Combines action and visual artistry to spectacular effect

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2015)

Set in the Warring States period when China was divided into seven kingdoms that all fought with each other for overall supremacy. An expert swordsman simply called Nameless is brought to the king of the most powerful kingdom, Qin. He has the weapons of the three most feared assassin enemies of the king, all three he claims to have killed. He is allowed access to communicate with the remote leader and from here he tells the stories of his victories.
It has to be said at the outset that the primary reason that this film is so successful is its absolutely incredible imagery. The cinematography is simply breath-taking with the cinematic frame used in a spectacularly beautiful manner. Specifically, the use of colour is quite wonderful. Each story segment has its own specific colour scheme that defines it and is utilised to impressive artistic effect. The stories are highly stylised, yet tell a historical story and while the scope often feels epic there is a very personal approach taken much of the time. The characters often express intense emotions and this personalises the events considerably. Like others in the wuxia sub-genre, this one includes many scenes of martial arts performed by highly skilled individuals who glide through the air in gravity defying routines. These fight scenes are filmed with an extreme focus on aesthetics and they are consistently rather beautiful. It's all over-the-top in the most glorious way and, for want of a better description, Hero is the ultimate example of an art-house action movie.