Hero and the Terror – 1988 – a Chuck Norris Gem

I remember when this came out. It was something special and it was mentioned in movie mags I was reading at the time. This was not an ordinary Chuck Norris film. It wasn’t just filled with action, karate kicks and machine gun fire. In Hero and the Terror Chuck Norris breaks down and even faints. He shows himself vulnerable to pressure. Something, according to the magazine never had happened before.

Well, I don’t know. I haven’t seen all Chuck Norris flicks prior to this but my best guess is that the magazine was more or less right! Maybe that’s why this is still a very cool flick. It has aged well which is not often the case with action thrillers from this period. I feel that they often feel too outdated.

Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme have often been accused of being less than good actors. And of course, neither of them will get any rewards for their acting but there’s nothing wrong with Chuck Norris acting in Hero and the Terror. I think he does a good job in this atypical film.

The story revolves about this past meeting between the Hero which is Chuck and the criminal (the terror). This is where the drama lies. The hero’s fear of meeting his enemy and antagonist once again. This is of course inevitable. The two will meet and you know who will win the fight between them too. There’s lots of clichés. But they are fun and charming and I don’t think something like this could even be made today. At least it wouldn’t be successful.

But I still like this movie. I haven’t seen it since it came out in the late eighties and didn’t remember much. It was great fun and I you highly recommend this as a nostalgic trip if nothing else. A really cool movie that shouldn’t be forgotten.