Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"How swift thy sword!"

[year/rating] 2002 PG-13 [genre] Martial Arts Adventure [director] Yimou Zhang [starring] Jet Li Tony Leung Chiu Wai Maggie Cheung Ziyi Zhang

Tagline

One man will challenge an empire

Summary Capsule

This land is your land. This land is my land. From the Himalayan Mountains to the Tibetan Highlands.

Mutant Meter

Movie Store [proceeds go toward monthly MRFH upkeep]

Check out this movie in DVD, and the soundtrack CD

Clare's Rating: You got your Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in my The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover! Well you got The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover in my Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!
Clare's Review: I've heard the following things said in my presence about this film:

"I thought the fight scenes were fricking awesome, but what was all that other stuff about?"

and

"I've never really gotten why people dig that kind of highly choreographed fight scene stuff, but the rest of the movie was fricking awesome!!"

"I don't really find movies 'breathtaking' very often, but there are at least three scenes in this film I can think of off the top of my head that make me drop my jaw and shake my head in disbelief every time I try to describe them to people."

So I have it from two completely spontaneous and unsolicited sources that no matter what you're into, this movie will deliver SOMETHING worth investing your hard earned doubloons to see. For those of you who, like myself, love all things kung fu and also love grandiose sweeping tales of epic proportions, this movie is a shiny penny found accidentally on the sidewalk of cinema. Or something. My point is, thus far and by far, it's the best movie I've seen all year. And that's counting both volumes of Kill Bill.

I didn't know anything at all about Hero the first time I saw it recently and I have to say that I think walking in completely cold was the best way to go about it. I'd seen a couple of shots from the movie and a few friends had HIGHLY recommended it, so I checked it out on a dare more than anything else. With that in mind, I'm not going to really say too much about the plot of the movie or about what's in store for you if you venture out to see it.

The movie begins with a nameless man (named Nameless — played by Jet Li) being delivered to a meeting with the king who is going to reward our hero for successfully killing the three people in his land who have been trying to assassinate the king for the length of his reign. The rest you'll just have to find out for yourself.

I've seen Hero twice and I plan on trying to see it again at least one more time before it leaves theaters. There's so much to take in by way of the story, the acting, the insanely beautiful cinematography, use of music, costumes, set design, choreography and just about everything else you can list off that makes movies worth seeing in the first place. In any case, I have to recommend that you see Hero in whatever way, shape or form you can find it. Big screen with the stereo surround sound is optimal, but don't NOT see it on DVD just because it's not as loud and big as it would be in a theater. I don't really find movies "breathtaking" very often, but there are at least three scenes in this film I can think of off the top of my head that make me drop my jaw and shake my head in disbelief every time I try to describe them to people. And like I said, even if you're not the kind of person who is down for giant dramatic story arcs and epic love stories, it's also got a humongous ton of crazy great fighting and action sequences too. So you can't lose, really.

Hero was a huge hit when it came out overseas a few years ago. It was nominated for best foreign film last year at our Oscars, but didn't win. I really can't figure out why not though. It's grand, ambitious, innovative, epic, sweeping, gorgeous and finely crafted in pretty much every regard imaginable. Go see it.

hubba hubba "Go... THAT way!" What makes you think I won't cut you?

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

I did, mostly to listen to the cool music.

Unnecessary Background [some sources: IMDb]

The emperor remarks, after hearing Nameless tell him that there are 19 ways to write the word "sword", that he would solve this problem. In history, he succeeded in enforcing only one writing system in the whole of China. This way, whatever dialect people speak, they would be using the same set of characters making communication a lot easier.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Apparently, the theatrical version of this film is altered from the DVD version in a couple of important ways. Most notably, the two words that Broken Sword writes for Nameless in the sand are not the same. I won't give away the difference in case you want to check out both versions. But in my (Clare) opinion, it changes the whole movie...

I (Clare) would like to go on record with the following: I think Maggie Cheung, who plays Flying Snow, is perhaps the most beautiful woman I've ever seen with my own two eyes. Even more astounding is that, according to the IMDb, she's 40 years old.

This movie is the most expensive Chinese movie made to date and was a huge hit in its home country raking in 7 of China's version of the Oscars last year.

Miramax originally acquired the U.S. distribution rights in 2002 after the film's huge success in Asia. The film never materialized. Unable to find an official U.S. version, the film has gained a cult following in the States via "official" copies of the DVD from other countries.

The cinematographer for Hero, Christopher Doyle, was also the cinematographer for Made (Now how's that for range?).

Groovy Quotes

Flying Snow: How swift thy sword.

Nameless: Good calligraphy.
Broken Sword: Good swordsmanship.

Soundtrack Review

The soundtrack and score are a large part of what I absolutely loved about this movie. It's really interesting stuff, but more importantly, it's used PERFECTLY throughout the film to evoke reaction and provide more to the story as it unfolds. It's beautiful. I plan on picking it up on CD as soon as possible.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
• Mulan