Without question, one of the most beautiful films I have seen in years!

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2005)

Director Yimou Zhang produced a minor masterpiece in 2002 when Hero first appeared. Two years later, after much success and the development of a cult following, the movie was re-released to be met with even greater success. Often looked at as a combination of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero is actually more than the sum of its inspirations. Yes, it does tell its story in a manner that fans of Rashomon will immediately recognize, and the brilliantly choreographed martial arts sequences due owe quite a bit to Woo-ping Yuen's work in Lee's picture. Yet, with its gorgeous cinematography, brilliant story, and the emotional performances of Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Broken Sword), Maggie Cheung (Flying Snow), and Ziyi Zhang (Moon). Jet Li gives a quiet, but by no means less-powerful performance as the nameless prefect. Also of note are the performances of Daoming Chen (King of Qin) and Donnie Yen (Sky). But what would these great performances be without a moving story? Jet Li plays "Nameless," a prefect of Qin, who has apparently slain the three most dangerous assassins in the land. His reward is to speak with the king, whom he has so loyally served. During their conversation, Nameless tells the story (seen through a series of flashbacks) of how he was able to defeat his lord's most-feared adversaries. I won't go any further into the plot, because I do not want to ruin anything. This film is worth the price of admission just to watch the martial arts scenes, as spectacularly choreographed by Siu-Tung Ching and Wei Tung. The splendid use of color in the film is another pleasure to behold. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle presents a lush painting in motion as Nameless and the king discuss the prefect's adventures. Extraordinarily beautiful, and not too be missed!