Mind-blowingly beautiful...

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2003)

Hero: 9/10

They say that this movie will exceed Crouching Tiger for popularity of an eastern movie in the west. "Hero" starred Jet Li and several other big names in a big budget (US$30,000,000, which is probably huge for that region) blockbuster. This is an amazing experience, largely because of the greatest cinematography I have ever seen in a movie. Some of it was just jaw-dropping, such as a forest changing colours, a spar on a perfect lake, thousands of soldiers acting in unison, even seeing a character practicing caligraphy, too much to name. The movie had a very interesting storyline that I won't spoil, as it takes quite a twist, and is also philosophical and thought-provoking. The fight scenes deserve special mention, because they were blowaway great and didn't drag like some (like those in Matrix Reloaded) can. My main fault with this movie was the length - at 93 minutes, it was too short, but apparently a special edition with 21 extra minutes of character development is being released. This was a beautiful movie in many ways, and one everyone should see. It's set for a November release at cinemas in the U.S., so go see it unless you can get the import DVD before then!