A 'Hero' to fight for

Rating: 9/10 (24 January 2005)

In the year 2000, Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was released in America, and unexpectedly found blockbuster success. Who would have thought a Chinese-language martial arts epic set in ancient times, featuring characters walking across water, flying through the air, and fighting on tree branches would have ever gone on to gross over $125 million in the U.S. alone? Audiences embraced the beauty and magic of the film, and hopefully they will do the same for "Hero," a film that's no less amazing.
"Hero" seems to exist in the same world as "Crouching Tiger" does, a world where skilled warriors can battle over a vast sea, with only a slight touch of the water needed to balance them. A world where enemies don't have to fight physically, but can challenge each other simply in their minds. It's also a world where an onslaught of arrows launched by a formidable army can be stopped by the deftness of two swords. If you can't accept this world as believable, or if you can't accept the thought of reading subtitles for a good hour and 45 minutes, then by all means, go see "Anacondas." Jet Li escapes his American prison of Joel Silver-produced action movies to star as a nameless warrior in ancient China, determined to protect the ruler of the Qin Dynasty from three master assassinsSky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). The film unfolds in flashbacks, as the nameless one details to his majesty how he was able to defeat his deadly adversaries. If you think I just ruined the film for you, relaxthere's a lot more to the story than that.
What follows is multiple accounts of the same series of events, all involving the aforementioned characters, as well as Moon (Zhang Ziyi), Broken Sword's apprentice. Academy Award nominated director Zhang Yimou and cinematographer Christopher Doyle use different color pallets to differentiate each version, including lush hues of red, blue, green and white. It's tough to put into words just how great "Hero" looks on screen. That vision is something that must be experienced firsthand, especially in a gorgeous duel between Cheung and Ziyi, set in an autumn-like environment complete with powerful gusts of wind and vivid red and bright orange leaves.
The scenery isn't the only beautiful element of "Hero." All the swordplay is spectacular and expertly captured on film by Yimou ("Raise the Red Lantern"), which is surprising, considering his inexperience as an action director. The performers all move with the swiftness and grace of a ballet troupe, albeit a dangerous one, armed with swords and staffs and knives. The acting performances are just as expertly choreographed, proving how adept Yimou is at dramatics. Cheung and Leung stand out the most, thanks to their meaty subplot as rivals and lovers. The duo are incendiary together, setting off fireworks on screen with their radiance and chemistry.
The film's only downfall is its pacing, which most likely can be attributed to the script. Since the story is told through flashbacks, it does get repetitive and overlong at times, and the transitions between the past and present become a bit jarring. However, that detail is minor at best, and does not detract from the film's magic. "Hero" is an epic accomplishment all around, and it's a mystery why the folks at Miramax have kept it on the shelf for so long (it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2002 Academy Awards). Comparisons to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are inevitable and well-deserved. Hopefully "Hero" will be able to find the audience it deserves, just as "Crouching Tiger" did.