Lone Hero (2002) User Reviews (26)

High Noon on Bikes

[kapecki · 6/10 · 18 February 2003]

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.

The Wild One Meets 3:10 To Yuma

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 31 October 2008]

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.

Despite everyone's best intentions, Lone Hero never really ignites into anything that inspires the viewer.

[tarbosh22000 · 4/10 · 13 April 2023]

In the small town of Profit, Montana, a group of guys - John (Flanery), Gus (Forster), Harris (Metcalf), and others are actors who put on Wild West shows for the viewing public. Amongst an old-fashioned Western town, they have shootouts and brawls, and the assembled crowds applaud when the no-good varmints fall down in the street. Intruding upon their little world is a gang of biker baddies, led by the evil Bart (LDP). They invade the town and proceed to cause all sorts of havoc. While merely an actor in the live shows, John takes it upon himself to transcend his role as the lawman, and become a LONE HERO in real life. Naturally, the stage is set for the final showdown between John and Bart. Who will be the real quick-draw man when the game is played for keeps?

Lone Hero is a humble, well-meaning throwback to the westerns of yore. It's immediately apparent that it's a low budget, shot-in-Canada affair, which certainly aren't bad things. But it is a bit surprising that with some real names in the cast - Forster, LDP, Flanery, and, to a certain extent, Metcalf - that is has such a cheapjack look to it. But the real problem is that it's all a bit pedestrian - there are moments when it slows to a crawl and becomes quite dull. There are a couple of action scenes peppered throughout, but the ending is pretty lame. It's almost like the movie can't get out of its own way.

If you're going to see one movie directed by Ken Sanzel, see Scarred City (1998), his directorial debut. It has a bit more pep in its step. Just as he got Chazz Palminteri and Stephen Baldwin fresh off their The Usual Suspects (1995) success for that film, here he got Robert Forster after Jackie Brown (1997). That must be Sanzel's thing: get actors who are just coming off some surprise success to be in his DTV productions. Well, it worked for us.

The box art is pretty misleading. It leads potential renters or owners - or, in any case, viewers - to believe that LDP is going to be the Lone Hero. He's not; Flanery is. It was nice to see Phillips revel in his baddie role, and as much as we are devoted Robert Forster fans, without Phillips's performance, this would be dullsville, man.

That being said, if at any point in the proceedings Mark Metcalf got in Phillips's face and screamed, "What do you want to DO with your life!!??!!!!!", we'd give the movie five stars. And we're only on a four-star ratings system.

Because it's a City Heat production, Lone Hero was likely found languishing on the shelves at Blockbusters across the nation.

Despite everyone's best intentions, Lone Hero never really ignites into anything that inspires the viewer.

Don't Waste Your Time

[lydtansky · 3/10 · 13 April 2002]

Lou Diamond Phillips (Bart) plays the bad buy, but he is not very good at it. After he and his motorcycle buddies rob the local establishment, Sean Patrick Flanery (John) a local citizen, takes him into custody. Bart calls on the rest of his motorcycle gang to get him out of jail and terrorizes the town. This story was very predictable and the acting was bad. The only thing that was positive about this movie was Robert Forster. Avoid it unless there is nothing else on.

Diverting "drive in" type action film with a good plot

[kelsci · 7/10 · 1 June 2002]

This film was recently shown in the spring of 2002 on HBO. The twist to this film involves one of the participants in a local town's wild west show given to tourist. A criminalistic motorcycle gang invades the town. It is that participant mentioned above who cleverly fights off this gang, one with the help of a friend who apparently is well versed in weapondry and by getting a few of the towns participants to assist him when the gang makes its final assault to seize the town with their ultimate goal of perhaps killing innocents and pillaging the town for whatever they can use on their travels. Lou Diamond Phillips is ideal as the head of the biker gang with a mean wise guy attitude. Sean Patrick Flannery is perfect as the mild mannered participant that wards off the gang. Robert Forster is good support as the friend of Flannery and the weapons expert.

