Hero Wanted

Infobox Film
name = Hero Wanted


caption =
director = Brian Smrz
producer = Boaz Davidson
Danny Dimbort
Avi Lerner
writer = Chad Law
Evan Law
starring = Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Ray Liotta
Norman Reedus
Tommy Flanagan
Jean Smart
music =
cinematography = Larry Blanford
editing =
distributor = Nu Image Films
released = April 29, 2008 (DVD)
runtime =
country = United States
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:429839
imdb_id = 0977214
preceded_by =

"Hero Wanted" is a 2008 action film directed by Brian Smrz and starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ray Liotta, and Norman Reedus. The film has been released on DVD and includes a downloadable Digital Copy (PC and/or PSP) version on the disc with studio-imposed restrictions [http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/hero-wanted.html] . The film was shot entirely in Sofia, Bulgaria in the spring of 2007 and premiered January 17, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

Plot

Liam Case (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a garbage collector and a hero. Several years before, he rescued a little girl from a flaming car wreck. He did this at great risk to his own life and earned a hideous scar for his efforts. But fame often comes and goes in the proverbial "fifteen minutes", and Liam's is no exception.

Lost and alone, Liam has turned to alcohol for solace. After stalking a bank teller who reminds him of his wife, he arranges a bank robbery to make him a hero again. The crooks are not willing to rob a bank without the money, and Liam is betrayed. Waking in the hospital, he vows to put things right by seeking vengeance against the thieves that put the bank teller in a coma and left him for dead. Unfortunately for him, Detective Terry Subcott (Ray Liotta) is viewing him as the prime suspect in several brutal vigilante killings.

In a twisty plot structured in non-linear fashion, Liam races against the clock to enact his own form of private justice, battling a gang of vicious criminals dominated by Derek (Tommy Flanagan) and the Brothers McGraw (Kim Coates and Steven Kozlowski), all while dodging the authorities hot on his trail.

Norman Reedus also stars as Swain, Liam's conflicted former friend and co-worker. Cosmo Jackson (Ben Cross), who served in Vietnam with Liam's dead father, provides support for Liam as a surrogate father. Jean Smart, fills the role of the grief-stricken mother of comatose bank teller. She initially holds Liam in high regard for his heroic acts and seeks him out for personal solace. As the plot rolls out, she later feels betrayed.

Relative newcomers Gary Cairns II and Sammi Hanratty play Gill and Marley, respectively. Gill is a somewhat reluctant criminal and Marley portrays the little girl rescued from the burning wreck.

The final "gunfight" scene accentuates Smrz's focus on making a modern day Western.

Sales and Rentals

Like other revenge-driven films released in 2007 and 2008 (see Death Sentence and The Brave One), Hero Wanted initially met with mixed reviews by critics, but went on to become extremely successful regardless of this fact. In its first week of release, it placed tenth in top DVD rentals, grossing nearly four million dollars in rentals alone, and an extra million in sales.

Reviews

Gritty subject matter, violent imagery, and a non-linear plot has split critics in their opinion of the film.

Donald Liebenson of Amazon.com was positive in his review of the film, stating that " [Cuba] Gooding indelibly captures Liam's bald desperation (his character’s short-lived glory and downward spiral echoes his own misguided film career)" and calls it his "best starring performance since Radio." He goes on to praise director Brian Smrz by saying that "the film's punishing fight scenes deliver the down and dirty goods."

Reel Film Reviews reflects the contrary opinion, stating that it's "slightly better than the majority of its similarly-themed brethren" but adding that "it inevitably comes off as yet another ineffective actioner that has direct-to-video written all over it" despite the fact that it "admittedly does possess a fairly decent twist at around the one-hour mark." Nonetheless, according to the review, "There's ultimately little doubt that it's the rampantly silly vibe that cements Hero Wanted's downfall, however, and it certainly goes without saying that such talented performers as Gooding Jr, Ray Liotta, and Jean Smart are consequently left floundering."

Cast

* Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Liam Case
* Ray Liotta as Detective Terry Subcott
* Norman Reedus as Swain
* Tommy Flanagan as Derek
* Jean Smart as Melanie McQueen
* Kim Coates as Skinner McGraw
* Ben Cross as Cosmo Jackson
* Gary Cairns II as Gill
* Steven Kozlowski as Lynch McGraw
* Sammi Hanratty as Marley Singer
* Christa Campbell as Kayla McQueen
* Paul Sampson as Gordy McGraw
* Todd Jensen as Detective Wallace MacTee
* Nathan Bautista as The Door Dude
* Lisa Dunne as Marley's Mother
* Amy Davis as Staci the Waitress
* Mike Straub uncredited as Scrub
* Shero Rauf as Razor Room Dancer

References

External links

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