Hero

Review By: Tom Herrmann
TomHerrmann@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: B+
DVD Features Grade: A-
Overall Grade: A-

Well this is a change of pace if there ever was one. It isn’t every day that a Japanese martial arts film makes its way to American theaters. It isn’t something that is unheard of, especially after Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’s massive popularity in 2000. Japanese culture has found itself popularized in America in different ways; whether it be through film, anime cartoons, food, or anything else. Aside form certain film, and obviously the food, I personally have never been a fan of this cultural melding.

The film takes place in ancient China where a nameless man (Jet Li) is being taken to the palace of the most powerful ruler in China at that time King Qin (Chen Daoming). Nameless is called to the palace to tell Qin the story of how he defeated three of his deadly enemies; Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Sky (Donnie Yen). When Nameless’ story comes to an end, Qin is left in disbelief due to his former encounters with the three men: Nameless’ story did not match their characters.

The story of the film is very interesting because it is al told through three sets of flashbacks. The initial story told by Nameless, the interpretation told by Qin, and finally the actually events revealed by Nameless after Qin dismisses his lies. We see these three battles played out in all different forms, as well as getting totally different emotional reactions and characterizations of the individuals in battle. The three different interpretations are illustrated by the dominance of one specific color. Nameless’ fabricated story is dominated by red, Qin’s interpretation by blue, and the actual events by white; creating a cinematically beautiful display for all of the battles.

The aesthetics of the film are without a doubt the most notable things about the film. Though the supernatural martial arts scenes are entertaining, they are too outlandish. This is obviously the point because of the outrageous things that go on and it is traditional for Japanese cinema to have these superhuman qualities to them, but it is a convention that is lost on me. Just like the famous Crouching Tiger sequence of characters running across tree tops, Hero features characters walking on water, floating in the air, and avoiding arrows be twirling right into their path. Not to slander the genre because it has something to offer, but it isn’t something of my interest.

Close Up of a Fight Scene is a detailed look at the battle between Jet Li and Donnie Yen. It was interesting to watch, but it could have been better if it went into the details of the other, more complex battles of the film. Defining Hero was a feature about eh creation of the film with director Zhang Yimou. The feature is awkwardly delivered because there is a narrator that did not fit the feature very ...