There is a style to this action film that although makes it a sort of "B" film that makes it a cut above similar type films. I would say that the plot-story line is the key that is carried out very well.

Fun to Watch

[citylightscruise · 18 April 2002]

This movie provides a lot of unexpected fun. Lou Diamond Phillips is great as the leader of a renegade biker gang terrorizing a small town. This has all the classic western themes, transposed to present day. The title character is an actor in a cheesy wild west theme park who is forced to become a hero when all his friends and neighbors show their spineless true colors in the face of real-life danger. Phillips has a great time playing a murderous badass with a devil-may-care attitude and total disregard for, well, pretty much everything. While the premise of total lawlessness and murder in present day America could all seem completely unrealistic (Bart keeps the badges of all the cops he has killed as souvenirs), the remote location and utter insignificance of the pissant town where it takes place make it believable. With the incomparable Robert Forster playing Gus, our hero's only ally, and a bit of a badass himself, the stage is set for the big showdown. Good writing, and well staged action scenes make this a lot of fun to watch. Check it out on HBO.

Pathetic drivel

[=G= · 3/10 · 12 May 2002]

"Lone Hero" is one of those pathetic films which is not good enough to buy into and not bad enough to be funny and, consequently, leaves you feeling it was a complete waste of time and wondering how some decent B-movie talent (Phillips, Forster, Flanery) could climb aboard such an ill conceived project. Unless you're somewhere in the boonies where you're stuck with one channel and "Lone Hero" is the only thing on, pass on this loser.

Assault on Precinct 13 again!

[secrective · 7/10 · 29 December 2002]

if your waiting for the next john carpenter movie to come out and you stumble across this almost exact remake of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, you might want to give it a go... Lou Diamond Phillips is pretty okay here, better than he was in ROUTE 666 (which was god awful) and about the same as he was in BATS. But his performance in The Big Hit really smokes this. you might also want to catch RAISING ARIZONA if you like the deranged motorcycle part as well... all in all, a movie to watch on tv, but dont pay to see it. B-Movie all the way!!!

Cheesy, but good fun

[Apollyon_Crash · 7/10 · 19 December 2003]

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

Lou Diamond Phillips steals the show.

[will-694 · 9/10 · 22 June 2008]

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.

A modern revamp of the wild west

[kmcderm1 · 7/10 · 6 May 2002]

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.

Lou Diamond Phillips is great

[gazzalodi · 7/10 · 22 March 2012]

A fun little film in which Lou Diamond Phillips runs amok. He is given some very clever lines and his delivery is spot on. The movie never takes itself too seriously, but is probably not for the kids. The rest of the cast is there to serve up situations for Phillips to play off of, which works out great. The plot is pretty simple and easy to follow. The good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. There is a bit of a romance angle, but it is really only there to set up the action and doesn't get in the way of the gun play. This is a gloriously complete popcorn, take your brain out and set it to the side, just watch and be entertained. Sit back with this one and have fun.

Fun, quirky action movie - great dialogue

[Tristanartform · 7/10 · 19 April 2002]

Lone hero succeeds in being more than just a fun, hard hitting action movie in two ways:

Firstly, the basic plot achieves a campy send up to the classic western, here with the action transported to a contemporary wild western town.

Secondly, Mr. Sanzel has jeweled well formed characters with exceptional dialogue. The intelligence, and humor of the character's lines really heightened the effect of the pounding action scenes, as well as electrifying the dramatic scenes. Often I found myself just waiting to hear what this or that person was going to say next. The verbal chess matches between the hero and his nemesis were as charged as the excellent battle scenes. The overall effect was dynamic, energized and palpable characters in extraordinary circumstances.

Many great performances by lead and minor actors. Of particular noteworthiness is Robert Forster.

This movie is a hard hitting, pulsating treat for the eye and the brain.

Benevolent Heroism

[deankriegel · 9/10 · 25 February 2004]

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.

Great, B-grade forgettable fun

[senorlimpo · 9/10 · 2 July 2003]

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.

