Better than CTHD on many levels.

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2003)

As a huge fan of Hero and CTHD I would like to avoid comparing them but that is of course impossible. Crouching tiger is a great film and indeed hero would never have been funded without it, but hero is a better film.
Hero besides amazing visuals including the the shifting colors and computer enhanced images is a piece of film art that is hard to explain. So much deeper than a a love story, a swordplay film or a technical masterpiece...it is pure cinema.
Jet Li has the performance of his life. While is well respected for martial arts he is underrated for his acting. The whole cast plays pitch perfect. Donnie Yen and Jet have what I think is the most stylish fight in film history(not the best just coolest looking).
If you are desperate to get this feeling again also check the film Musa. Which is also high class sword epic.
****spoiler*****
At first I was bothered by the political message which seemed to be saying "might makes right" but after watching the film several times i realized that is not exactly the message. I think Yimou wanted the chinese government money and having nationalist message about China appealed to them.

However to a viewer with a keen eye the films message is mixed. Flying snow resists domination until the end even though her lover has excepted the domination. While the message looks like "all under one heaven" on the surface the story to me is about the struggles and conflicts that come along with nationalism. Qin and the assassins are just indivduals who we watch face off over those conflicts.