Eloquent beauty in a flawlessly composed tranquility

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 2007)

I remember watching this movie many times before, but only clips from it, so I had never seen it all the way through. Now, as the proud owner of the DVD, I finally saw it straight through and I was also very pleased on the overall result. "Ying xiong" aka "Hero" is indeed a great movie and a startlingly beautiful one as well. The story is based in ancient China, before the reign of the first emperor, warring factions throughout the Six Kingdoms plot to assassinate the most powerful ruler, Qin. When a minor official defeats Qin's three principal enemies, he is summoned to the palace to tell Qin the story of his surprising victory.
The story, with all its twists and turns, is very well written and it's a true epic, in a way that I personally love. It has a very good catch and you can't really see what'll be the final solution before the very end of the movie. There's also this unique way of using colours; Every time a same, but somehow different, story is told it is also told with different colours, which already by its own gives the movie this "hook" to keep the viewer interested. It's very original and prominent, being also visually so effective. The movie is throughout a visual masterpiece and the cinematography is absolutely amazing. As a fan of Asian cinematography I thought some of the scenes were so beautifully shot that it almost made my skin tremble - Those endless landscapes and soothing images truly gives you this heart warming feeling. You just keep on staring the screen because of the unquestionable beauty that flashes through your eyes. Marvellous.
"Hero" also has all in all very solid role performances. Despite the fact of people saying Jet Li can only do martial arts I still think he is great as an actor as well. Look at for example "Danny the Dog" (2005) where Jet Li pulled off an amazing role performance. The film industry doesn't let us see that he actually has great acting capabilities, it's just that he doesn't get the opportunity to use them very often. Jet Li was indeed at his best in "Hero", both acting and martial arts wise. The rest of the cast does a pretty satisfying job as well, so there isn't anything worth complaining when it comes to that department. The romantic story between Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung works really well with the main story and the chemistry between them is undeniably a real treat. Ziyi Zhang is the beautiful herself, giving the movie a touch of sensitivity although her character being sometimes filled with anger and hate. Donnie Yen as "Sky" does his part and Daoming Chen as the "King of Qin" does his, so the role performances the movie offers are handled pretty well and they are also very significant for the whole progress of the film, keeping it in a tight package throughout.
The movie is mixed between nice storytelling and phenomenal fighting sequences, that real Asian specimen of skill. I once again thought that the battle scenes (or action scenes if you might call them that) were stunning and truly entertaining. They aren't really actual "action" scenes, as all of them are shot in sort of a calm and peaceful way, which fits with the main theme incredibly well. I'm certainly not forgetting the whole beauty of them, as even when the fighting proceeds itself into a fast phased rhythm it's still so serene and when accompanied with the absolutely gorgeous soundtrack composed by Tan Dun it's something that's not easily forgotten. It's like the cinematography; Beautiful, soothing, precise and detailed. Both, the fighting and the cinematography, follow each other in a compelling way and it's really absorbing, a fine achievement indeed.
"Ying xiong" is definitely not an action movie, so everyone who's expecting a mindless action flick will most certainly be disappointed. The film is an excellent example of how great a movie mixed with an epic, dramatic story and outstanding action can be, working really well on both sides and not forgetting either one of the sides to a minor role. It balances both of them and that, if something, deserves an enormous appreciation from me. The movie includes solid performances, mind blowing cinematography, detailed directing, an unique way on how to use storytelling not only as what we've used to but also as a visual way of making the movie itself lively and vivid, giving it an original, yet well crafted out touch. "Hero" isn't perfect, but it's still a strong milestone in the Asian film industry and will probably be referred to in the future. Everything still works in a fluent way, so this is one of those fine pieces of film making that everyone should see, hence the "Asian Masterpieces" -title in my four-movies-together DVD-box. I personally think this is one of the best Asian pictures made in the 21st century. You may be surprised or you may be not, but in the end you can't deny the beauty of it.