Solid, original story with plenty of guns and action while still having depth and a plot

[Mrcheeks · 10/10 · 27 August 2003]

I couldn't say I like this movie more. I gave it a 10! The characters are very like-able and the story is really good yet simple. Bart(Lou Diamond Phillips) is head of a lawless biker gang that has a strong dislike for cops as you'll see in the beginning. While Bart and one of his biker brothers are on an excursion of violence and mayhem, they encounter John(Sean Patric Flanery), a simple guy from a very small town that works in a wild west show locally. After Bart and Dog, his biker gang companion, rob and beat down smoky their local bartender,Bart makes it clear what will happen to anyone who is witness from his biker brothers. John is the only witness with enough guts to tell the police what he saw and who they were. From here on the story really gets moving. The following day Bart and Dog show up in the mock wild west town John and his fellow bar companions work at. John without really thinking gets the drop on them with his stage gun, a real gun but loaded with blanks. Once in jail Bart uses his one phone call to call some more of his biker brothers who dispatch the sherif and his deputy, setting Bart free. From here on it's John versus the bikers with some help from another West show worker Gus(Robert Forster).

Flanery's is very like-able as the character John. John's not too sure of himself in the beginning and just in general but finds his inner courage when he is confronted with the harsh realities that a small town such as his never see. Phillips I think has made a great accomplishment with his portrayal of Bart. Evil to the bone but somehow you still like him. Bart feels a connection with John as if John is his soul opposite or something along that line. John couldn't do more to show Bart he is connected to him in no way and is determined to make sure Bart doesn't find an untimely death and serves out his life in prison. Forster as Gus is somewhat of a rougher good guy and is very cool. An excellent supporting role to Flanery and the theme of the movie. This movie is simply too good to be a B movie. I would have payed to see it and infact bought the DVD.

This film shows a solid script with some imagination can produce a very good movie on a low budget. I wish more movie exec's would catch on to this and stop showing the brainless, tasteless garbage in the theatre's that caters to mindless teenagers and young adults that simply have no taste or understanding about what makes a film good. Maybe a little more budget and this film would have made the theatres. You'd be amazed what you can learn about film making from lower brow movies such as Lone Hero. My final statement is this: Story and acting REALLY CAN carry a movie without being all flashy and in a pretty package to get your attention and dollars. This movie is really worth seeing and when you do you may find yourself watching it repeatedly as myself and many others have.

LDP Rocks!

[rgilbert-3 · 8/10 · 6 May 2002]

Although I was initially nervous about this film, expecting an unoriginal re-hash of vigilante movies with a similar storyline, I was very pleasantly surprised. The cast, in particular, is excellent and this director is definitely someone to watch. I am a fan of LDP and he does not disappoint in this movie.

Fun! Right Down to the Last Man Standing

[brn0023 · 9/10 · 1 May 2002]

When I heard Sean Patrick Flanery was going to star as a cowboy in a western with Lou Diamond Phillips, I was thrilled. What do you get when you cross Young Indiana Jones with Young Guns and throw in a dash of Harley Davidson? You get Lone Hero. It is fun. It is fast. It is furious. With the recent homages to the horror and teen genre, it is good to see that somebody remembered to throw the old western into the fold. It is an homage to Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. The dynamic between Flanery and Phillips works well. The cave sequence drips with tension. Check it out. I'm glad I did!

Entertaining action movie

[Paul Craven · 9/10 · 27 May 2002]

I caught this on HBO late-night. The scenario is pretty interesting. A guy in a wild west show who is a slacker and was just dumped by his girlfriend is forced to take action when some bad dudes cruise into town and start messing things up. There are some good shoot-outs and fights and some funny lines. The best actor in it is Robert Forster. He plays a cranky old tough guy who is good with a gun.

Who says nothing out of the ordinary is bad?

[Just_Some_Guy · 8/10 · 15 January 2005]

This movie doesn't say anything new or surprising. This movie won't make you think too much. The good guy is a typical good guy, the bad guys are the typical bad guys. You see all the characters you expect to see - The hero's friends, the (ex) girlfriend who wants to move on, the idiot that you want to kill. So what?

