Lone Hero

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

I saw parts of this movie on HBO while flipping between channels looking for something worthwhile to watch. I thought this made for HBO movie was far from what I was looking for. After seeing parts of it probably half a dozen times and being drawn in, I finally sat down and watched it from beginning to end.

This movie has a straightforward simple plot. At a glance it looks like "Hollywood stock" and the average back cover synopsis at the movie store wouldn't lead you to believe different. But, this film is of higher quality. The writing is good, even witty. The acting is good. The action is a vehicle to the plot, not center stage. It is a light, benevolent, and heroic movie, with action as its backdrop.

Unfortunately I haven't seen anything else written or directed by Ken Sanzel that was worth the time to watch it.

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.

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.

Survivalists across the nation will love Lone Hero who takes on a gang of murderous bikers who threaten their peaceful western theme village. Our Lone Hero in this case is Sean Patrick Flannery with a little help from iconoclastic Robert Forster and others.

The film is The Wild One meets 3:10 To Yuma. Lou Diamond Phillips heads a biker gang only these dudes carry weapons that Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin never had. He gets into town and robs a local bar and one of actors in a western reenactment show for the tourists actually arrests Phillips and hands him over to the law.

But like in 3:10 to Yuma, the gang comes in and then it's a battle between Flannery forced to become a real western hero and Phillips and the gang.

The film really does belong to Lou Diamond Phillips however. He actually makes this murderous thug charming in his own gruesome way. He overacts to the max, but in this situation that's what I'd have done. He's far more colorful than pallid Sean Patrick Flannery as the hero.

Lone Hero is not a great film, but definitely easy to take and a film the National Rifle Association ought to be buying the rights to and disseminating as it perfectly puts their case against gun control.