“Hero” (Miramax)
Director Zhang Yimou shows once again that the Chinese know how to make beautiful movies. His latest film “Hero” is as visually stunning as any movie has ever been. Its camera angles, its use of colors, its epic scope and grandeur all come together to make this a breath-taking film.
Remember the “man with no name” Clint Eastwood played in the Serge Leone classic westerns Well in this movie Jet Li plays a man who is called “nameless.” He appears before the King of the Chinese province of Qin to tell him of his exploits. It seems “nameless” has killed all three of the King’s biggest enemies.
The King has “nameless” tell him the details of his exploits beginning with how he rid the country of Long Sky (Donnie Yen). He then tells how he killed the warrior lovers Broken Sword (Tony Cheung Chiu Wai) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung).
After he has told the story the King questions him and the story is changed a little. On and on the questioning goes until the full story of this “hero” becomes clear. What has seemed obvious at the start has now been rearranged in the retelling.
As “nameless” relates his stories the stories are played out on screen. This is where the visual beauty of the film emerges. The battles between “nameless” and the enemies of the king are amazingly choreographed battle sequences full of colorful costumes and swirling sand, leaves and raindrops.
The warriors do battle in the air, in trees, on the surface of a lake, in the middle of a rainstorm and all of it is shockingly unique. What you first saw in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is intensified and polished in this amazingly beautiful film.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence.
The only negatives to the enjoyment of the movie are that the characters speak Chinese, so there are English subtitles; and the battle sequences seem to go on too long. There have to be six or eight different combative contests between “nameless” and the enemies of the King, or between the enemies themselves. This gets a little monotonous.
For a unique moviegoing experience you must see this film. It is full of spectacle and almost poetic beauty. The screen is filled by one visual effect after another, yet the storyline of the “hero” is told to the fullest. Jet Li and all of the actors turn in great performances and blend well with the startling camerawork.
I scored “Hero” a gallant 7 out of 10.
