American Hero

Griffin and Dorff are great. They deliver. Music fits, camera works. Urban landscape is realistic and true. I' don't know, but this movie surprised me.

Ignore the sucky reviews such as, just because someone expects Hancock mainstream money making style of a movie and then gives it bad review cause of that. Or I liked this one: "It says comedy, but it's not, so I gave this movie a bad mark".

Loose the expectations. Nothing dramatic happens, but its realistic enough with good acting, music, shots and screenplay to make it a solid movie that doesn't fail at the end. It most definitely does not suck and subjective remarks like that should not be implemented.

Peace

I really enjoyed watching this movie. That said, I went in with very little expectations and I did not expect it to be Man of Steel or even Hancock. If all you want to see is a Hollywood superhero action movie, then this is not the movie for you.

This movie is about a guy with superpowers, not a superhero. It's depiction is much more down to earth, mundane, and realistic compared to the glamorous and romantic depiction of people with super powers in other movies like The Marvel and DC films.

It's about a pretty average, albeit really irresponsible guy who deals with his own personal issues.. he also just so happens to have telekinesis. I say give it a chance unless you want an action packed "superhero" movie.

That's the story of my life, as it is for many. "I could quit bad habits and write a novel, but I'm stuck in my couch watching other peoples dream instead, as the years go by." I'm going to show this movie to my young neighbour following the same path: "I'll be an astronaut one day, but right now, I'll just have a joint in the bath tub." Steven Dorff is great in this role: sincere and sober (his acting, not the character). He is highly credible as a drunk cokehead and pothead. The realism is reinforced by the handshake camera and a couple of winks at the cameraman. I'm a fan of inclusions of supernatural into a realistic story: a movie is a fiction, so why being limited by the lows of physics? On the other hand, when a movie starts talking supernatural, it usually becomes a central point, leaving the characters soulless. Making digressions from a realistic comedy into a magical world is not common, except in some Latin American movies. They are often misunderstood by the viewers, as they aren't complying to knows standards. When lows of physics are breached to serve the story, I find it perfectly acceptable. Aren't teleportation, flying and telekinesis common in night dreams?

Adding a bit of diversity to the Superhero movie genre is American Hero.

Stephen Dorff is cast perfectly as a mundane style superhero. A man blessed with gifts that make him special, but too nihilistic to use his powers for anything pass doing some simple parlor tricks to get money for drugs booze and girls, but like a page out of a Marvel comic, a near death experience clears his head, allowing him to become focus on the responsibility of becoming the man his son needs him to be.

Two things that make this movie impressive:

One was the outstanding performance by Eddie Griffith as a war hero who lives life in a wheelchair. The way his life parallels that of Stephen Dorff's character, a man who has everything but does nothing, was emotionally captivating in a film you would not expect this in. It was so real and natural, it was hard to believe Griffith can walk. It may seem too high praise to say it's Oscar worthy, but it was, and it's too bad they don't even consider giving out the trophy on a flick like this.

Second was the back drop of the big easy. New Orleans set the tone perfectly for American Hero, because it's one of those places in America that really could use a man with gifts like the main character and he's barely touching the surface of his potential.

The one thing that keeps American Hero from being amazing is the documentary style it's formatted in. It's not that I'm sick and tired of the format (but I am), the gimmick feels like just that, a gimmick and it takes away from the story because it's very inconsistent. I guess it was done to make us feel like we are part of the story by making us feel we are shooting the American Hero's life but Dorff's performance was too close to what the average person would do if they had superpowers that we did not need that extra push. It's one of those things that just tells you the time and the place this movie was made, like bell bottoms or baggy paints, and stops it from becoming timeless.

With that said, I do feel that American Hero has potential to be the type of film nerds will be talking about in the aftermath of the Superhero genre with the praise of a hidden gem among them.

Been fans of them since the 90's I also watched to see parts of New Orleans which I did recognize lol I do love it there and can't wait to go back. So so movie at least it don't look like it was filmed with a potato.