Visually stunning, oddly fresh

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2004)

This film is spectacular. The fight scenes are magnificent and the special effects are state-of-the-art. The arrows being repelled in the beginning of the film is amazing and the choreography in the fight between Snow and Cloud is enticing; not only is the fight choreographed, the leaves, colors, sound, music, and general environment all mold into a spectacular five minutes of pure genius. The acting was nearly flawless. Though I did see the film subtitled, the expressions and movements said as much as the words typed on the bottom of the screen.
Not to say the film had no mistakes. I believe "Ying xiong (Hero)" had much in the way of story though had it not been for its excellent fight scenes, spectacular acting, and infinite energy, the writing would have more clearly been noted as flawed. Imagine a film like this one; written in English where the fight scenes were mediocre. In scriptform / bookform it would be entertaining, though I believe in cinema people may even walk out. Entertainment is about tension and release, this movie built up tension and in many cases failed to release because of the writing. Note: that I'm trying not to give away any spoilers. I personally did not enjoy the idea of showing the artificial stories like they really did occur and then returning and showing another one. However, I must admit, it definitely is fresh. I would have preferred a more timeline based story with artificial stories only being told, not shown. And more present action, not past memory.
However, these are very minor style details that I myself am questioning. Sometimes these kinds of movies just shouldn't be messed with. I give this 9.25/10. -.25 for writing disagreement and -.25 for flying martial arts (keep it realistic) and -.25 for an awkwardly placed love scene (forgot where it was).