Review of Hero (2012) by Michael H — 22 Mar 2011
Gifted director Zhang Yimou fills this dazzling feature with visual pop and ravishing beauty. But it's no Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero doesn't quite have the emotional heft of that 2000 classic from Ang Lee.
Hero is based on the King of Qin's efforts to unify 3rd century China's warring states to become its first emperor. Jet Li does some of his finest work as Nameless, a sheriff visiting Qin King (Chen Dao Ming) in his palace to collect a prize for killing three assassins who were out to kill the ruler.
Nameless claims to have done this. Those three assassins are Sky (Donnie Yen), Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and each tale of their demise is seen in flashback. There are actually four stories though, and each has its own dazzling color scheme, and also allow us to draw our own conclusions, reminiscent of Kurosawa's classic Rashomon.
The fights scenes are just breathtaking, all captured by cinematographer Christoper Doyle (In The Mood For Love). The actors are just as good with romantic material involving Broken Sword and his beautiful servant Moon, played by the gorgeous ans sexy Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha).
Hero doesn't have the same emotional resonance as Yimou's Raise The Red Lantern or Ju Dou, but it's remarkable in its own right.
This review of Hero (2012) was written by Michael H on 22 Mar 2011.
Hero has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
