Daoming Chen, Donnie Yen, Jet Li

In a distant war torn land, a ruthless emperor is rising to power with an iron fist and massive armies. To control everything, he will stop at nothing. A fearless warrior, Nameless, goes on a mission ...( read more  read more... )of revenge, against the emperor, for the massacre of his people.

Flixster Users

85% liked it

224,981 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

187 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Yimou Zhang

Release Date: August 27, 2004

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DVD Release Date: November 30, 2004

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Stats: 12,575 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (12,575)


  • October 15, 2009
    After two years of hearing about the myth of the most expensive Chinese film ever made, Hero has finally floated on to British cinema screens. As it flies, it trails a coloured cloth that carries the film's numerous morals and messages which descend upon you like a soft layer of ...( read more)fabric. This is a film that can lift your spirits and have you laughing out in sheer joy as you gaze in wonder at the perfection of the mise-en-scene and cinematography. That is, if you let the film take you on a journey, without pondering the films questionable plot points.

    Hero is two sides of a tale as presented by Nameless (Jet Li), a mere Prefect who defeated three deadly assassins, and the King of Qin (Daoming Chen), the man the assassins wished to kill. Nameless weaves his heroic though modest story of how he killed the assassins, but the King remains unconvinced, spinning his own version of how he believed events unfolded.

    Director Yimou Zhang takes us through Nameless' story first, spreading the battle sequences thick, allowing them to take their own time. In the King's version, certain battles are then revised, which is remarkably brave considering that some battles are utter fabrications. In one such fictitious fight, in a faultlessly designed set, Nameless and Sky (Donnie Yen) close their eyes and fight out the battle within their minds. Screen time is being spent lavishly on showing how two characters contemplated a fight, whilst fighting each other in a battle that never occurred. It is confusing certainly, but perhaps Zhang wished for his audience to get lost in the plot's design so that they would not question the warrantability of half of the battle sequences, which make up most of the film.

    Yet, it is difficult to ponder these details when they are made so utterly insignificant when viewing such a spectacle. The sheer beauty of the battles, the gentle floating of the assassins as they fly around their arenas (which range from a forest full of orange leafed trees, crisp leaves falling down to the ground like rain, to the crystal clear and calm of a mountain lake), the costumes of characters at varying stages in the story line (red for passion, green for youth, white for truth, blue for love), the amazing army scenes which feature thousands of arrows being fired into the sky to create a black cloud that descends right on top of the camera, all these elements combine to produce a faultlessly perfect image on the screen, each frame a worthy photograph that gently reminds you why cinema is the greatest art form of the twentieth century.

    And characterisation is not lost in this beauty as one may have feared. Despite the irritating two dimensional performance of Zhang Ziyi as Moon, the other actors carry off fine performances, especially Tony Leung Chiu Wai as Broken Sword and Daoming Chen as the King. Their performances are especially credible as they are often drowning in the memories of the King and Nameless - they need to change slight mannerisms in order to reflect whose mind they are now in.

    The script too is of an impressively high standard. The moments of clarity that the warriors feel are experienced by the audience also, and there are some very informed outlooks of the emptiness of warfare, communicating that to achieve peace, sometimes war is the only option. These messages of course seem fitting in our current times, underlining how ancient some of the methods of our governing body truly are.

    Hero is undoubtedly a most beautiful and awe inspiring film. What it lacks in plot substance, it makes up for with structure and script. It elaborates on the ground work created by 'Crouching Tiger' and is an experience that I would encourage you to seek out, as long as you are willing to submit to the film and let it guide you through its world on its own terms.
  • September 18, 2009
    This is probably my favourite martial arts film of this kind, it's better than Hidden Dragon and Flying Daggers in my opinion!
  • June 13, 2009
    There is a plot to kill the king. Amazing scenery, fights and costumes. I like the vibrant colours and vast magnitude of the people scenes.
  • March 6, 2009
    Leaving aside any possible "ambigous-commie-oriented" profile the movie could have, this is still a great wuxia flick in all the right areas. Excellent cast, good direction from Zhang Yimou and great (if anything a bit already repetitive) photography from Christopher Doyle. Still...( read more) the best in the "wuxia trilogy" from Yimou.
  • February 7, 2009
    I'm not a huge fan of wire work, so that part of the film didn't particularly impress me too much, however I thought the use of colour was very impressive and visually effective and there were also a few subtle, yet impressive special effects, especially with the water scene.
    ...( read more)r/>

    I've heard great things said about this film and I do think the swordsmanship and choreography were enjoyable, however, my preference of Martial Arts films is defintely a little more hands on, with plain raw talent, agility and fighting using the body.
  • November 12, 2009
    Best Directing 2004 - Best Cinematography 2004 - Best costume design 2004
  • November 7, 2009
    me enamoré de esa china...
  • November 3, 2009
    SUPER. 5 Estrellas bien ganadas!
    Esto es ARTE y no fregaderas.
  • October 27, 2009
    visually stunning, however the twist is explained in the plot synopsis.
  • October 27, 2009
    A heartbreaking action masterpiece. Jet Li's performance is mindblowing.

Critic Reviews


May 4, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Strikes a mildly resonant chord. full review

August 27, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Ravishes the eye without quite touching the heart. full review

August 27, 2004
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

As brilliant and ephemeral as a fireworks display. full review

August 27, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Demonstrates how the martial arts genre transcends action and violence and moves into poetry, ballet and philosophy. full review

August 26, 2004
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

From beginning to end, Hero is a painting in motion, its fight scenes a ballet with blades. full review

August 22, 2004
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

One of the most beautiful works of cinema to be presented in American theatres in this lifetime... It is a perfect film. full review

View more Hero reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • WrellikW
    August 11, 2008
    I didn't like the gravity defying martial art, but the rest of the movie was brilliant and the sets were beautiful.
    Ziyi Zhang is not bad to look at either. If you like her, watch the movies 'The Road Home' or 'Memoirs of a Geisha'; They're both good!

    Take care all,
    William
    Zzzzzooooommmmmm!

    "It is easy to be brave, from a distance." -American Indian Proverb-
  • DarkFriendlyAngel
    March 16, 2008
    this movie is awesome i love ziyi zhang.
  • SoulSweeper
    February 9, 2008
    Great movie
  • dannycook123
    February 26, 2007
    This movie is fantastic!

    All FANS of ZHANG ZIYI who are on BEBO please become a GROUPIE of ZHANG ZIYI's FAN page at,

    http://Zhang-Ziyi-Fans. bebo.com

    thanks.

    P.S Zhang Ziyi is rules.
  • Gaijindesu
    July 8, 2006
    Yimou Zhang has created a vibrant masterpiece of Hong Kong style action. The story, acting, and fight sequences are phenomenal. Jet Li and Maggie Cheung lead wonderful roles and the movie throws curveball after curveball up to it's surprise ending.

    It is unfortunate that Quentin Tarantino had to slap his name on it, simply for calling attention to it and doing nothing else even remotely related to the movie, but it is nice to see that someone has brought it to the mainsteam so that more people can appreciate it.

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