Set in China's past, before the first emperor, the film tells the story of a town magistrate who is summoned by the king of Qin to tell the story of how he defeated those who plotted to kill him. Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure Rating: PG13 Release Date: 2-AUG-2005 Media Type: DVD
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Truly beautiful Comment: This one of the most truly beautiful movies I have laid my eyes on. And not just from a visual feast, but the musical score by Tan Dun and epic storyline all together makes for a remarkable, unique combination. The clever use of different colours with the martial arts in different moods of the movie was breathtaking. Its one of those rare gems that can be watched many times and gives a cleansing effect to the soul. Customer Rating: Summary: My favorite of the new martial arts flicks. Comment: Crouching Tiger was awesome, this one is even better.
A superb story line, great acting, and excellent directing make Hero one of the best foreign films I have seen.
Beautiful to watch, the special effects are jaw dropping good.
Do yourself a favor and rent this, just make sure you watch it with the subtitles on as the English voiceovers are horrid.
Recommended!!!!!!
Customer Rating: Summary: Overall, excellent movie Comment: Complex storyline, engaging characters, beautiful cinematography, action galore, this is perhaps the best action movie ever made. LOVE the way color is used in this film to set the mood and establish points of view. Customer Rating: Summary: Glorifying Fascism Comment: Zhang Yimou lost whatever credibility he possessed by making this film, which glorifies the Chinese ideology of totalitarianism. Hero attempts to portray the Qin emperor Shi Huang Di (Ying Zheng) as some kind of benevolent philosopher-king and downplays the enormous suffering and death caused by his selfish war of conquest. In actuality, Ying practiced a brutal form of national government called legalism, which ancient Chinese scholars considered especially barbaric, and in a testament to its unpopularity, his dynasty lasted only 11 years. Moreover, the Yan assassin Jing Ke perished because he failed to kill Ying and not because he chose to sacrifice himself in favor of some fallacious notion of prosperity under the banner of forced unity. Lastly, despite the chaos and upheaval, the Warring States period was noted for its social, economic, and intellectual vibrancy, in which the Qin contributed little.
Artistically, the film suffers from a narrative morass and does a terrible job of imitating Rashomon. It relies too heavily upon computer-generated special effects and hence lacks the intense physicality of well-crafted wuxia films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero is the 21st century's version of Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will, metaphorical justifications for the oppression of the weak and innocent at the hands of their self-serving leaders. Customer Rating: Summary: People just don't get the story.... Comment: It is really frustrating reading the reviews on this movie.
**SPOILERS**
If you haven't watched the movie, go watch it. If you don't get it because the translations are so bad, then you can come read this and watch it again. IF you still don't get it, email me...
**SPOILERS**
First of all, this IS a martial arts movie. For anybody who has spent any serious time study martial arts, martial arts isn't just about kicking and punching. With particular attention to Chinese martial arts, martial arts is very much more about the lifelong pursuit of peace. There is a graduation from being the fastest, strongest, most able to destroy, focusing on the narcissistic self, to being a sacrificial humble person who seeks to spread morality through influence rather than the sword.
The first "mind" fighting scene should be a HUGE clue into what's coming. That martial arts is performed more in the mind than with the body.
Next, I read a lot of people talking about the "fantasy" like aspect of the movie. This is in tradition of many of the literary novels of this period. The whole movie is about what is going on in the minds of people. It is the perfect for that purpose.
As far as the "Dances" and all this, it is so frustrating what I read on the reviews here. The characters who are fighting with each other, if nothing else, have deep respect for each other. As the stories are retold, they are being retold with admiration and respect for their peers. The point of the sequences are one to be a retelling of a story, and two, to speak of those that they respect. They aren't supposed to be "real".
And for those that hate the ending, well, I guess you haven't seen too many asian movies... Asian movies don't use Disney endings. The movies are meant to have impact, not give you a good feeling.
Further, for those that think that the last guy standing is the "good guy" in the movie, you need to start being able to see something and make your own decisions about what is right or wrong despite what you see or is told to you.
This is not a propaganda movie either, as history did show, a lot of good did come from this temporary unity, however its cost was terrible. Further, the asian audience, for whom the movie is made, know too well the history of this Emperor. Besides most already know about the real life account on the attempted assassination of the Emperor and know that this is not really what the story is about.
I really enjoyed this movie, not just because it is pretty, but because of the message it is trying to show. I mean, who is the real hero? Who was the most powerful? Who never got it? Who DID get it?
