Hero

This movie is beautiful. It’s just an amazing thing to look at. If this movie had no sound at all. I would still watch it. It’s the kind of movie that you could take most still shots from it, and frame them and put them on your wall. Glorious.

We enter into feudal china, divided into 7 different regions with different warlords controlling each area. They are a mess, and the barbarian hordes are eating them alive. Literally. We meet a young man with no name (Jet Li, Lethal Weapon 4) who is one of the greatest assassins in the world. He has proven this to the king of Qin by killing the three most famous assassins in the land, and men who the King feared so much that he lived in isolation, 100 paces from all human beings, in a suit of armor.

The movie consists of the king interviewing his would be saviour, and learning the true nature of the man he has invited to draw nearer to him than any man has in years.

It’s a twisted cat and mouse game of contrast and recounting flashbacks which are spun by both speakers. The colors and the symbolism is rich, and full of beauty.

The style switches back and forth from classical, modern style and dreamlike flying style, and then many in between. The story is also rich. Incidently, this is like a hall of fame movie for Chinese actors, though many Americans would not know.

A definite 2 and well worth owning a copy.