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Plot:
The Qin King has long been obsessed with conquering all of China and becoming her first Emperor -- which makes him the target of three legendary assassins. To anyone who defeats the assassins, the Kin...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 17, 2008Beautiful and graceful action in a colorfull dance of drama och love.
Love this movie just waist till Dynasty Warriors based "Battle of the Red Cliff" comes out. -
MCT:August 15, 2008
Looking for a gorgeously choreographed, stunningly unbelievable and downright amazing kung-fu film? Enter Chinese historical fantasy - Hero. This dazzling epic features mystery, romance and a moral/political dilemma just as timely today as it was 2000 years ago.
In feudal China, a nameless warrior (Jet Li, wooden in repose, absolutely poetic in motion) earns an audience with his assassination-obsessed emperor after disposing of the three greatest killers in the world. With every tale he tells, he's allowed further into the emperor's confidences, as multiple levels of double-crosses, secret alliances, and just unbelievable ass-kicking are slowly revealed. Its a poetic masterpiece, a film filled with grace, nobility and action.
The cinematography by Christopher Doyle is gorgeous and the movie, as a package, could almost burn your corneas with its beauty. From the rain falling over two warriors like teardrops to the rustic fall leaves swarming like a cyclone around a fighter's white dress. MY GAWD, MY EYES WANTED TO MAKE LOVE TO THIS FILM! Like a fine artist, Director Yimou Zhang has turned imagery into poetry.
Hero is a majestic and sweeping epic delivered with exceptional style and mesmerizing imagery. Simply Gorgeous! -
MCT:August 12, 2008I'm not a huge fan of wire work, so that part of the film didn't particularly impress me too much, however I thought the use of colour was very impressive and visually effective and there were also a few subtle, yet impressive special effects, especially with the water scene.
I've heard great things said about this film and I do think the swordsmanship and choreography were enjoyable, however, my preference of Martial Arts films is defintely a little more hands on, with plain raw talent, agility and fighting using the body. -
MCT:August 11, 2008Foreign, Chinese. It's a pretty movie and has great sets, but I just don't care for the gravity defying martial arts in the film. I know it is unique, but it reminds me of the old, cheap, Kung-Fu theater that I watched as a kid; and it was cheap then. The rest of the movie was brilliantly done. It's about a conspiracy of expert assassins, to send one assassin, to kill the first Emporer of China. It's a good movie and I'd recommend it; at least once.
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MCT:August 11, 2008
''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 like 300, later after Hero copied in Western cinema.
The music also comes off as incredible, adding to the emotion of Hero.
It's quite unpredictable, and it's wonderfully arty as well, plus I can see why this film has become so popular. Hero is an absolutely beauty of a film, with an engrossing story and top notch acting.
The Direction is wonderful!. Yimou Zhang does a wonderful! Job 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.
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 who 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. -
MCT:August 5, 2008
More than visually stunning, it uses the bright colors and beautiful scenery to express different thoughts, points of view, and stories.
It was a genius idea.
I only wish there had been longer kung-fu sequences. -
MCT:July 31, 2008
An unbelievable movie! It's bold, captivating and epic. I loved the visuals above all, they leave you speechless. Everything from the clothing colors to the smallest sword movement is just breath taking. And best of all there was a powerful story that didn't falter. A must see for anyone who appreciates a movie made artistically.
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MCT:July 28, 2008
Leaving aside any possible "ambigous-commie-oriented" profile the movie could have, this is still a great wuxia flick in all the right areas. Excellent cast, good direction from Zhang Yimou and great (if anything a bit already repetitive) photography from Christopher Doyle. Still the best in the "wuxia trilogy" from Yimou.
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MCT:July 26, 2008One of the best movies ever made, best of the crouching tiger hidden dragon genre, so fucking good everything!
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MCT:July 17, 2008
Wow...................... overrated.
Epic? Just long. Pretty in places, nice cinematography in places. Not especially a good film however and I wouldn't want to see this again. -
MCT:July 16, 2008
WOW the scenery and the score in this movie is awesome. The plot twists as the story is told over and over from different sides are interesting and sometimes surprising too. Even watching it not in English can't distract from how good this is.
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MCT:July 14, 2008
Brilliant. The fantastic colors, brilliant coreography, and excellent acting come together in what I feel was an even better film then Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
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MCT:July 13, 2008
Hero is a very good movie set in ancient Japan. The story is absolutely amazing. I don't want to give anything away, but it is amazing ^_^
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MCT:July 8, 2008
I REALLY LIKE THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS THAT LEAD TO THE FINAL SHOWDOWN..........IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS ONE, YOU'RE MISSING A GOOD MOVIE!!!
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MCT:July 6, 2008
At first I thought this film was going to be the type of all-action, shallow plot line. I was completely wrong.
