Please don't spend money on this.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

HERO AND THE TERROR is a film with a fun beginning, involving a hilarious jail break and an excellent scene of a van flying down the side of a mountain in loving slow motion. Unfortunately, after all the action of the first half hour, the film unwisely slows down to a crawl to spend more time on unwanted characterisation and human relationships than thrills and chills. Now I know characterisation is important in movies in order to get the viewer to connect with the leads but not to this degree! Endless scenes show Norris and his screen wife wining, dining, talking, and eventually giving birth (the wife that is, not Norris... this isn't JUNIOR). Huh? Is there a reason we want to see all this? The "Terror" of the title is a hulking brute of a serial killer who likes to break the necks of his victims and collect the bodies in his hidden lair. Sadly the various stalk-and-snap sequences are handled poorly and with little suspense - a spooky shot of a pair of hands coming out of an air vent is as creepy as this film gets. Events plod on with slow police investigation which seemingly goes nowhere, and the film culminates in a poorly-handled battle between Norris and the villain which really isn't as exciting as it should be.It's a shame as the "Chuck Norris meets Friday the 13th" concept as many reviewers dubbed the movie on its release could have made for a very entertaining, action-packed movie, but what we're left with is a slow-paced and lifeless thriller devoid of thrills. What does a thriller without any thrills become anyway? Nothing, and that's the feeling you'll get from watching this movie. Not that you can blame Chuck Norris for the disappointment - he's actually quite good here, playing a sincere character, and makes for a strong lead. Likewise Norris has a good supporting cast of film veterans, including the underrated Steve James as the token black sidekick, and Billy Drago (later to become a popular villain in straight-to-video flicks) as a doctor. Jack O'Halloran has little to work with as the bad guy, and his lack of characterisation (we're told briefly that he was sexually abused by his mother, but the line is throwaway and doesn't really explain his character's psychology) hurts the film a lot. It's a shame as I believe he could have made a good job of it too.This is a film which desperately cries out for more action. Sure there are a few fun cheesy scenes of Norris using martial arts on various low-life villains at the beginning of the film but these have all dried out around the half-hour mark - and there's no further fighting until the very end. HERO AND THE TERROR is a just about passable viewing experience which will no doubt disappoint those looking for a good, entertaining time.

Norris gets a chance to stretch his acting abilities and show some real emotions like fear and doubt . Norris here doesn't play indestructible hero but an ordinary man who suffers psychological trauma and has to stop a dangerous serial killer. This is a pretty nice idea for a movie. Unfortunately Chuck simply doesn't have the acting skills to make this movie work.The script is also very thin . The villain's escape is rather laughable. The subplot with Norris girlfriend is just lame. Very little action and no real mystery either. There isn't a single scene that is memorable , almost everything that happens here is forgettable. The movie has got some slasher undertones . Still , I wouldn't recommend this movie to a horror fan , because it drags terribly and the climax is just poor and not worthy of viewer's patience. All the build up is wasted.Chuck doesn't do much here either in terms of acting or action . Steve James ("American ninja") is nice as his partner. Jack O'Halloran ("Superman 2") makes a decent serial killer because he looks menacing. Billy Drago ("The Untouchables") makes a surprise appearance as psychiatrist ( a rare thing for him , he almost always plays bad guys).This is simply another bad Chuck Norris movie. I admire that Chuck wanted to do something different this time , but this movie will probably disappoint even his biggest fans. I give it 1/10. Don't believe the positive reviews , it's not worth of your time.

"Hero and the Terror" is pretty good as Chuck Norris cinema goes. It's more along the lines of his 1982 vehicle "Silent Rage", as it's really more of a thriller than an action film; therefore, some fans may find it disappointing.Chuck doesn't do too much ass kicking this time around in this attempt to play a different sort of character, and to his credit he pulls it off, playing Danny O'Brien, a detective who earned the nickname "Hero" when he apprehended vicious serial killer Simon Moon, a.k.a. "The Terror" (boxer turned actor Jack O'Halloran, perfectly cast). Danny's always felt guilty about the subsequent praise as he knows what really happened is that he got lucky. Naturally, by the time this movie is over, he'll have realized that this is one demon he will have to exorcise, in order to deal with his nightmares.Brynn Thayer is foxy and feisty as his leading lady Kay (who was Danny's psychiatrist!), and the late, great Steve James is his usual charismatic self as Danny's colleague Bill; James simply steals the scenes whenever he's on screen. Also appearing are Ron O'Neal (Superfly is the mayor of L.A. in this thing!), Jeffrey Kramer of "Jaws" 1 and 2, Joe Guzaldo (who acted with Chuck in "Code of Silence"), Murphy Dunne of the Blues Brothers Band as the theatre manager, ravishing Playboy Playmate Karen Witter as Hollywood starlet Ginger, Tony DiBenedetto, and the always delicious Billy Drago, Chuck's nemesis in the second "Delta Force" movie, as a highly unlikely psychiatrist.The real-life Wiltern theatre makes for an impressive setting, and there is some decently done suspense in this thing. The music by David M. Frank fits the tone of the movie with its somber quality. Any and all action scenes are rather perfunctory. Still, Chuck and the cast & crew deserve some credit for doing something a little different; you don't see him in the position of actually being intimidated by his opponent too often, although, again, this might not sit will with some action fans watching.In any event, it's enjoyable stuff, with a screenplay co-written by former actor Michael Blodgett ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"), who does an uncredited bit in an extended restaurant scene.Eight out of 10.

This time Chuck Norris confronting an ominous psycho-killer . A sensible but two-fisted cop (Chuck Norris) and his tough helper (Steve James) pit a dangerous series killer who holds a supernatural force . The police named Danny O'Brien is back in action fighting the notorious psychotic Simon Moon (Jack O'Halloran) , also known as ¨The Terror¨ who murders his victims by twisting their necks . The monstrous and virtually indestructible man is a Frankestein-alike , acting similarly to Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers .This Chuck Norris vehicle contains action-packed , thrills , chills and lots of blood and violence . Chuck Norris demonstrates his qualities as an action hero on the fights against the largest-than-life murderous by means of punches , kicks , bounds and leaps . This is last film that Menahem Golan , from Cannon film company , produced with Chuck Norris . Large support cast formed by usual secondaries of the 80s such as Steve James , Jeffrey Kramer , Billy Drago , Branscome Richmond and Ron O'Neal as the Mayor . David Michael Frank's screeching musical score was composed by means of synthesizer . The motion picture was regularly directed by William Tannen . This horror-fighting-thriller is an inferior Norris film , in spite of it he was on his best period with hits such as ¨The Octagon¨ , ¨An eye for an eye¨ , ¨Forced vengeance¨ , ¨Lone Wolf MacQuade¨ , and ¨Missing in action¨ , among others . Rating : Below average but entertaining . The picture will appeal to Chuck Norris fans though results to be one of his inferior outings .