Bullet Points: Deadly Heroes (1993)
When Chris the Brain starts sending me YouTube links for movies starring Michael Paré, I take notice. I haven’t seen everything the man has done and it’s always been something of a 50/50 shot as to whether or not his movies will stink. That means I owe it to myself and the man to watch as many as I can to try and find the best of the bunch.
Synopsis: Former Navy SEAL Brad Cartowski is with his family at an airport in Europe when terrorists attack and take his wife hostage. Wounded, Brad must use his former contacts to find and rescue his wife while getting some sweet revenge on the terrorist bastards who made his life Hell.
- 21st Century Film Corporation: It might not carry the same type of weight that it once did but when I saw a film released under this title back in the day it was a big deal. Having Menahem Golan on board meant everything to us Cannon fans and it added something to a movie that most likely wouldn’t have the budget of a massive blockbuster.
- Mad Scientist: The film opens with a scientist introducing a bunch of henchmen to some weapons that he had created. They were plastic (Nerf guns?) firearms that could make it through metal detectors and allow them to carry them into the airport. It’s a wacky scene that felt like it came straight out of the 60’s Batman television series. Everyone is super over the top and it’s glorious!
- Oh Boy: Brad Cartowski (Paré ) and his family are at the airport when the shit goes down with the terries. His son is a big reason why the attack happens the way it does and he’s also among the worst child actors I’ve ever seen. Brad’s son gets grabbed by the terrorists and then is replaced by Brad’s wife. Brad, himself gets shot multiple times during the abduction and the terrorists eventually stroll out of the airport with hostages in tow.
- Billy Drago: He’s always a pleasure to see in action movie and most times it’s because you know he’s going to be a real bad guy. That’s what he’s always excelled at and it makes it all the more satisfying when he gets his comeuppance at the end.
- Things are not good: Paré’s wife Marcy (Claudette Mink) is under the very watchful eye of Jose Maria Carlos (Drago). He makes it very clear that he loves her breasts and while that is a terrible thing for her, it at least keeps her alive long enough for her hubby to get his act together and come rescue her. .
- Dynamic Duo: Paré gets paired up with Captain Cody Grant (Vincent). He was his old Commander when he was in the SEALs and he wants to take out Carlos more than anyone alive. They call in some more favors from other comrades in arms and by the end of the film, they have a sufficient number of resources to take on the mission.
- The Attack: The film goes at a pretty slow pace for most of the runtime. Things happen but it seems like the scenes drag without much direction. There are some chases early but they seem like they were probably pulled from another film and the editing suggests that none of the shots are very good anyways. That is kind of how most of this film is. There are moments that I liked but when it came to the action, it was lacking. Jan-Michael Vincent’s scenes are cut to hell and Paré doesn’t have that big bad to really push him to his limits. His wife Marcy also gets in on the action and there’s definitely a scene where he calls her a “cock-sucking whore”. That’s marriage, I guess.
The Verdict: Deadly Heroes is one of those Michael Paré movies that might be enjoyable for huge fans of his but be a total miss to your average action fan. I really appreciate Paré for what he was. His role in Streets of Fire is among my favorites and he’s had some other films like Killing Streets and Merchant of Death that kicked a lot of ass. The problem is that he’s also had a lot of duds and Deadly Heroes is probably closer to the dud category and the badass one. He gets a few opportunities to show his action chops but spends a large part of the runtime running around and not being the focus of the film. To me, it’s a middling effort by a man that I really respect but it’s not a total waste. Jan-Michael Vincent is great and Billy Drago always brings that same level of weirdness to a villain role. You can stream it for free on Youtube and if you’re a fan of Paré then this is a pretty decent way to spend an evening at home.
