Beautiful movie that depends a little too much on its visuals

Rating: 8/10 (22 August 2006)

Hero is a beautiful movie, full of rich colors and sweeping backdrops. Each flashback is a joy to watch simply because of that beauty and it's the beauty that keeps you watching.
The storyline itself is contrived at points, but I can forgive that because this is meant to be a parable, and the movie ends so well I found myself not caring. There are times during the movie where emotion is lacking even though those should be the most passionate times. I have a feeling that is a directing or editing error though, because the actors are all marvelously in tune with what they should be feeling- something that changes a lot in this movie.
Crouching Tiger wins against this movie. Ang Lee's movie has both stirring visuals and an assured, passionate story. Hero, however, is definitely worth watching and I recommend it to anyone who loves these Chinese martial arts movies.