Review of Hero (2002) by Calibmcbolts — 29 May 2016

I was very impressed by HERO, the movie runs in a way like Rashomon (Kurosawa's famous masterpiece that came out in 1950) (although under a completely different concept) - almost entirely through flashbacks during narration. Because its a period film about a very much fantastic and romanticized time, the dreamy quality of the photography is brilliantly suited. The look of the film is fabulous, although it sometimes indulges in video game beauty (the fight scene on the lake, the waterfall fight, and the calligraphy sequence that could be a shampoo commercial), just as Zhang the director indulges in melodrama, especially in the second half of the film, which is filled with slow-motion shots of people running and crying and saying goodbye. But the first half is so calmly powerful that I can overlook the overly stretched second half.

However it seems to me that the most blatant fault of the film is the dialogue, the dialogues are so cheesy. Of course this is an epic film with a lot of stuff to take care off, and Zhang does something better than the others, but there is no excuse for the amateurish dialogue writing.

All that being said, I still think it's one of the great movies that Zhang Yimou made, when he was still trying to make great movies - he used to use Chinese culture, instead of exploiting it. It's a little sad to see what he's doing now, whatever the reasons that he's making those craps for.

A beautifully crafted film by Zhang Yimou with a great story and an all star cast. Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Zi Yi and Donnie Yen all performed portrayed their characters in a fine way with style and technique with outstanding stunts and martial arts. Exotic production designs by Tingxiao Huo & Zhenzhou Yi, colorful with dark looking costumes by Emi Wada, beautifully photographed by cinematographer Christopher Doyle, fast & smooth editing by Angie Lam and a relaxing musical score by Tan Dun.

The metaphorical use of colors enhances the emotion of each "chapter" of the film while telling the audience exactly what the tone of each is as well.

Possibly the greatest Kurosawa film not filmed by Kurosawa. Zhang Yimou's masterpiece combines beautiful martial arts action with ingenious Rashomon storytelling in this historical epic.