REVIEW: DVD Release: Hero

Film: Hero
Release date: 21st February 2005
Certificate: 12
Running time: 95 mins
Director: Yimou Zhang
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Donnie Yen
Genre: Action/Adventure/Martial Arts
Studio: Miramax
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong/China

Zhang Yimous’ sumptuous historical warrior epic certainly lives up to, if not surpasses, the two years of excited hype that this is the most expensive Chinese film ever made. Falling firmly within the wuxia genre, this breathtaking (although sometimes mind boggling) piece of cinematography softly coaxes you through a dramatic journey of loyalty, love and sacrifice that deals with both personal and political issues without feeling as though you are having to wade through a torrent of boringly obvious morals and ethics.

The determined dream of King Qin (Daoming Chen) to become the first emperor of China draws the attention of three deadly assassins from neighbouring warring kingdoms. It seems as though there is nobody who can defeat the killers until an enigmatic nameless warrior, surprisingly called Nameless (Jet Li), appears to seek a private audience with the naturally wary king.

Nameless claims to have battled and beaten all three of the king’s enemies - Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Long Sky (Donnie Yen) - and modestly explains the details of the slayings. Even with the dead assassins’ weapons as proof of their demise at his feet, the king is unconvinced and proceeds to put forward a completely different version of how he thinks events played out.

Two powerful men with two opposing powerful stories, but which is the right one?


The actors carry off a solid set of performances, creating powerful, complex characters. Particularly of note is Jet Li’s portrayal of Nameless, our perfectly inscrutable hero warrior, who manages to subtly layer his character, leaving the audience questioning whether his motives are entirely honourable and honest. Maggie Cheung’s never faltering grace and beauty also shines through by combing a lethal combination of femme fatale with the ability to slay opponents with the ease of a warm knife through butter.

The director stretches the delicious battle scenes so that they make up a huge portion of the film, and revised in different ways according to who is telling the tale. Time is taken to create a tantalising flow of impressive frames that only serves to whet the appetite for the next. The direction is wonderfully unique, a prime example being when Nameless and Long Sky are engaged in battle purely in their minds. It is undoubtedly amazing visual art, but the audience would be forgiven for thinking they were being deliberately swept away by the set design to detract from the sometimes dubious plot points.

But, to be honest, it’s hard to care or be bothered to rack our brains over such mere doubts when there is so much more to be inspired by. Christopher Doyle is in charge of photography and has managed to create a masterpiece. Whether it’s the goose pimple inducing battle sequences, the majestic serenity of the floating assassins, or the fantastically vibrant use of nature and landscape that takes your breath away, it’s the perfection of imagery that makes Hero a must to watch.

Although the backdrop is arguably one of the most beautiful in cinematography, the halting nature of the narrative doesn’t give the characters enough opportunity to open up and develop to their fullest potential. Confusing changes in the storytelling and the battle scenes means the audience spends more time trying to figure this out and has less time concentrating on the characters. Subsequently, the film lacks the emotional appeal that made Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon such a winner.

Still, Zhang Yimou certainly has succeeded in making a special martial arts spectacle, although to merely class Hero as a martial arts film doesn’t give justice to the sublime richness of the movie. Although the warriors float around the screen as if part of a tightly woven, intricate dance, the audience knows that the possibility of blood, pain and death is ever present - a poetic brutality if you will - but these moments are kept comfortably waiting in the wings whilst the senses are overwhelmed by the genius of the picture.


All in all, this beautifully beguiling story is a timeless action movie, a heavyweight title clincher that will enjoy both commercial success as well as satisfying lovers of foreign films. At times lacking in plot substance and slightly confusing which, possibly, has been anticipated by the director, prompting the use of colour coding to indicate through which eyes the story is being told and also the individual stages in the story. However, this is a mere spot of rust in an otherwise impeccable suit of armour. Hero is an awe inspiring experience that should be sought by all movie lovers.