Review of Hero (2012) by Chris W — 11 Jan 2011

A compelling story rooted in history, strong performances, thrilling action sequences, and absolute gorgeous cinematography join forces to create this beautiful and entertaining film that is a real work of art. As wonderful (and wonderful to look at) as this movie is, I'm refraining from giving a higher grade because even though the wire work is cool, I got tired of it. I would prefer less wire work and more swordplay grounded in reality. Wire work in and of itself is cool, but sometimes I would prefer less artsy farsty and whimsy.

I do appreciate the stylized nature of thigns though, and see a lot of this as haunting and beautiful poetry, but it was hard for me to really get in the mood with people flying around. For all my bitching though, I have to give major props to the choreographers-this is some crazy stuff to do and do well. Our story concerns a man who supposedly killed three assassins. While telling his sotry to the king, the true nature of events begins to be revealed. In a way, it seemed like Rashomon to me, which is cool and warranted.

Li and the cast do a great job, and it is nice for me to see him in a non-American film as that is something I rarely get to experience. I am now feeling like I should see mroe films like this. The camera work, as stated above, is brialliant, and perhaps the best thing this film has going for it. This is a real feast for the eyes and ears, and the better screen and audio systems you have, the better this is. This is a film that deserves to be seen in a theater with state of the art technology. I'm bummed that I had to watch it on my tiny TV.

The music is just as sweeping and poetic as the visuals, and complements things nicely. The story, while good, is a bit muddled though, so you have to pay attention, whic h can be hard if you have to read subtitles. All told, this is an incredible and unique film, but it left me drained, but also wanting more. A little more coherence, and a little morew realism, and this would be a real masterpiece on all levels.