Lone Hero

Like most here, I stumbled across this movie by accident and am glad I did.

Robert Forester is great, and Sean Patrick Flannery does a good job as the "Lone Hero," but for me Lou Diamond Phillips stole the show.

His portrayal of a bad guy was anything but routine. His character is complex as a truly bad "bad guy" bordering almost on the unbelievable. A real cold-blooded killer with no compunction at all in killing people-cops or anyone else he chooses, he also possesses a genuine sardonic sense of the world he lives in. He bring an edge of humor into what could have been a run-of-the-mill murderer.

The humorous overtones carry through his every action and are reflected in his continued attempt to gain empathy from Flannery's character. One could almost say he is playing Satan. He enjoys his evil life style and tries over and over again to corrupt Flannery.

I suspect Lou Diamond Phillips enjoyed this roll and was allowed by the director to shape the character himself.

His evil is an attractive evil and yet you know that if Flannery let's up or goes along with Phllips, Phillips' character would kill him in a second.

I really enjoyed this movie.

Oh yeah, and the gun play/Western style shoot-em-up tone of the movie makes this one a keeper. Recommended.

I put this movie in the same catagory as "Roadhouse" and "Maximum Overdrive" cheap and forgettable, but for some reason, I own all 3....

Lone Hero is not for everyone's taste, but like the commercials for India Pale Ale up here in Canada say, "Those who like it, like it a lot."

Possibly the greatest B-lister working today, Sean Patrick Flannery, stars as a bad guy in a wild west show who turns into a real hero by roughing up some criminal bikers.

The cowardly townsfolk turn against him, and soon he only has a whacked out war veteran on his side. Is the fact that this is a made for cable movie obvious? yes. Is it cliched? yes.

This is just a modern western, and by the time the credits role, the film will be forgotten, but it is fun escapism for the 90 minutes that it lasts. And the theme song is kind of catchy.

This is a thoroughly acceptable retelling of the 'outlaws run amok in a good old-western town' scenario set in modern times. This film, which is technically an action/adventure, can almost be seen as an homage to the shoot-'em-up cowboy films of a bygone era. It pits a lackluster actor doing hourly shows as a badguy in an old-west theme town against a vicious, win-at-all-costs leader of a motorcycle gang and his thugs. The characters are strong, and if you allow the usual 'willing suspension of disbelief' (and like a little meat to your movies) you will probably have a fun time watching this flick.

For those living in the Ivory Tower who think that "Citizen Kane" is the movie by which all others should be judged, this movie is complete trash. For the rest of us who remember that movies are ENTERTAINMENT before ART, this movie certainly has the capacity to be entertaining.

It's a modern western: A small town in the west, a gang of bandits, and a nobody who has to save the day thanks to an older, tougher mentor. The action is fast-paced, yet refreshingly simple, and the movie deserves bonus points for not taking itself too seriously...in fact, the general pace of the movie switches fluidly between action and comic relief. The direction is effective, with a few inventive shots, and the score has the perfect "modern western" feel to it. The acting, however, is a bit weak. Sean Patrick Flanery acts like he's about to fall asleep, and most of the rest of the cast is completely forgettable. Two exceptions however, are Robert Forster (who is for the post part solid) and Lou Diamond Phillips, who actually overplays to the point of being likable (it's an over-the-top character, thus requiring an over-the-top performance).

Anyone looking for a meaningful cinematic experience will surely be disappointed, but if you're looking for an entertaining shoot 'em up, you can do a lot worse.

7/10

The "High Noon" story has been told so many ways on the screen that its hard to think that another retelling could be anything but tedious.

Surprisingly, however, "Lone Hero" is an entertaining, low-budget variant on the tale, thanks to a terrific performance by Lou Diamond Phillips as the vicious, but sardonically perceptive biker villain with most of the good lines. Sean Patrick Flanery, as the title hero, and Robert Forster, his ally with a unspoken past, provide more than able support.

The plot is by the book (or is it by the screenplay?), but there is enough nicely mounted action to keep fans of the genre happy, and enough good dialog to keep most others from getting bored.

This film has what so many direct-to-video action films lack--good acting with a script whose iconic characters rise well enough above the trite to make the scenes between the fights worth watching.