Hero (2004)

Very creative film.

This is a very artistically creative film. There is a great number of archetypal characterization and a soupcon of historical connection to the joining of the various Chinese states under a centralized Emperor. Jet Li, of course, brings a strong sense of emotional enactment into his role as the hero to put the Emperor on to his destiny. I highly recommend this. There are a few special features with this DVD, but it is worth it simply for the film. July 18, 2008

A rainbow-hued Rashomon

Zhang Yimou's "Hero" is probably one of the most visually beautiful and exquisitely filmed movies I have seen in many a year. Set in the third century BC during the unification of the seven kingdoms under the first Chinese emperor, the film stars Jet Li as a literally Nameless warrior who has supposedly vanquished the emperor's most fearsome enemies: Sky, played by Donnie Yen, Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk), and the previously undefeatable Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-wai).

Nameless is escorted into the divine presence as a hero, but after hearing his account of how he defeated these three foes, the emperor isn't buying any of it; he suspects Nameless fabricated the whole thing only to get within striking distance (ten paces) of the emperor himself in order to carry out an assassination plot. The story then divides itself into a Rashomon-like re-telling from various POVs, each one photographed with strikingly vivid color shifts -- a vibrant red, a pale blue, a pristine white, and a delicate, pale green. And then we see Reality, photographed against a background of lifeless desert mesas which seems to emphasize the futility of it all.

The most compelling characters in the film are Snow and Broken Sword -- she's a single-minded woman warrior with a take-no-prisoners mentality, and Broken Sword, her lover, is a warrior who has fought one fight too many and no longer believes that the sword is the only option to resolving conflicts. But Snow, like the true believer she is, loves her principles more than him, and the resulting confrontation between them is as inevitable as it is tragic.

The acting is excellent all around. Jet Li is an appealing and likeable hero (or is he an anti-hero?), and Tony Leung gives a totally convincing performance as Broken Sword. The cast is rounded out by the exquisitely beautiful Zhang Ziyi as Broken Sword's servant Moon, in love with her master and faithful to the end, and Chen Dao Ming as the emperor of Chin.

There are going to be endless comparisons between "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger", Ang Lee's masterpiece. Visually, "Hero" can hold its own against "Crouching Tiger" any day in the week. And yet, somehow, it doesn't grab you emotionally in the way "Crouching Tiger" does. "Hero" is gorgeous to look at and maybe that's its problem, it's so eye-popping to watch that the story doesn't measure up to its pure visual impact. Zhang doesn't do a "Rashomon" tale as brilliantly as the late, great Akira Kurosawa, and in this film he doesn't grip us as totally as Ang Lee, but he's delivered a movie that, at least to watch, is eminently satisfying.

Judy Lind July 12, 2008

Truly beautiful

This one of the most truly beautiful movies I have laid my eyes on. And not just from a visual feast, but the musical score by Tan Dun and epic storyline all together makes for a remarkable, unique combination. The clever use of different colours with the martial arts in different moods of the movie was breathtaking. Its one of those rare gems that can be watched many times and gives a cleansing effect to the soul. June 29, 2008

My favorite of the new martial arts flicks.

Crouching Tiger was awesome, this one is even better.
A superb story line, great acting, and excellent directing make Hero one of the best foreign films I have seen.
Beautiful to watch, the special effects are jaw dropping good.
Do yourself a favor and rent this, just make sure you watch it with the subtitles on as the English voiceovers are horrid.
Recommended!!!!!!
June 23, 2008

Overall, excellent movie

Complex storyline, engaging characters, beautiful cinematography, action galore, this is perhaps the best action movie ever made. LOVE the way color is used in this film to set the mood and establish points of view. June 18, 2008

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