Hero
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Movie Reviews of Hero
Movie Review: The Best Summer Film of 2004
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw "Hero" twice on its opening weekend in the states, and made sure to purchase a copy as soon as it was legally available. That's how strongly the film affected me. I was prepared to like it because I'd seen and enjoyed many films the cast (especially Jet Li) starred in. Yet, I was surprised at how much I loved the film. The fight scenes are stunningly choreographed, the cinematography is beautifully surreal, and the film's moral is an Eastern message undiluted for Western consumption. No single actor or artist involved with this film can truly be singled out for praise; "Hero" is a group effort and uniformly good.
I won't discuss the plot, because I do not want to spoil any of this movie for anyone. Suffice to say, this is a serious movie set in Ancient China. Do not watch this DVD hoping for Jackie Chan-style hijinks or you will be disappointed. Despite its many excellent action sequences this is not a standard action movie - every act of violence in this film, no matter how stylized, has a purpose and a consequence. Coming at the end of a summer with one thinly disguised superhero movie masqueraded as an action film after another, "Hero" was the payoff I'd been waiting all summer to see.
The extras on the DVD are minimal but worthwhile. There's a short documentary, some storyboards, and the option to view the film in English or French rather than Mandarin Chinese. (Those of you who hate subtitles will appreciate this.) There's also a nice, short conversation between Jet Li and Quentin Tarantino. It was Tarantino who lent his name to the film so that Miramax could release "Hero" theatrically in the US and not dubbed, hacked, and direct-to-DVD. I'm no Tarantino fan, but after the good he did helping "Hero" find an American audience, I'd do him a favor anytime.
Movie Review: "One Of The Best Films Ever"
Summary: 5 Stars
I started off my day watching "Spider Man", cause I was in that mood to see "Spider Man 2" again, but I decided to see "HERO". Besides I've been waiting for this film sense 2002 when the Academy nominated it for Best Foreign Film. My mother and I wanted see it, because we thought it was going to be another martial arts film. And I bet that's the way the rest of America felt.
I was thinking "Okay another Jet Li film, nothing to worry about, I mean think about it. "Lethal Weapons 4", "Black Mask", I mean Jet Li hasn't done good movies. Man was I WRONG. This film is probably the best film of the year. The colors of the characters clothes tell us which story is real or fake. The story is told from more than one point of view. You can't tell which story is real until the ending, an ending that I will not spoil.
The fight scenes are the best I've seen sense "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Infact this film is better than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the fight scenes is the story beneath the story, not like "The Matrix Trilogy" that has mindless, mindless action and not enough dialogue.
I'm not going to spoil anything about this film. I will always see why people would say "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is way better than "Hero", I mean that film was a milestone in martial arts, but "Hero" is done in a different way, a better way. This film is so beautiful its scary. I almost threw up seeing the beauty of this film, I wanted to pause the film so I can contemplate on what I just saw. Of course I'm still wondering which story was real or fake, but that's just a minor flaw. I LOVE THIS FILM.
P.S. I forgot to give credit to Zhang Yimou and Zhang Ziyi. Yimou, you are one of the best directors in the business. Ziyi, you are a great actress.
Movie Review: Complexity of ideas as well as an epic extravaganza
Summary: 5 Stars
This 2002 Chinese movie is an epic extravaganza in the best action film tradition. It is much more than that, however, as it was conceived with a bigger purpose in mind. It is not just about the swordplay. It is about just what it takes to be a hero. There are themes of love, vengeance and redemption as well as personal dramas inside of all the action. This is the most expensive Chinese film ever made and I understand the Chinese army itself is cast as the extras. It was filmed in a remote area of China where it was very windy. And the scenes all reflect this. For example there is one action scene with two women engaged in swordplay where golden leaves are blowing all around.
The plot seems simple at first. A swordsman is being honored for conquering a king's enemies. But as the story unfolds, it is much more complicated than that and we see the same story told over again from several different points of view. Each time our understanding of it deepens. And although it is not realistic and could never quite happen this way (especially the choreographed action scenes) the theme is universal even though the plot is a little hard to follow.
I have nothing but accolades for the people who brought this to America. I understand that Quentin Tarantino was involved in this project. He's seen in one of the extras on the DVD in an interview with the star, Jet Li. There's also an excellent extra about the director, Zhang Yimou, which really enhanced my appreciation of the film I had just viewed and kept me up long after my bedtime just to relish every moment of it.
I loved this film and give it a high recommendation. It might not be for everybody. But those who appreciate the art of filmmaking and the complexity of ideas will love it.
Movie Review: An intimate epic
Summary: 5 Stars
"Hero" is a very ambitious film, attempting to combine quiet introspective philosophy with visually stunning action and pageantry. It is like an intimate epic. The scope is grand to say the least, with full armies on the march as well as intense and magical personal duels, all of which serves as decoration to the Buddhist philosophy being put forward.It is very beautiful, and this is probably the first thing to be noticed. The various elements, actors, scenery and colors all combine to create a visual splendor. It is a very painterly movie, a feast for the eyes. Specifically, color is used to create moods and to differentiate the various storylines. If the visuals are painterly, then the Martial Arts are dancerly, along the same line as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," to which inevitable comparisons must be drawn. The actors are equally beautiful as well, and "Hero, truly a feast for the eyes, could probably be enjoyed in this manner, without any dialog.
Storywise, it is a variation on the familiar "Rashomon" theme of "what is the truth?" The same story is told and re-told, each time moving closer to the purity of truth, and with truth comes enlightenment. This is an intimate tale, a quiet verbal duel between an Emperor, so fearsome and lonely than no human can approach within one hundred paces of him, and a nameless subject, who might just be a true hero. Between them, a story is told of epic engagements, artists and warriors, and what is actually worth fighting and dying for.
I won't spoil too much of the story, as part of "Hero's" strength and insight lies in discovery. That is not to say that it is full of surprises and twist endings, but rather that, like all Buddhist insight, the answer of the movies riddle lies as much in the viewer as in the actors.
Movie Review: dignified & beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
i loved this movie. I'm sure everyone's already raved about the cinematography and beautiful scenes and colors etc. I agree with them.
But I also personally liked it because I identified with the culture somewhat. I hate those kitchy movies involving "the Orient" from a Western perspective that make it all look stupid and stereotypical and all about yelling martial arts people who don't speak good English. You know, like Shanghai Knights or whatever. That type of movie annoys me a lot, because it has no empathy, and makes Chinese culture look like a superficial exotified stereotype from a Western context. But this movie was wonderful in the dignity of the characters, because the story about the Chinese characters was made from a Chinese perspective and context, and therefore knew what it was talking about, and therefore also had depth and true empathy. That made it beautiful. Like...Jet Li in Hero vs. Jet Li in Unleashed. In Hero, he is in his own language/element and you really see the true magnitude of his ability and dignity and character. In an American movie like Unleashed (based on the trailer), he's an ANIMAL for crying out loud, and you just notice his broken English and just his typical martial arts fighting skills, and he's just a novelty to be toyed with. See the difference?
So in short, I loved Hero because it seemed more genuine and had true dignity and gravity and was just beautiful overall, and though it had awesome fights in it, it wasn't ONLY about the fight scenes. I felt like I really identified with and understood the types of dialogues that happened in the movie. Very genuine and beautiful in all senses of the word.
I guess this review was sort of irrelevant to most people, but I just had to get that out :)