Beautiful but boring

Rating: 2/10 (10 December 2005)

This is an obvious attempt to ride on the wave of success that followed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and to cash in on the interest for this type of movies. However, "Hero" has none of the qualities that made "Crouching Tiger..." such a fantastic, joyful masterpiece. Sure, there are tons of beauty - it seems that they consciously picked some of the most beautiful Asian actors around - and lots of action. The problem is that all the visual goodies and effects etc in "Hero" - however beautiful, stunning and impressive - has none of the substance, depth and relevance of "Crouching Tiger...". It's beautiful but boring. As for the story/plot in "Hero"... It's so thin that I can't even describe it without giving too much away. Just a poor excuse to make a rip-off of "Crouching Tiger...", which actually has a pretty good story/plot. The action scenes in "Hero" and the martial arts-techniques are also similar to those in "Crouching Tiger...", but in "Hero" they are just too mechanical, cold and "perfect". It's like comparing a supermodel to a stunning, warm, natural beauty. In this scenario, "Hero" is the supermodel. Furthermore, "Hero" lacks all the humor, wit, warmth and genuine emotion that "Crouching Tiger..." is full of. Yes, there are plenty of tears, heartbreak, sorrow and screaming in "Hero", but it's way too staged. Too much slow motion, close-ups, vacant/stiff facial expressions... like a piece of art that everyone is supposed to like because...why? Whatever. Because of all the work? The flawless technique? The perfection? The details? It's just not enough. No substance, no feeling, nothing genuine, nothing or no one to sympathize with. It doesn't work. All the slow motion sequences, close-ups and stills are probably meant to create a sense of sincerity or something, but it's just annoying. It all amounts to some kind of cinematographic pornography: a visual firework display with thought-out combinations for its own sake, to be impressive and breathtaking, but it doesn't mean anything. It's a hollow shell - a meaningless facade. "Hero" ain't got nothing on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".