Stunning but empty

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2008)

The Chinese historical drama is a well defined genre, complete with fly-by-wire swordplay, and 'Hero' is a fairly typical example of the breed. It's beautiful, but stylised to the point of near-ridiculousness: it's maybe better to think of it as ballet than fiction. What is unusual about this movie is the plot, which is little more than a formal construct, and its nationalist ethic: this is a story about the foundation of China, although "story" is pushing it, and the film is full of epigrammatic symbols that hint at profoundity but which may just be empty. I liked watching it, but at some level, it wouldn't have been so different an experience to view it without the subtitles, so limited is the substance.