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When I was a kid, my older sister and I would watch kung-fu movies every Saturday afternoon and since then, my love for the genre continues to grow. Fist of Legend, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey and Kill Bill continued to quench my thirst for kung fu movies and now Miramax has announced that it will release Jet Li's 2002 epic masterpiece, Hero, but I've already seen it and I can tell you honestly it is worth seeing again!
The story revolves around Nameless (Jet Li), due to his quiet, mysterious nature. Nameless is called to the Kingdom of Qin (pronouned CHIN) to tell his side of the story on how he was able to defeat three of the most infamous assassins from the Zhao Empire: Broken Sword, played by Tony Leung; Flying Snow, played by Maggie Cheung and Sky, played by Donnie Yen. These three assassins threatened Emperor Qin's chances of unifying the Six Kingdoms under one empire (a.k.a. China). By defeating the three assassins, Nameless gets an up close meet and greet with the Emperor, an opportunity that is both rare and an honor.
Hero may get a little confusing, because of the subtitles and how it seems to flip back and forth from one flashback to another. But remember this film was made for a Chinese audience who are very familiar with the story of Emperor Chin. But add to that the competing versions of the events and the defeat of three assassins. We get the Emperor's view of things and Jet Li's account; none of which may actually be completely true, while at the same time, none of which may be completely false. But the fact that we end up seeing triple the action feature makes Hero possibly one of the best Kung Fu movies of the Twenty First century and worth trying to figure out.
If you haven't already noticed, I loved this film! First, the reason why we see films like this is for the kung fu and the action in this film is top notch thanks to film legend Ching Siu-Tung of the Killer. The very first fight scene between Sky and Nameless is like a well choreographed ballet with scenes that make you understand why the people behind The Matrix stole this style of action. The use of wires is evident, but the action is solid and the movements are fluid. The later fight scenes are just as good and even more artistic in nature. The three different stories involving Nameless, Broken Sword and Flying Snow feature the use of a distinct color, which explains the emotion of the moment. Blue, green and red are very vivid and one color is unique to each different story. The fight scenes also take on a deep meaning with Broken Arrow and Nameless actually fighting one another in their minds. The use of calligraphy to explain how one tends to use his sword was also unique and interesting. The director just really went that extra mile to add beauty to the battles.
Hero goes that extra mile by taking what made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon so successful and making it work here, as well. The scenery was beautiful. The fight scene between Flying Snow and Moon, played by Zhang Ziyi was made that much better by the use of the trees and leaves flying around them, actually becoming a part of the fight. Their dance across tree tops so magnificently invoked images of Ziyi's movements in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The water, the trees and the mountains; everything is treated with so much respect and dignity in this film, becoming characters in their own right. Christopher Doyle's cinematography is brilliant. Tan Dun's score, complete with taiko drums and violins, is a perfect compliment to the action it follows. To say this film is a masterpiece of art and action would be an understatement.
The story is also well done featuring a time I know well of from my college history courses. While a work of fiction, everything made sense and was relevant to its time. They did their homework. The characters were masterfully cast with Jet Li perfect in his role, but Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung stealing the spotlight with their dramatic love for one another, as well as their characters' convictions in the film. Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen make the most of their limited time and Daoming Chen is perfect in his role as the ambiguous emperor.
Simply put, Hero is a poetic, dramatic film with more depth and culture than most of the cookie-cutter movies shown on the big screen. If the track record at the box office continues for good kung-fu movies with Hero, which it should, it may not be long before I am sitting down every Saturday afternoon watching kung fu films once more.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.