Hero Wanted (2008)

After he awakens in a hospital, a man tracks down and murders the man that left him and a bank teller for dead during a robbery, only to end up having the slain thief's associates come after him in retaliation.

Director:

Brian Smrz

Writers:

Chad Law, Evan Law

Stars:

Cuba Gooding Jr., Ray Liotta, Tommy Flanagan

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Liam Case
Ray Liotta	...	Detective Terry Subcott
Norman Reedus	...	Swain
Kim Coates	...	Skinner McGraw
Tommy Flanagan	...	Derek (as Thomas Flannigan)
Jean Smart	...	Melanie McQueen
Christa Campbell	...	Kayla McQueen
Steven Kozlowski	...	Lynch McGraw
Gary Cairns	...	Gill
Sammi Hanratty	...	Marley Singer (as Samantha Hanratty)
Ben Cross	...	Cosmo Jackson
Todd Jensen	...	Detective Wallace MacTee
Paul Sampson	...	Gordy McGraw
Lisa Dunne	...	Marley's Mom
Elitsa Razheva	...	Dawn Case (as Elitza Rajeva)

Storyline

A man seeks out and murders the thief that left him and a bank teller for dead during a robbery, only to end up having the slain thief's associates come after him in retaliation.

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Plot Keywords:

on the run | vigilante justice | violence | vengeance | revenge | 

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Taglines:

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and brief sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 2008 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Anazitontas ton iroa

Filming Locations:

New Boyana Film Studios, Sofia, Bulgaria

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Millennium Films, Heroic Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Paul Sampson suffered a minor eye injury during one sequence in which he is shot by Ben Cross' character due to a premature squib detonation. This footage is included in the finished film.

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Goofs

In the final shootout Swains M16 can clearly be seen to be a movie prop, solid carrying handle with no rear sight aperture.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Liam Case: [narration] I really wish we hadn't start here. It's too easy to get the wrong idea about me.
[photograph]
Liam Case: That's Dawn, my wife. A car accident ended our happiness, leaving me with an empty home, and an empty life.

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Soundtracks

Reloaded
Written by Christian Salyer
Performed by Christian Salyer
Published by Engine Co. 30 (BMI)
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Loved the opening shot

Camera work on the opening shot is just awesome.

Was is a solid straight camera leading from the street, through the apartment, out the alley, down the lane and back into the street? If it was, I think that was just a fantastic piece of direction, even though the apartment and alley didn't hold any value, but the camera work was really cool.

Overall, I liked the film a lot and thought the story was really well and most of the characters were written and portrayed good.

There was some overkill on the gunfire and the standard overdone nightclub gangster stuff, but in general, the rest was really good.

What I am trying to understand is why a bunch of movies are being filmed in Bulgaria now to represent an American city.

With a 12 million budget, filming in some small town in the US or Canada would definitely cover the bill, but a bunch of shoots are being flown overseas...how does that help on budgeting? Really...it loses it's originality.

I remember times when Vancouver would portray New York or Detroit...and while that was not fit either...Bulgaria certainly doesn't cut as inner city America or Canada at all...just the little details that make it not gel.

Aside from a few minor things, I think it's an overall good production with a great opening shot.