Hero Reviews

There have been comparisons to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, these comparisons are perhaps inevitable, some say Crouching Tiger is superior, some say this is superior. I am not going to say which I prefer, both are masterpieces in their own way. The story is very gripping and diverting. While there are the underlying themes of love, betrayal and loyalty, there is one big theme that is explored very well even if a tad surprising, the defence of totalitarianism against the chaos and insecurities of freedom. As good as Jet Li is, as thoughtful the script is, as haunting the music is, as intriguing the characters are and as fine the direction is, it is the visuals and choreographed sequences that make the film. The cinematography is ravishingly gorgeous and the scenery is stunning with each scene more beautiful and inventive than the one before it, and in terms of effective scenes the highlights in my view are the battles in the rain-drenched chess arena and autumnal forest and the midair sword fight above a crystal lake. In conclusion, a beautiful and memorable film and one of the best of its kine. 10/10 Bethany Cox

To be honest, nowadays, I don’t watch many Asian movies and that’s a real shame because some of them are truly awesome and much better than most of the garbage I usually watch. This flick is probably one of the last Asian flicks that I have seen that truly blew me away. Recently, I have re-watched it with my step-son. Honestly, I don't know why but I thought it could be a fun movie to watch with him. Eventually, I'm afraid he wished there were more fighting scenes and I think the poor fellow was rather bored by the whole thing. Anyway, just like the previous times I watched it, I really loved it. To be honest, I'm not big fan of Jet Li and this movie is probably the only one he made that I really enjoyed. Basically, the story was really entertaining but, most of all, it has to be one of the most gorgeous movies I have ever seen. Indeed, every single scene was basically a beautiful canvas and the whole movie was an impressive combination of sword fighting, music, calligraphy, conspiracies and love intrigues. It also reminded me of another great Asian movie, 'Rashomon', in the way that the same events are showed from 3 different perspectives. To conclude, I loved this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Asian movies.

Hero is without a doubt one of the most visually striking film I've seen in a long time. Imagine Crouching Tiger as a Kodak film commercial and you've only begun to do it justice. As a good friend put it, you could take a still frame from nearly anywhere in the film and hang it on the wall. No one would question its beauty. Just as sublime is the story, a welcome retreat to the good ol' days of honor, sacrifice, discipline, vengence, and the high arts. We watch the events of the story unfold from three perspectives, each arriving closer to truth and revelation than the last, until the final telling reveals the spirit of the film, similar to the effect of a haiku. While this lends a poetic charm to the film and succeeds in providing a gratifying sort of philosophy-in-process, this approach does burden (if only slightly) the movie with an episodic feel. We're left to ask ourselves how much of a stronger emotional plane could have been achieved if the whole (un)reliable narrative question had never been raised. As a whole Hero, while very good, never quite reaches greatness, in part due to its rather elementery (gimmicky?) story construction. We don't move with the characters in any steady direction long enough to grant them our full emotional attachment. Consequently, the Qin king emerges as the richest, most truly human character, despite the fact that he doesn't physically move an inch (well, more than a few feet anyway) throughout the entire film. The rest engage in dramatic fight scenes and roam country sides, but their journeys are their own, never fully ours. The end result is a beautiful, entertaining, serious, and noble film that doesn't fully engage.

''My decision will cause the deaths of many and Your Majesty will live on. A dead man begs you to remember; a warrior's ultimate act is to lay down his sword.''

A series of Rashomon-like flashback accounts shape the story of how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.

Jet Li: Nameless

Hero is an absolutely beautiful film, and quite possibly Jet Li's best film to date, with an engrossing story and top notch performances.



All the characters are fantastic, and the fight scenes are very well done, plus Jet Li is simply exquisite!. Characters are extremely faceted and pose depth and honour, and the scenery is completely drenched in stunning beauty.
Hero at times, was a hard film to follow at times but helped by the different shades of colour used in each section or different version of a story told. There is only one true version and it's interesting to see the parallel paths told in rich reds and greens and blues.
I was stunned by the story, and really liked how it all plays out, plus the cinematography defies perfection!

