Intriguing story, lush scenery, but fight scenes detract

Rating: Null/10 (5 September 2004)

Hero tells a very good story, and I felt myself taken in by it, but the movie could have been better in my opinion if the ballet-like fight scenes had been toned down a bit. When two warriors who are supposed to be battling are instead dancing around Broadway-style on a lake (albeit a very beautiful lake), the tension and impact are somewhat lost. Jet Li shows as much range and emotion as usual (none), but you don't doubt for a second that he is as deadly an assassin as could be found at that time. Daoming Chin is also effective as the king of Qin, as is Maggie Cheung as Flying Snow. The acting is there for each scene, but the visuals, while breathtaking at times, become over-the-top more than once. The fight scene between Flying Snow and Moon (Ziyi Zhang) could have been powerful if had been shot Kill Bill: Volume 2 style, but director Yimou Zhang instead bombards us with so many falling leaves that you can hardly tell what's going on. I know, I know, this is the way these movies are shot, but it's frustrating when you become involved in a gripping story and then are given 2 warriors fighting off thousands of soldiers by spinning around in circles.