SummaryA Vietnam vet (Richard Pryor) returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.
Directed By:Michael Pressman
Written By:Robert Boris, James Kirkwood Jr.
Some Kind of Hero
Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
User score
Generally Favorable
6.5
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
80
A very engaging, loose-limbed sort of comedy. It's written, directed and acted with amiability, which doesn't disguise the bitterness immediately beneath the surface but, like Eddie himself, absorbs it.
75
Richard Pryor's assured tragicomic performance is so engaging that this otherwise forgettable film is not only worth watching, but often compelling.
70
A smooth and agreeable entertainment, Hero is easy to enjoy while you're watching it. But ultimately it adds up to far less than you hope for at the outset. [3 Apr 1982, p.C1]
70
A minor but infinitely more appealing comedy vehicle for Pryor than the earlier "Stir Crazy"...An amiable but hardly memorable two-against-the-world farce that can't quite persuade you Pryor's talents are being properly used.
63
It's obvious Some Kind Of Hero was never meant to be more than what it is - a cute "uplifting" comedy - but Pryor's performance pushes your expectations. It makes you wish someone would give him an honest dramatic part, and that he could work with a director who wouldn't let him get away with his transparent heart-tugging tricks. Director Michael Pressman has a good touch with his actors, but falters structurally to accommodate Kirkwood's script. [3 Apr 1982]
63
There's also nothing here that has much to do with what makes Prior such a powerful artist. [2 Apr 1982, p.3-6]
60
This is funny? Yes, as Pryor does it--not as knee-slapping farce, mind you, but as the painful comedy of endured humiliation of which he is the master... But it's high time Pryor stopped redeeming badly made movies and surrounded himself with talents equal to his own. [12 Apr 1982, p.87]
User score
Generally Favorable
6.5
25% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
75% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Feb 21, 2025
6
Movie is watchable, Alot more serious Richard Pryor movie, The comedic episodes are amusing, but not laugh out funny, One of Pryors better performances, You can feel his anger and fustration of spending 5 years in North Vietnam prison, then getting shafted at home by the military and personally, And when pushed too far, takes extreme illegal action, Set in mid 70s but no attempt was made to recreate the era look, The cars, fashion, etc, all looks very early 1980s