Set during the Warring States period, featuring the Seven Kingdoms, in China, Hero tells the story of an unknown hero who managed to vanquish the three most dangerous assassins and his audience with the leader of the Qin. But all is not what it seems.
Hero manages to keep you glued to your seat as you try to figure out how each event happened and in the process, viewers are treated to some of the greatest visuals and scenery in a motion picture.
The fight scenes were a let down -people getting blown away with a sword blow... and no blood, plus you meet the divinities that surf the air and walk on water.
Where Hero excels, is in the great performances by the cast. Jet Li is great as the nameless hero, but it's Tony Leung who steals the show.
Overall, Hero is a fantastic movie and ranks as one of the best Chinese films to reach the West. Even if you don't like reading the subtitles, you shouldn't miss out on this great movie - and please... don't see the dubbed version.
New York Daily News | Jami Bernard
As gorgeous and contemplative as it is, Hero is a genre picture and needs to deliver the action goods. To that end, there are plenty of clever, lovingly choreographed sequences. -
MCT:July 6, 2008
Based on some of the same historical events as Chen Kaige's 2000 epic drama "The Emperor and the Assassin," the film stars Jet Li as a nameless assassin (referred to as "Nameless") whose goal is to kill a Napoleon-like warlord, the King of Qin (Chen Daoming), who has brutally conquered six other kingdoms to unite China for the first time. But to get close to the king, he must first defeat three dangerous killers, Long Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) -- the king's most dangerous enemies.
These scenes, however, take place in flashback. In the present, the king has granted an audience to this warrior who has done him such a great honor, and Nameless's heroism allows him to move closer than the security-regulated 100 yards from the throne.
But the king is no fool. He quickly deduces that Nameless's story is a fabrication and questions the assassin, trying to figure out what really happened. What follows is a "Rashomon"-like narrative, relying on the distorting nature of storytelling, in which the king and his would-be killer each spin their own version of the preceding battles, trying to throw each other further and further off-guard.
Director Zhang Yimou ("The Road Home," "Raise the Red Lantern") presents each of the various tales drenched in their own bold colors: red, blue, green and gold. But unlike "Rashomon," the true story does ultimately come out -- only to lead to a much tougher decision on which the very future of China hinges.
The film's real selling point is what happens within these extraordinary swatches of color. These breathtaking action scenes threaten to virtually rip the screen apart.
In one, Nameless and Flying Snow ward off a veritable hailstorm of arrows while balletic Broken Sword feverishly paints a calligraphy scroll. Other scenes feature Broken Sword's jealous apprentice (Zhang Ziyi) attacking Flying Snow in a forest full of swirling dead leaves, and a fight that takes place while the players sprint and dance across the surface of a serene lake.
Zhang Yimou is not a kung-fu director by nature, but he knows beauty and tragedy when he sees them. "Hero" eschews his recent, neo-realist work ("Happy Times") and harkens back to his earlier films like "Ju Dou," in which brightly colored cloth hanging in the breeze made for similiarly stunning visuals.
He was also smart enough to hire Christopher Doyle, the celebrated Australian-born cinematographer who has worked almost exclusively in Hong Kong, lensing such classics as Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time." Doyle understands not only the concept of making fight scenes clear, but also how to move his camera with the action, heightening it rather than obscuring it with cuts and shakes as most American filmmakers do.
The film's cast comes from the uppermost echelon of Hong Kong elite. But unlike "Crouching Tiger's" Chow Yun-fat, Jet Li is an accomplished martial artist who can actually perform the stunts required for this film. "Hero" fits him perfectly, calling upon his stock-in-trade steely-eyed stoicism. When the king hurls a sword directly at his face, the actor does not flinch a millimeter as the weapon sticks in the table directly in front of him.
Zhang takes his great cast and crew and celebrates with them. Rather than a pretentious attempt at turning kung-fu into high art, "Hero" is a film of movement and color and poetry, an all-time cinema classic that deserves our unrestrained applause, with or without Miramax's help. -
Me encanta la cultura oriental, y creo que la escena de pelea sobre el agua fue de lo mas increible. Buena peli, muy lenta y faltaron detalles... pero muy enriquecedora
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MCT:July 1, 2008well, i really tryed to like this one
it actually had a story, which did surprise me quite positively at the beginning, even if more fairy tale like. and they didn't fly too much at the beginning. but than of course they just couldn't hold it anymore, started walking/jumping on the water, flying arround in something which should look beautiful i guess ... it does not for me. also found all those ah so beautiful shots overdone ...
the acting was nice, and the story interestingly told, but the ending managed to almost make me hate this movie ... so one should be gratefull when couquered, hm? "the well-being of all more important" ... yeah, come again.
there were many people in history, who believed that the ending would justify the means and i'm quite sure all of them are loved only in their own country, if loved at all. and by the way, there is no such thing as an ending.
so according to this movie we should have let the germans "unite" the world 1940 or so? we could than say "our world".
ah man, what a wasted potential. get rid of the flying and think a bit about what the ending is implying.... get rid of the way too many overdone shots and you can really have a good one here.
but nop. -
MCT:June 26, 2008
This was beautifully shot. Loved all the fight sequences and the colours really highlight every scene.
