Just Heroes

The movie that Chang Cheh's disciples, John Woo, Wu Ma, and a host of others, put together to help their master ease the debts. Everywhere on the net I see all these people complaining about the film. After I watched it, I don't see why people would hate this, unless you're a diehard John Woo fanatic/macho person. Yes, women have a more prominent role in this film! They have an impact on the plot! They aren't just flower vases! "Just Heroes" (or "Tragic Heroes" if you like) borrows sections of "The Godfather", complete with the intrigue. Only complaint that I have is that the ending was a little rushed, which is to be expected since they were pressed for time, and at times the storyline pulls in all sorts of directions, but the gunfights were some of the best I have seen. The deconstruction of heroism was great, with the last few minutes powerfully hitting the mark. Great work for a film that was put together in a few weeks.

From what I have observed a lot of people is really disappointed in this movie but I fell in love with it!

It is such a shame that this movie is only available as French and Japanese DVDs and both are without subtitles. I guess this explains why many people does not know this John Woo movie.

The story is not that bad but they really could've added a lot to "who will be the heir to murdered triad boss ?" storyline.

But they opted for a lazier method and rushed everything in the movie. I guess this is mostly because of the fact that it is shot for Wu Ma which was in desperate need of money.

If they didn't rush everything because of the reason given above, it really could have been a true John Woo classic like A Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Hard Boiled. This is what I call a missed opportunity.

Whatever your reason for not liking this movie might be but there is no denial that the finale shootout is awesome. This is John Woo and Heroic Bloodshed at its best. I'll surely watch it once again.

Please release this movie on DVD with remastered picture and subs so that other Hong Kong action movie fans get to watch this.

Just got done watching Just Heroes (1989) and it was a blast. Yeah it's not as great as The Killer (1989), but I never expected the movie to do that.

Positives for Just Heroes (1989): The movie's premise is a very interesting one in that there's also a mystery as who the main villain could be. It was also great to see Danny Lee in his second straight John Woo Movie after The Killer (1989) and of course he is excellent in this movie. The action sequences and shootouts are spectacular in this movie.

Negatives for Just Heroes (1989): The movie isn't as engaging or emotional as The Killer (1989) but then again that's a hard movie to follow up.

Overall, Just Heroes is yet anothr fantastic movie in John Woo's filmography.

Just Heroes is far from John Woo's finest hour, but even then there's a lot to love about this minor classic, with Woo's trademarked heroic bloodshed coming out in full force during the finale. Commissioned by Tsui Hark to raise retirement money for a broke Chang Cheh, John Woo's main influence and tutor, Cheh then spent said money on making another film instead. Woo only directed about 60% of this and his style is plainly obvious when compared to the 40% helmed by Wu Ma. It's the kind of film that desperately needs another 20-30 minutes to let all its ideas flow, it feels rushed which doesn't surprise me given how quickly it was thrown together, the pedestrian script could have done with some tightening up. Despite this, Just Heroes boasts a funky musical score, some great performances from David Chiang, Danny Lee and a young Stephen Chow and is packed full of intrigue even in a routine-like mob world with elements that feel like they belong to a Takeshi Kitano yakuza thriller.

What better summary line than the English title for the movie? I don't know if it is an accurate translation from the HK title, but more importantly: Why is there no release of this movie on a DVD yet? At least not in the western world and not an official one, as can be seen here at IMDb ...

Just Heroes is another Woo flick with his well known ingredients: Bloodshed, Heroism, loyalty and respect. The slow motion is thrown in there for good measure too! ;o) Of course it's something that a John Woo Film, can not be without! And although it might sound emotionless or apathetic, how I just list those things, the movie is a really good action film! It's not his best, but if you like his other better known HK offerings, you're gonna love this one too! :o)