On O List of Movie Reviews
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One Man's Hero (1999)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
6/21
6/21:
One Man's Hero is so badly made that I'm compelled to ask, "What am I watching, really?"
Most of the fault lies with Lance Hool. He has directed four films in total: this in 1999,
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning in 1985, Steel Dawn in 1987, and 2 Hearts in 2020. That's a space of
twelve years on average among them.
Hardly a Tom Berenger film, One Man's Hero is a mishmash of everything: war, romance, betrayal, honor, desertion, and
redemption. Yet each of them has been poorly developed. None of the characters is fleshed out the least bit.
Braveheart came to my mind a lot based on how well it did in all aspects.
The worst attempt is making me believe there's chemistry between John Riley and Marta. Had that subplot been
taken out, the movie would've improved more by focusing on the Saint Patrick's Battalion during
the Mexican American War from 1846 to 1848.
I won't go so far as to call the acting bad; however, a lot of it is mediocre. Tom Berenger has done more organized war
pictures like Platoon and Gettysburg. It's my first
time seeing Joaquim de Almeida in something other than Desperado and
Clear and Present Danger, but using the same demeanor once again, he's disappointing.
All in all, if John Huston (the original script started with him in the late 60's) had directed One Man's Hero instead
of Lance Hool, the results would've been a lot different.