Some Kind of Hero Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Some Kind of Hero Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 12, 2015

There's recently been a fairly intense push to better understand, and help veterans cope with, post-traumatic stress disorder. But there's another kind of stress that might meet returning veterans, and that's, for lack of a better term, "life disorder." Director Michael Pressman's Some Kind of Hero, based on the novel by James Kirkwood, Jr., looks at a returning veteran who receives a hero's welcome but finds his life upset, a shell of what it once was in the years since his initial deployment and time spent as a prisoner of war. It's lightly humorous in execution -- how can it not be with the great Richard Pryor in the lead role? -- but fairly substantial behind the mildly light façade, shining a light on the importance of caring for veterans in every way, the harmful effects of bureaucratic red tape on people who need it cut, and, more broadly, the effects of war on man even when it leaves him otherwise physically and emotionally healthy.

Surrendering more than he could have imagined.

Corporal Eddie Keller (Pryor) is taken prisoner in Vietnam where he's held for several years. The enemy repeatedly attempts to make him sign a document acknowledging U.S. war crimes. He finally reaches his breaking point when his cellmate, Vinnie (Ray Sharkey), comes in need of immediate medical attention, which he will receive if Keller signs the papers. Finally, the war ends and he's freed, one of the last men to return home, in fact. He initially finds himself greeted to a hero's welcome. He learns that his wife (Lynne Moody) has given birth to a daughter. He couldn't be happier, but things start to fall apart. Fast. His wife has fallen in love with another man and, to make matters worse, they've blown all of his money on a failed business venture. His mother has fallen ill and, for the time being, is receiving care at a nursing home. But the bills are piling up and he's going to to need to pay them to continue her care. He tries to get the money owed him by the army, but his liaison, Colonel Powers (Ronny Cox), either cannot, or will not, cut through the bureaucratic red tape. That leaves Keller with no choice but to turn to desperate measures to get back on his feet.

The film, essentially, looks less at the emotional and physical scars of a returning veteran and more at the topsy-turvy life he finds waiting for him upon arrival. Everything's a mess. His family life is upset, his finances are out whack, his mother is sick and in need of costly care. It's a sobering look at how war changes man, in this case, however, more how the time spent away from home to fight war changes man, not necessarily war itself, which, all things considered, Keller handles rather well. It's sort of like the world back home sped up while it slowed down for him in Vietnam. He's essentially out of place and his sacrifice -- the time spent as a prisoner of war -- ran much deeper than he could have ever imagined. It's an interesting and unique take on how war ravages man, presented here with a lightly humorous underpinning but offering a fascinating yet somewhat depressing look at life's cruelties that can pile up during the worst of times and lay all their burdens on a man's shoulders in, seemingly, the best of times.

The film's case study is certainly its best asset -- it's a unique take on war's aftermath on a man -- but the movie is made by Richard Pryor. On the outside looking in, Pryor certainly seems an odd choice to play Corporal Keller. It's not fun and games for the character but instead one hardship after another, both in Vietnam and back home in the States. It's not a part one would associate with any comedian -- Some Kind of Hero is, after all, a rather serious film -- but Pryor does the part justice, and then some. He injects some mild humor, yes, by taking some of the film's more touchy and serious moments and finding a bit of physical levity in the execution. Some key moments across the final act are particularly well done with a fine blend of the drama of a character at a serious crossroads and Pryor's ability to make the moment a little easier on the audience, though certainly not any easier on the character. It would be a different film without Pryor, but not necessarily a better film. He pulls off the dramatic requirements nicely, finding a satisfying depth to the man while keeping him, and his many plights, in line and accessible to the audience. His is a solid crossover performance that helps ease the audience into a film that, in other, and probably lesser hands, would have been much more blunt and difficult to watch. Essentially, Pryor injects a little warmth without sacrificing the story's serious side and core commentary.

Some Kind of Hero Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Some Kind of Hero's 1080p transfer isn't very impressive. The opening act, which takes place in Vietnam, offers a flat, dreary, modestly detailed image. Terrain, vegetation, clothing, and faces fail to find any sort of nuanced texturing, serving up basics only. Things pick up a bit back in the States where a brighter image and more colorful objects beyond the flat and dull army greens and natural vegetation allow for a somewhat more complex image where crisp military dress uniforms enjoy an uptick, albeit a mild one, in raw definition. Colors prove more robust but still lacking precision nuance and vibrance. Black levels are sloppy and darker scenes are prone to noise, so much, in fact, the screen buzzes blue. Flesh tones are pasty and flat. Wear and tear is evident throughout, heavy over the opening titles but still obvious and distracting for the duration.

Some Kind of Hero Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Some Kind of Hero arrives on Blu-ray with a pedestrian, but passable, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The presentation plays with a classic "phantom center" effect where the sides image the sound to the middle. There's barely any stretch back out towards the source, however, with everything seemingly crammed right in front of the listener. Dialogue is the key piece here, and definition and prioritization are fine. However, various bits of action in Vietnam fall flat, whether explosions or a cheap basketball bouncing off a dusty wooden floor. Music enjoys basic definition but lacks any sort of nuanced detailing. Some more potent Disco beats around the 56-minute mark offer a mild uptick in stage presence and clarity. On the whole, however, the track accomplishes nothing more than getting the audience through the movie as efficiently as possible.

Some Kind of Hero Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Some Kind of Hero contains no supplemental content.

Some Kind of Hero Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some Kind of Hero walks a tightrope between sobering character depth and accessible story. The film is serious in tone but a little lighter in execution, enjoying a fine balancing act performance from Richard Pryor who, rather than miscast as seems to be the case at first glance, brings a needed warmth and accessible bit of humanity to a part that's necessarily otherwise bleak. Pryor's performance never sacrifices the film's core dramatic qualities but instead often amplifies them with that humanity that makes the part, and the film, deeper than it would be were it played straight and far more sobering. Olive Films' Blu-ray release of Some Kind of Hero delivers bland video and audio. No extras are available. This is a solid film and worth a watch, but the Blu-ray is only worth a buy on a steep discount.