This movie is fun, in the sense of "I saw a bunch of guys fight, I saw the good guy winning and going away with his girlfriend, and I don't regret spending the time for it". You don't have to buy this movie on DVD, or even rent it, but if you come across it on TV and want to see a decent action movie, this is a good option. After all, who really has high hopes from an action movie?

A showdown like no other!

[GOWBTW · 10/10 · 14 November 2005]

When you want a showdown, this movie is it! I enjoyed this movie very well. When you play a hero in the Wild West, it's about time you start being in real life. When a biker gang comes a rolling in your town, you gotta do what you gotta do. Act out you fantasy only with one exception, you must save the people you love, for real. Lou Diamond Phillips really played it down fast as the menacing Bart. He really went to far when he caught the hero's girlfriend who he broke up a while back and ripped open her shirt showing her blue bra. Very blood curdling. The show down was the best, when the hero and Bart do a ordinary showdown gun duel. It was no contest. He didn't kill Bart, because he knows he was being a true hero to himself. This is one of the finest western like action movie I've ever seen. Instead of regular horses, the outlaws came on Harleys. That what's makes the movie very interesting. I liked it! 5 stars! Truly original. The best I've seen!

Definite B movie material

[gangelljr · 27 April 2003]

This is a pretty silly movie, but it is viewable. My main interest is in Hugh Rush Dillon, who happens to be in a Toronto rock band called The Headstones, who also contributed some music for the film. It's unusual and a bit out of character for the tough guy front man, but he is what makes the film OK. I doubt an academy award is in store, but it shows his versatility.

Watch It for Lou Diamond Phillips

[Bucko_McCane · 9/10 · 20 March 2024]

Admittedly, this movie is a standard hero saves the day movie that's not super exciting, but it doesn't deserve some of these low ratings. It's a decent enough action movie and, like the title of this review says, people should watch it for Lou Diamond Phillips' scenes if for no other reason.

While everyone does a good job in this movie, Lou Diamond Phillips steals every scene he's in. His character is a terrible a-hole, but he is so charismatic with great lines it's hard to hate him. His role puts this villain in the top three villains category with Hans Gruber (Die Hard) and Clarence Boddicker (RoboCop - the 1987 original).

Enjoyable and thought-provoking

[burlyfly · 9/10 · 28 April 2002]

This film drew me in from the start. I like the idea of a small town that makes its living putting on old-fashioned Wild West shows, that is suddenly faced with a gang of renegades not unlike the old Clanton gang of the real Wild West. Surrounded by thugs, the town, though seemingly armed to the teeth, finds itself paralyzed and seems incapable of defending itself. It's an old theme: civilization vs savagery. How do you deal with bandits on the rampage? How far would you go to take back your town? And, as this film cleverly suggested, is the town *worth* saving? To me, "Lone Hero" follows the tradition of "High Noon" and brings to mind the work of Kurosawa. Sadly, what Hollywood offers today is not remotely what it offered yesterday. "Lone Hero" is an updated Western (a forgotten genre) and it has the kind of black-and-white good-vs-evil morality that harks back to the days of John Wayne. I like the fact that this film actually embraces a moral vision not seen in current cinema (except in films like "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Down"): bravery, honor, sacrifice, and yes, though amazingly it seems offensive to some, the notion of machismo - a quality that we've somehow lost (to our detriment).

I'm Not Gonna Win By Being Stupid

[JakeRfilmfreak · 8/10 · 17 September 2023]

Lone Hero is an action film from 2002 starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Robert Forster. It tells the story of an outlaw biker club who robs a small village bar, but when things don't go their way reinforcements ride in to make things interesting.

It's got a low budget direct to DVD kind of quality, but I've always found this movie quite entertaining. The whole cast is great, but it's Phillips performance as club leader that really stands out of the crowd. The movie has some good dialogue, the wild west type setting is creative, and there's no shortage of action. If you haven't seen this before, I would recommend giving it a chance.