The Qin Emperor was no hero

Rating: Null/10 (27 June 2003)

HERO has a lot going for it: legendary director, solid cast, excellent cinematography, decent score, and a very experienced fight choreographer. So why is the film a failure? Because Zhang Yimou portrayed the Qin Emperor as someone worth dying for. This is certainly a new take on this historical figure, but it's extremely misleading. To give those not familiar with this person an idea of what was done in HERO, imagine a film that not only portrays Hitler or Stalin in a sympathetic light, but goes on to argue that their horrific actions were admirable and justified.
One could argue that the emperor in HERO was not meant to represent the actual person from history, that he is a fictionalized version of that man. Were that the case then why use the Qin Emperor? Why not create a completely fictional ruler? An American director looking to tell a tale of a great man would never use George III, so why should a Chinese director cast one of the most notorious tyrants in Chinese history in such a positive light? It's truly baffling and makes an otherwise good film almost unpalatable.