The wire work is also very good, and I especially loved the battle on the water, Jet and Donnie Yen had a fantastic meaningful battle at the humble beginnings.
I thought it was especially cool when they shot hundreds of arrows at the same time also reducing the speed to slow mo, something that movies reminiscent of 300, later after Hero copied in Western cinema.
The music also tantalizes as incredible, adding to the emotion and raw epicness of Hero.

Hero ia quite unpredictable, and it's wonderfully arty as well, plus I can see why this film has become so undeniably popular. Hero is an absolutely beauty of a film, with an engrossing story and top notch acting.
The Direction is wonderful!. Yimou Zhang does splendidly wonderful!
Here with outstanding camera work,wicked angles, great use of vibrant colours, awesome shots, and just keeping the film at an extremely engrossing high speed pace.

Jet Li is amazing as always and is amazing here, he had this intense stare look on his face throughout that really worked, and gives one of his finest performances. Tony Leung Chiu Wai is fantastic as Broken Sword, he was really likable, had some good lines.
Maggie Cheung is gorgeous and does excellent here as Flying Snow, she had some great emotional scenes with Tony Leung, had a cool character, and even though she was unlikable at times, she did an excellent job overall.
Ziyi Zhang is incredibly gorgeous, and does fine with what she had to do as Moon, I really liked her.
Daoming Chen does what he has to do well as the King, I liked him.
Donnie Yen is fantastic as always, and showed off his great martial art skills.

Yimou Zhang whom also did the elegant and beautiful House Of Flying Daggers, proves what a talented and respective visionary director he truly is, with his effortlessly, meaningful, and artistic laden Hero mastery piece.

"How swift thy sword."

This reviewer has never been a fan of Asian cinema, and Hero is a film that further solidifies my neutral attitude towards film exports from Asian countries.

The film is seemingly inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. Like Akira's film, I found Hero to suffer from the same flaws. First of all, the filmmakers poorly distinguish what is occurring on the screen. The script is filled with convoluted lines of dialogue that don't appear to advance the plot very much at all. The movie appeared to be a random selection of action scenes that don't make a lick of sense. Even when I paid 100% attention I was frustrated at the film's difficult nature. Some say it's just the nature of the Asian filmmakers. If this is the case then I'd take a Hollywood film over an Asian production any day.

The script underwent extensive rewrites over the course of several months during pre-production. Makes me wonder why the script was nothing more than cryptic dialogue that didn't make any sense at all in the long run. Maybe it will improve with repeated screenings.

Hero is also an incredibly boring film. I generally appreciate slow paced films; I just prefer them when I can understand what is going on. Perhaps it's my maturity or taste in films, but even mindless action films are easier to understand and hence better quality. All in all, with such a convoluted script this was a wasted opportunity. If the script was dropped into Hollywood's lap there would have been some discernable dialogue.

Set in ancient China, Hero tells the story of a nameless warrior (Li) who has been tracking three assassins who have threatened the life of the king on several occasions. When news reaches the palace that the warrior has defeated all the assassins he is summoned before the king to tell his tale. This plot comes from reading the back cover because I didn't pick up any plot at all.

If a character is telling his story why can't there be more narration to remind the audience what is happening? I was none the wiser until I read the back cover of the DVD I rented. You know there's a problem when absolutely no lines of dialogue make sense, even during action scenes.

Fortunately the film's limited list of redeeming features includes the action scenes. Now these were dazzling and a real visual feast. But they weren't without issues: slow motion does not look cool in my eyes. At all! It looks contrived and distracting. With the film stocking a good supply of slow motion shots I was not happy. Still, the moves are very impressive at times. Another thing about the action scenes: some of the moves are just far too over-the-top. Fighting while hovering over water? Maybe enthusiasts of Asian cinema will find something that makes sense during those scenes. Some of the action is obvious wire-work and it's infinitely distracting!

The cinematography, locations, production design, props and costumes all look gorgeous. For the most part I was impressed with the visuals as the film is overflowing with colourful imagery.

Hero is a typical piece of fluffy cinema courtesy of Asian filmmakers. If you like the works of Akira Kurosawa or films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon then I'm sure you'll be enthralled. Hero is strictly for those who are fans of the genre. The film is convoluted, confusing, poorly written but executed impressively. I can't stress that enough.