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MCT:June 24, 2008
"King of Qin: I have just come to a realization! This scroll by Broken Sword contains no secrets of his swordsmanship. What this reveals is his highest ideal. In the first state, man and sword become one and each other. Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon. In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart. Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces. But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior embraces all around him. The desire to kill no longer exists. Only peace remains."
"Nameless: 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 Masterpiece
Rarely I've seen film with such high-quality.The script was in an impressively high standard.This is the Best Film from Chinese cinema I've ever watched.Of course,everyone thinks nothing beats Crouching Tiger ,Hidden Dragon.This film has a few elements from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but is far, far superior in every way.Hero is a film that is beautiful in many aspects. The direction and photography is artsy without being pretentious.Zhang Yumou has done his masterpiece.The camerawork is extraordinary, the use of colors fabulous. The use of slow motion is sublime.Every shot is worthy of being a work of art in itself.Just imagine two martial arts experts ensuing in battle against each other, defying the laws of physics as we know it, and yet following them in 360 degrees in slow motion as one deflects a droplet of rain from one sword to the other, at the same time spinning and leaping over water... simply beautiful. The attack sequences are also superbly set, with hundreds of thousands of the King's warriors in formation, simultaneously firing enough arrows into the city which literally cover the sky, in addition to the viewer being able to watch the journey of a single arrowhead aimed during this event. The build up to the attack along with the unnerving tune of a Chinese stringed instrument help you, as the audience, to become firmly engrossed in your seat. A perfect example would be the shot of the Nameless walking towards the King's chambers through tens of thousands of guards. The overwhelming see of black, with colors interspersed and a lone figure walking past this sea of armor is truly epic art. The colors are vibrant, Tan Dun's accompanying score is beautiful and haunting, and the action (while limited) is more dance-like than it is pure violence.
Truly Poetic.
The main characters were very well acted out, especially that of the role of the Qin Emperor (Daoming Chen). Zhang Ziyi's character was largely insignificant though, so i think she's been put in to add some star power to the production.And we can't forget amazing performance of Jet Li (who I thought just a kung-fu guy.But I was midjudged:the guy can act). The story is in ancient times when China was divided into seven kingdoms. Qin, the king of the northern province, is under permanent threat of assassination attempts. His greatest fears are the warriors "Broken Sword","Snow" and "Sky". One day one of the magistrates of his kingdom enters the palace, claims that he defeated all three of the emperor's adversaries and tells his story; how he beat "Sky" in a duel and used the love between "Broken Sword" and "Snow" to subdue them.
"How far will you go to become a Hero ?" -
MCT:June 24, 2008
EXCELLENT! Continuing on with my new found Martial arts madness this was MUCH better than The one.This is the stuff I like.In China with the history and great storyline behind it.But This is something VERY SPECIAL you guys.The sound and special effects in this are beyond your imagination.You need to see this on a big screen with an excellent home theater system to get the great sound effects.Oh God,and the colors,they thought of everything with this movie.I HIGHLY ,HIGHLY recommend this!!!Jet Li,I am falling for this guy more and more with every movie.I cannot say anything more about it,you seriously have to experience this one for yourself.SEE IT VERY SOON!
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MCT:June 22, 2008
JET LI good ur the man super extreme fights i like the way jet li expressed in each scene... and mainly one important in this film its the MUSIC background score rocks a lot i like to listen to the music a lot in this film super a lot good... action packed...
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MCT:June 20, 2008
Great movie. Second to Passion for best subtitled movie as far as reading the subs and not missing any movie
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MCT:June 13, 2008
Interesting changing narratives and use of colour schemes. But I could easily see this being hard to follow for some people, and the ultimate message of "All under heaven" could be seen as a Sinocentric theme. :S
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MCT:June 13, 2008
The color and cinematography are incredible. But underneath all the stylized fights is a great story.
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Comments
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WrellikWposted 9 days ago -
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This movie is fantastic!
All FANS of ZHANG ZIYI who are on BEBO please become a GROUPIE of ZHANG ZIYI's FAN page at,
http://Zhang-Ziyi-Fans. bebo.com
thanks.
P.S Zhang Ziyi is rules.posted 541 days ago -
Yimou Zhang has created a vibrant masterpiece of Hong Kong style action. The story, acting, and fight sequences are phenomenal. Jet Li and Maggie Cheung lead wonderful roles and the movie throws curveball after curveball up to it's surprise ending.
It is unfortunate that Quentin Tarantino had to slap his name on it, simply for calling attention to it and doing nothing else even remotely related to the movie, but it is nice to see that someone has brought it to the mainsteam so that more people can appreciate it.posted 774 days ago
