Beautiful and complex.

Rating: 10/10 (29 August 2004)

This film is visually beautiful and its story complex. The visually stunning aspect is something that one can only describe in words and those who have no sight would need a great wordsmith to give true weight to the beauty of HERO. This, no doubt, will be the focus of countless critiques of HERO. But what enhances the visual beauty is the complex nature of the story. The taboo of American screenwriting, flashbacks within flashbacks are used liberally. The idea of the unreliable narrator takes you on an "thinking" trip. As the stories weave in and out of each other and different scenarios are presented to you, your mind is working while at the same time you are inundated with the visual "look" of what is on screen. I will close my critique in linking this Chinese film to the great Japanese filmmaker Kurosawa, With that said anyone who reads this will, if they have an inkling of the greatness of Kurosawa, rush to see this epic of honor, nobility and passion. All should heed the words of another IMDB critic blakndn on a critique of this film.