Hero
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.64 You Save: $10.35 (69%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.03 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Hero
Movie Review: rebuttal to JUSTAREADER & Other Naysayers
Summary: 5 Stars
Western movie studios like to spoonfeed the story to the audience and have an ending that provides closure. Asian movies tend to be more ambigious & leave the conclusion more open-ended to allow the audience to walk away "thinking" about the consequences of the actions of the movie characters.The wire kung fu is meant to be an expression of the inner turmoils that play within the character's heart and mind. Suspending your belief in reality would have to take place to accept the incredibly artistic fight scenes in this movie or just about every other action movie ever made like Spiderman or ID4. At least enjoy the beautiful camera work and use of colors in this movie instead of thinking about "too many pretentious but self-indulgent thought-to-be poetically beautified scenes".
The "peking opera styled slow talking dialogue" is used effectively in my opinion. JUSTAREADER may not be a fan of this type of dialog but everybody has their own opinion.
Zhang Yimou used the story of the Qin Emperor only as an outlet much like Passions of the Christ. Many will not agree with the portrayal of the Qin Emperor in Hero or the portrayal of Christ in Passions but it made its point.
I agree that the Qin Emperor is not as "benevolent" as Hero suggests but this is a fictional story meant to convey the conflicts of the characters - the sacrifices made for self and country and the eternal question "does the ends justify the means"?
Boring movies don't move the audience and just passes 2 hours of their lives. It's the reaction I get after attempting to watch Dreamcatcher, Road Trip, or Day After Tommorrow.
Great movies provoke a reaction from the audience. This is a great movie with great visuals and cinematography. It got a reaction out of the "love it" and "hate it" camp! It wasn't a simple "love it" or "hate it" review.
Some of the best movies and music are derivatives of others. Example: Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith just borrowed from the blues and garage rock; Hero borrows from Rashomon; the list can go on and on forever. So to call Hero an unoriginal movie is an oxymoron because every movie copies from earlier movies.
Not all westerners are "simple-minded". People who just want simple Kung Fu movie or action movie with no plot will be bored to death and will find the movie "too complicated for westerners." For those of us who want something more than movies like Garfield or Starsky & Hutch will more than likely enjoy Hero.
Movie Review: really well done
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw only the american dvd version of this movie. I'm interested in finding an import version, based on some reviews here which say the quality there is superior, but this review doesnt include those.
I thought the cinematography was beautiful. i also may have a new favorite movie director. this fact is noted in other reviews, but i'd like to clarify that the visual beauty is in no way gratuitous, but is integral to shape of the movie, much like in the movie Amelie, and a few other foreign films. the way all the seperate elements in this movie were so meaningful to the shape of the whole is most impressive, and is seen in an american movie maybe once a decade.
the storyline, being the attempt on the first chinese emperor's life, is based in history, and there are in fact many chinese movies that deal with this. however, the story is not (of course) to be taken literally, but is a vehicle for the authors inquiry into what constitutes nobility, what is the essence of virtue, what is loyalty, and the truly difficult and complex task of determining where your loyalty ultimately lies. There's an interview with Jet Li on the dvd in which he states that he's been waiting for a roll like this for a very long time. All the main characters are heroes in a sense, and the director lets none of them off the hook in the decisions they must make. this is not remotely similar to the american definition of hero, which is basically just a "good" guy who kills all the "bad" guys and gets to fornicate with a invariably beautiful damsel in distress along the way a la the american version of a "love" story. this is relatively heavy moral stuff. luckily, due to the skill of all those involved in making this movie, it is not a burden, but a joy to watch. once it starts, you wont be able to turn away from the screen.
there is some action, (the most visually stunning scenes by far,) but it is neither gratuitous nor overly abundant. it resides in the mythical realm of spirit and dream, and deepens the impact of the whole movie. if you want a whole package experience, i definitely recommend this. if you want to watch an ultra-cool, ultra-macho comic book hero (minus the depth of character present in a comic book,) mindlessly slash nameless villians to a meaningless dance track, while single-handedly keeping the leather industry in buisness, watch a Blade mov
Movie Review: A Festival of Color, A Fractured Narrative, Spectacle
Summary: 5 Stars
Hero is spectacle. Cleverly crafted around 3rd Century B.C., when China is separated into seven warring kingdoms. The Kingdom of Qin is the most resolute of all, its ambitious King (Chen Daoming) fixated on uniting China and becoming its first emperor. Reminiscent of The Emperor and the Assassin (also available on Amazon.com), Hero brings a different flavor to the mix. In this rendition there are three assassins that conspire to assassinate the budding Emperor. The King of Qin lives with everyone at entire kingdom hall lengths, as he is the target of some of the most famous assassins including: Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Sky (Donnie Yen). The King offers a `kings ransom' rid him of the threat of the three assassins. Out of the woodworks comes Nameless (Jet Li) who mysteriously is able to do what no one in the past has - kill all three assassins. Out of the success in defeating all the King's enemies, Nameless is granted an audience with the King, to explain is success. The King listens patiently to Nameless' rendition of the story while the King remains cynical and eventually comes out with his own version of the story. Interesting... Hero is nothing short of a cinematic triumph. There is the inevitable comparison to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - primarily because of the union between the two via Zhang Ziyi - who in this movie plays Moon. Folks should be looking at the foreshadowing of Hero by Zhang Yimou through Ju Do (also available on Amazon.com) - where the exquisite use of color, lighting, and fabric is similar. Closer look at the movie will reveal that each section, set of scenes is color themed - lots of fundamental colors - lots of black, red, and brown. In the fight scene between Flying Snow and Moon, in marked distinction from their environment the anachronistic red robes are in stark contrast to the background of a yellow and browns of the forest. Zhang Yimou brings a wide range of experience from his early work to the mix - in films like Ju Do to create Hero and deserves an Academy Award nomination, at least. Hero is one of those movies that one does not tire seeing over and over again. The fractured narrative almost compels you to do so. Moreover, while one misses the spectacle and color because one is trying to get a grip on the story line - everyone needs a home copy to review.
