Maybe he slept a little bit through the first 80 minutes, hence the climax appeared less "shocking" to him .
I don't know. I'd say it is not a favorite of him, for whatever reasons.
Whenever I saw the film with an audience, the main part of the crowd
got it 100%. And why does he need a hero ?? In 35 years I never
thought of it that way. Maybe it's an American thing, that need for heroes
and story etc. etc. Thanks God for the 60s and 70s with all those wonderful unique films that didn't care for that.