The Film Stage by Dan Mecca

The cancer-diagnosis plot device is certainly well-worn and can often be viciously maudlin, but Haley does well in utilizing it as a means to work on something a bit more nuanced.

The Playlist by Katie Walsh

The Hero feels looser, more abstract, and more symbolically ambitious than the winsome “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” and at times you wish for a bit more narrative rigor. But it’s nonetheless a resonant depiction of a man fearlessly reckoning with his life, his image and, most importantly, his heart.

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

This film belongs to its star.

Rolling Stone by David Fear

It's not perfect, but it is a gift to Sam Elliott – and to us.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

In The Hero, as elsewhere, Haley really is dealing with the subject of heroism, but the kind of heroism not usually found in movies, the heroism of daily life.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Like Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart," this is an opportunity for a sometimes-underrated actor (Elliott has never been nominated for an Oscar) to show his range and capabilities.

Chicago Sun-Times by Richard Roeper

Thanks in large part to Elliott (and Offerman and Prepon and Ritter, among others), The Hero survives some bumpy, well-worn clichés.

The Seattle Times by Moira Macdonald

It plants its gaze on Lee — and on Elliott, who takes The Hero in his hands and makes something quietly moving from it.

The Hollywood Reporter by Jon Frosch

Luckily, Elliott succeeds in pulling you into Lee's emotional orbit and holding you there even when the movie falters.

Time by Stephanie Zacharek

Director Brett Haley, who co-wrote the script with Marc Basch, brings enough understated sympathy to Lee's character to make the picture work--it throws off a gentle, sweet-spirited energy.