In a distant war torn land, a ruthless emperor is rising to power with an iron fist and massive armies. To control everything, he will stop at nothing. A fearless warrior, Nameless, goes on a mission of revenge, against the emperor, for the massacre of his people.
I wouldn't have missed this spectacle for the world, and neither should you -- despite an admitted quirk in my political sensibility in these contentious times that keeps me from admiring the film wholeheartedly.
So deliriously chockablock with high-flying, color-coordinated fight scenes that non-aficionados may find it all a bit bewildering -- a gorgeous abstraction. It sure is gorgeous, though, and it has a dream cast.
If martial arts movies have always seemed like musicals with full body contact, Zhang Yimou's Hero is the closest the form has yet come to a full-blown Vincente Minnelli MGM extravaganza.
When we are not left agog by the pristine production design and costuming, we marvel at the various staged conflicts, each one bringing a new level of proficiency and polish to an already overripe genre.
A lone warrior enters the palace of his emperor and tells the tale of how he defeated the three most feared assassins in the land. The most obviously striking element of Hero is its sheer visual beauty as it is packed to brimming with stunning costumes, colours and sets and uses the same kind of graceful wirework that
we encountered in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The fight choreography is also beautifully executed making for a very poetic martial arts film. Although clearly languishing in the back seat of Zhang Yimou's concept, the plot is actually a rather interesting hybrid of Rashomon and The Usual Suspects which adds a different twist to the usual "heroic warriors making noble sacrifices" formula of this type of thing. Because Zhang is so concerned with the visuals, the flashback format does mean that we don't really get enough time to get to know the protagonists which means there's little in the way of emotional involvement but as a sheer visual spectacle, Hero is second to none.
October 20, 2006
xGary Xx
Super Reviewer
Inspired by the assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC, Hero is a visual, emotional, social, and political triumph that overwhelmingly marvels with rhythmic movements, metrical narrative, and picturesque cinematography amplified by a palette of contrasting colors. Overwhelming.
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