • Permalink
1/10

As Confusing as Obama; As Painful as the Ragin' Rhoids

Some reviewers like this movie because it is an action movie. This isn't an action movie. There is supposed to be action in it, but you never really see it. What you do see is a hodge-podge of cut scenes at awkward angles.

Some reviewers like this movie because of its artsy-fartsy non-linear storytelling technique. I don't agree with them, but I do sympathize. It must have been a shock for them to discover that there are no useful applications for a liberal arts degree. So when something like this comes along, it is natural to grasp at straws and declare that this movie is true art. Sadly, they are basing their claims on what their freshman professor said about some Italian guy who was loved at Cannes and ignored by the public. Being part of the public, I say that it's not a good movie if you have to keep saying "Who is that?," "What did that mean?," and most importantly, "When will this piece of crap be over?"

Some reviewers like this movie because of the actors. Cuba Gooding is a great actor. Ray Liotta is as good (or bad) as ever. The rest of the cast are very minor actors who once were or someday may join Liotta on the bottom of the B list.

Personally, I started having trouble with this movie when the bank teller got shot in the head at close range and ended up with only a black spot of grease paint on her forehead. Apparently, you go into a coma if you get grease paint on your face.

Overall, this movie had great potential but fell short because of two people: the guy who hired the director, and the guy who approved the script.

This movie would make a great gift for your mother-in-law, but don't give it to anyone that you like.
  • Bob_Zerunkel
  • May 26, 2011
  • Permalink
1/10

Too much dialog not enough action.

Cuba 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.
  • nathan-yeo
  • Jul 24, 2009
  • Permalink

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