Miguel Llora
Movie Review: Celebrating the beauty of filmmaking
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know where to begin with Hero, in all honesty. When I walked into the theatre to see Hero, I was thinking two things: 1) This movie is going to be awesome, and 2) I hope it shows some sort of individuality (critics said it was too similar to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Hero delivered on both of those notes. I can't stress enough that the point of the movie is not to show people flying around and shielding arrows with silk dresses, that is just part of the overall effect. The point of the movie is 'visual poetry'. If you could imagine watching your favorite poem, it would be in the form of Hero.
Beside that, the movie itself is absolutely amazing. The fight scenes will leave you breathless. There is not a moment when you will ask yourself "Why did the director do that?" Some memorable fight scenes are: 'The Fabricated Showdown' between Nameless and Sky, 'Falling Leaves' between Snow and Moon, 'Green Sheets' between Broken Sword and the King, 'Walking on Water' between Nameless and Broken Sword, and 'Library Encounter' between Nameless and Snow against Broken Sword and Moon. Each of these scenes encorporates a different color into it to show the emotions in the fighters. For example, 'Green Sheets' is represented by green, displaying the greed and selfishness of Broken Sword. 'Falling Leaves' is represented by orange for rage, followed by the transition to red, representing the lust and love both women had for Broken Sword.
The plot is very simple yet very powerful: a Qin warrior who goes by Nameless has recently killed the three most feared assassins in all of China: Sky, Broken Sword, and Snow. As a reward, the King invites Nameless to drink within ten feet of him, the closest anyone has been allowed to come within the king since the assassination attempt on him three years before. While Nameless recalls the story of how he was able to kill the three assassins as so many tried to do previously, the king devises his own theory as to what really happened. When the truth comes out, it seems as if nobody is safe, not even those who have died.
Hero is an action packed thrill ride, but ultimately it recalls the unbreakable love between man and country. Through tragedies and thriumphs, intimacy and heartbreak, the love from each of the characters can be seen to that of "Our Land".
Movie Review: The Best Movie Of 2003!
Summary: 5 Stars
Zhang Yimou's films are like the "perfect woman". They're beautiful to look at and intelligent. I've been reading that people have been comparing this film to Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". People who compare this film to Lee's film, are not very educated in foreign films. And I don't say this to sound like a snob. "Hero" is similar to Chen Kaige's "The Emperor & the Assassin". The story-line follows the same time in history. And to be honest both film are masterpieces. But, I admit as I watched this film in it's opening moments I thought to myself that "Hero" seems to lack something "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Emperor & the Assassin" had. This film doesn't seem as majestic as either. Also the fight scenes don't seem as amazing as those in Lee's film. But, Zhang Yimou's film possess other qualities that make this film just as impressive. Yimou's film's are always heartfelt and emotional. There is such passion in his films. "Hero" is such an impressive movie. It's just as touching as Yimou's other masterpieces like "Raise the Red Lantern", "To Live" & "The Road Home".
The story revolves around a warrior named "nameless" (played by Jet Li). He has managed to kill three of the King's most feared assassins. And now has been rewarded by meeting the king. King, intrigued to discover how one man could have achieved such a feat, ask him to tell him the story of how he accomplished this. "Nameless" tells his story of how he was able to deceit the three of them. But, soon something unexpected happens in this movie, and this is when the movie had me hooked. And soon we are asked to question ourselves as to what is true. And soon we are thinking of another classic foreign film. Kurosawa's "Rashomon".
"Hero" has so many hearfelt moments in it that we gladly give our emotions to the characters. The movie's ultimate message, without spoiling the film for you, is about peace. Here once again Zhang Yimou has made a bold, beautiful, tender film that all should be able to enjoy. I haven't seen many movies so far this year, but, I doubt I'll be able to see a better film than this one.
Bottom-line: Might not have the gradeur of films like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Emperor & the Assassin", but, it makes up for it with it's emotional impact and Yimou's strong directing. So far, the year's best film!