I am somewhat confused...

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2005)

Confused, mainly because when I saw Ying Xiong on DVD-Video recently, I did not see the masterpiece promised by many others. What I saw was very entertaining, granted, but perhaps the inclusion of Quentin Tarantino's name as a "presenter" on the cover art put me off. This man needs to get his head out and realise he is not the messiah of cinema that he so often tries to project. Having said that, however, those who are fully involved with the film give it their all, and the results are frequently awesome. Forget all the stereotypes you know about poorly-synced Kung Fu flicks. This is a film with a serious story to tell, and that the story allows for many a fleeting display of martial arts skill is mere coincidence. All the elements for a brilliant epic are here, but something feels like it is missing. If I had to take a rough guess, Ying Xiong tries to be China's (or Japan's) answer to Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo, but doesn't quite get there for a number of reasons.
Perhaps it is because of the comparatively short screen time. I am always the first to complain if a film goes on for longer than it should, but the ninety-nine minutes I saw here did not seem adequate to the storytelling task. The story, for what it is worth, revolves around an assassin who is known as Nameless. In the years before China was a unified country, he faces down three assassins who plot the murder of the feudal Lord who would unite the provinces into one nation. The film is told in a flashback style, detailing how Nameless fights down each of the assassins, and to be honest, this is where part of the problem begins. Until I read the IMDb summary, I had no idea that the film was about a warrior preventing the assassination of a King. With the flashbacks, flash-forwards, flashbacks within flashbacks, and everything in between, I was lost and confused. I have enjoyed other films where flashbacks occur within flashbacks, Ghosts Of Mars being a good example, but this risky cinematic technique was done well, as well as sparingly, in those films.
In spite of the confusing edit and screenplay, Jet Li proves that he is currently the most famous lead in straight-faced Kung Fu films for a reason. His acting, especially the physical mannerisms, help to sell the character where the dialogue often will not. Some of his most striking scenes involve his complete silence. Unfortunately, the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style of choreography is used here, with actors moving about on wires and going through impossible motions that really do not suit the story. Yes, the style worked well in CTHD, but I really felt, given the tone and serious context of the story, that a more down-to-Earth style would have helped. It is not a good sign when an even more outlandish Jet Li film, The One, features a more believable style of fighting than this one. Especially given that The One was basically a load of the proverbial, albeit one with a very sound background explanation. The fact that it had Carla Gugino, a far more likable lead actress than I have seen to date in any Asian film, didn't hurt.
I admit, once the confusion over the nature of the plot is settled, it does make the film somewhat more entertaining. Unfortunately, it also raises a lot of questions that the film fails to satisfactorily answer. The question of why one would want to protect this King, who is seemingly responsible for the annihilation of a village as depicted in the early stage of the film, is high among them. Also taking a high place among the unanswered questions is why there is all the need for this study of calligraphy to defeat one of the three assassins. Yes, I realise that it is meant to improve fighting techniques, but the amount of time devoted to calligraphy in the film makes this easy to forget. I also found the derivation of swordsmanship secrets from calligraphy a bit hard to swallow. Maybe someone can figure something out about me from the way I always write in heavy block, but I doubt it will hold true once they take the time to make further observations. Still, the rolling out of the armies in each scene of this kind were impressive enough to justify the viewing time. Even if the repeated calls for Nameless' head towards the end of the film got on the nerves a bit. I am somewhat curious as to how the arrows were shot, too. If they are CGI, then they are the most impressive CGI I have seen for a while.
In all, I gave Ying Xiong, or Hero as it is known here, a seven out of ten. It is not the best Kung Fu feature you will ever see, nor is it an indispensable classic of human drama. What it does have going for it is a very solid lead actor who should appear in more films, and some absolutely stunning cinematography. Fans of martial arts-based cinema need look no further, while those of us who prefer solid story or characters will also do well with a singular viewing.