Director:
Zhang Yimou

Cast:
Jet Li
Maggie Cheung
Tony Leung
Donnie Yen

Official URL:

http://www.herothemovie.com

Country: USA
Rating: PG-13
Studio Name: Miramax Films
Running Time: 99 mins
Release Date: August 27, 2004

Critics's Rating:
(3 1/2 Reels) 

August 27, 2004

By Veronica Mixon

Hero is the most sumptuously photographed movie that you’ll ever see. This epic tale of a peasant warrior who gains an audience with the ambitious, bloodthirsty king of Qin (Chen Daoming) after dispatching three lethal assassins in the space of one week is a dazzling martial arts fantasy. Director Zhang Yimou has based Hero on actually historical events from the 3rd Century China and it is an intriguing tale.

Jet Li (Once Upon a Time in China and Romeo Must Die ) plays Nameless, the skilled martial arts warrior whose defeat of Long Sky (Donnie Yen Iron Monkey and the Oscar winning choreographer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wei Hard-Boiled) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man Yuk) surprises Qin who demands details of the confrontations. Once Nameless has entered the palace – he’s the first outsider to do so in ten years because of the threats against the king – he begins to tell his story. However, Qin isn’t so easily convinced and we begin to hear a Rashomôn like re-telling of the events. The meeting between Qin and Nameless is a battle of verbal wit and it is as lethal as the fierce battles between Nameless and the assassins. One lone man has advanced through a multitude of soldiers and sits ten feet from the King who wants to the first Emperor with only an eerie blanket of flicking candles that react with even the slightest change in emotion between them. Will Nameless leave the palace richly rewarded for his brave acts or will he be condemned?

Hero impresses us with its display of vivid colors – reds, violent blues and yellow – but it is difficult to know exactly what they stand for in this context. China’s martial arts and philosophy seem to be mixture of grace, elegance and violence. Thousands of identically dressed soldiers march upon a remote village firing thousands of arrows upon the innocent and unarmed. Just at the vivid colors and dancing costumes that billow in the wind captivate us, we also marvel at the uniform, unflinching calm of a group of calligraphy students who remain seated at their desks as thousands of piercing arrows rain down upon them.

Also, all to the martial arts fights are eye-popping as the warriors glide or leap into the air but the first deadly encounter between Nameless and Long Sky is truly awesome. While most of the movie’s exterior shots are very bright, these warriors meet in a darkened courtyard during a rainstorm. Their blades slice the individual raindrops and the pouring water from arcs and rooftops looks like a living painting. The battle is as sensuous as physical lovemaking. Popular actors Leung and Hong Kong mega-star Cheung reunite after their hit In the Mood for Love, and they’re a very sexy couple in this period piece. Their love is challenged not by Nameless but by Broken Sword’s change of heart. He’s sick of revenge and wants peace, and may or may not use his loyal pupil Moon (Zhang Ziyi) to distance himself from his lover.

To be fair, Hero isn’t a perfect film. Rashomôn is a classic film with an important psychological lesson that doesn’t exist here. The martial arts is excellent but the story gets muddled as several versions of the same events occur repeatedly and even the 99 minute length grows a little long. Nevertheless, Hero is still satisfying especially when you consider the influence of Chinese martial arts films has on world film. Martial Arts has replaced America’s western genre in the hearts of many film fans. Hero certainly measures up to any one of the other summer blockbuster hits this year!

to TOP