Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson Oct 17, 2024 4/5

The Hero is a sublime epistle to the silver screen specter cast by Sam Elliott.

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Ian Brill Battleship Pretension Apr 13, 2021

While the film is a journeyman effort, The Hero's love for Elliott shines through in every scene. If you want to see an oft-supporting player get his due, this is the film.

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Richard Crouse Richard Crouse Mar 1, 2021 2.5/5

Sam Elliott is in almost every frame, bringing an easy charm that solidifies his leading man status while smoothing over the film's rough patches.

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Leigh Monson Substream Magazine Sep 24, 2020 3.5/5

The Hero is about as good as these stories get without someone masterfully inventive behind the camera, and it doesn't aim much higher than merely being effective.

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Steven Prokopy Third Coast Review May 7, 2020

The Hero is perfectly ragged around the edges, but rugged and elegant at its core, like many of our heroes. Seek this one out, partner.

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Paula Vázquez Prieto La Nación (Argentina) Apr 3, 2020

With more emotions than the exegetes of Westerns would have preferred, [director Brett] Haley achieves an honest and luminous movie. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Dan Scully Cinema76 Mar 25, 2020

It's Elliott's insight that makes a film like The Hero, which covers absolutely no new ground in the memento mori subgenre of drama, feel almost essential.

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Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens Oct 30, 2019

The Hero is all about the journey. And this one is slow, languid and reflective, just like Sam Elliott. There's a quiet brooding to the film that is both poignant and wistful.

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Daniel Barnes Sacramento News & Review Sep 28, 2019 2.5/5

Elliott is as magnetic as ever, but very little here feels authentic.

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Dominic Griffin Spectrum Culture Jul 17, 2019 3/5

The Hero is at its best when it drifts through Lee's pain and rich inner life, regardless of whether mining his foibles or comedy or tragedy.

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Kaitlyn Booth Bleeding Cool May 24, 2019 6.5/10

The pacing problem becomes more apparent, and the story falls flat with so many people putting so much into it.

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Cate Marquis We Are Movie Geeks Apr 30, 2019 4/5

Sam Elliot's performance, maybe his best, is a big reason to see this film but the thought-provoking story, with its heart and hopefulness, is a winner as well.

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Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net Mar 13, 2019 B-

This is a film where the lead performance is great but the movie he's in is average.

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Edward Havens FilmJerk.com Feb 10, 2019

Watching Sam Elliott work [...] has been one of the great joys of entertainment, and never has he had a role quite like Lee Hayden, leading a movie quite like "The Hero."

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Louisa Moore Screen Zealots Dec 20, 2018 4/5

It's a theme that's been done hundreds of times before, but somehow this story manages to feel fresh.

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Sean Mulvihill FanboyNation.com Oct 31, 2018 2.5/5

An aging cowboy actor needs much more than to just smoke weed and stare at the ocean to have much of an impact. Unfortunately, that mostly what The Hero has to offer.

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Joey Magidson AwardsCircuit.com Oct 10, 2018 3.5/4

Elliott is perfect here. "The Hero" encapsulates everything you love about him into one package.

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Marcianne Miller Bold Life (Hendersonville, NC) Aug 25, 2018

The Hero is a darned good movie, full of heart and dignity, a simple tale of reconciliation.

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Asia Frey Lagniappe (Mobile, AL) Aug 23, 2018

Lee's legacy is inextricably tied to these characteristics, and Lee looks into the abyss and ponders what it has meant, and will mean, to play himself.

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Glenn Heath Jr. San Diego CityBeat Aug 21, 2018

There are a number of ups and downs throughout The Hero, but such plot points are all in service of rendering a more complete picture of Lee's heartaches.

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