One of the best foreign films I've ever seen

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2008)

Jet Li stars as Nameless, a silent warrior who sits before The King of Qin and recounts his battles with three great warriors and how he ended up there within ten paces of the King.
Chinese cinema is fantastic. From the brilliant artistic fantasy Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to House of Flying daggers it continues to improve with marvellous direction, choreography and cinematography and this Oscar Nomination hit is no exception.
Jet Li stars as Nameless, a talented warrior with a troubled life. Sitting infront of the King, he recounts his fights with 3 other great warriors, Broken Sword, Snow and Sky.
The plot is told through flashbacks and many at that where director Yimou Zhang (Flying daggers) chooses a very colourful way of telling quite a dramatic story about loyalty, truth and love. There is also a strong ideology behind "doing the right thing" which is executed brilliantly by director and cast.
The flashbacks provide excellent twists and turns to an exciting edge of you seat narrative. Though sometimes confusing they are visually stunning, especially the fight sequences.
The choreography is astonishing with excellent one on one fight sequences. The lake fight is the best of the entire film, with the little drop of water proving so delicate and effective to the character's reactions and feelings.
I have heard some people say that these special fighting sequences are sometimes a bit repetitive but that doesn't stop them being brilliant.
These little fantasy elements to these films give the plot something extra, a bit of edge and extra excitement.
The settings are wonderful, especially the lake and watch for the changing colours in the forest fight, similar to Flying Daggers.
Out of the three mentioned, I personally favour Flying Daggers but Hero has the best use of flashbacks, mystery and rivalry to make it a great watch for all ages.