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Hero

Hero

Comedy · Drama · 1992

Bernie Laplante is having a rough time. He's divorced, his ex-wife hates him and has custody of their son, the cops are setting a trap for him, then to top it all, he loses a shoe whilst rescuing passengers of a crashed jet. Being a thief who is down on his luck, Bernie takes advantage of the crash, but then someone else claims credit for the rescue.

Movie details

Hero

“We're all heroes if you catch us at the right moment. Even Bernie Laplante.”

1992 Comedy · Drama 1h 57m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

Bernie Laplante is having a rough time. He's divorced, his ex-wife hates him and has custody of their son, the cops are setting a trap for him, then to top it all, he loses a shoe whilst rescuing passengers of a crashed jet. Being a thief who is down on his luck, Bernie takes advantage of the crash, but then someone else claims credit for the rescue.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Hero?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Stephen Frears

Written by

David Webb Peoples · Alvin Sargent · Laura Ziskin

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman

Bernard 'Bernie' Laplante

Geena Davis

Geena Davis

Gale Gayley

Andy Garcia

Andy Garcia

John Bubber

Joan Cusack

Joan Cusack

Evelyn Laplante

Kevin J. O'Connor

Kevin J. O'Connor

Chucky

Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase

Deke - Channel 4 News Director

Maury Chaykin

Maury Chaykin

Winston

Court is in session

Put Hero on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.