Review of Hero (2012) by Tim L — 02 Jun 2011

It's difficult not to compare this film with Crouching Tiger, as the styles are so similar as to almost make it feel like a sequel/prequel. And like Tiger, the visuals, music, cheography are all absolutely gorgeous, as are the sumptuous locations. However,these thingsnot withstanding, the focus of the stories is quite different - whilst Tiger concerns personal identity and forbidden love, hero has a grander, more political focus; examining the violent origins of waring provinces that would become the empire that China became. But more than this, the film is concerned with the 'politic of truth,' as we examine the story from the point of view of different main characters. I particularly liked the way this was represented by different colours (ared hue for Jet Li's character's version of events for example).

The story feel grander and more epic than Tiger, adding a fascinating historic edge to the tale. On first viewing however, this grandness did make it more difficult for me to relate to the characters, and the erratic flow of the story made it hard to follow.

I'm guessing this film will improve with repeat viewings, and it was always going to be compared unfavourably with Tiger in my head, as this is one of my alltime favourite films. This is perhaps an unfair judgement however, and judged on its own merits it has all the ingredients of agreat film. Given the objectivity of time and repeat viewing, I'm sure I would connect better with it. But on first viewing I'm not entirely sure what to make of it.