Stunning

Rating: 10/10 (28 August 2004)

I saw this movie last night when it first opened up in Canada, and I must say that throughout the duration of this film I was mesmerized. The use of colour to show different perspectives (although not an original idea) is used to perfection as it gives the scene more depth and meaning. I walked into the theatre knowing that the cinematography was supposed to be good, so I had high expectations. By the end of the film, i was practically speechless. And this is just the cinematography. The martial arts (although perceived as somewhat slow) is amazing. All of the actors fight almost flawlessly, with such grace and poise. It is amazing as to how each fight scene was made, as it goes to incredibly fast at times (at least in my opinion). Now I am a huge Tarantino fan (but in no way will I compare the 2 directors) and I can see where he has adopted a lot of his visual styles from.
A forewarning to anyone going to see the movie: There are subtitles, so if you do not like reading what everyone is saying, this may be a little tough to watch.
Lastly, I will comment on the storyline. The story starts out fairly simple. But it gradually gets harder to grasp. Now I believe that I understood what they were trying to say (although I could be wrong) but I will admit that it can be a little hard to understand. But then again, anyone in doubt can just read the many topics on the forums.
Overall I would have to give Ying xiong (Hero) a 9.5/10.