Jet Li's 'Hero'

[Matthew]

Hero

Release Date: August 27, 2004
Studio: Miramax Films
Director: Zhang Yimou
Screenwriter: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Tong Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Dao Ming, Donnie Yen, Liu Zhong Yuan, Zheng Tia Yong, Qin Yan, Chang Xiao Yang, Zhang Ya Kun, Ma Wen Hua, Jin Ming, Xu Kuang Hua, Wang Shou Xin, Hei Zi, Cao Hua, Li Lei, Xia Bin, Peng Qiang, Liu Jie, Zhang Yi
Genre: Action, Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality)
Official Website: Herothemovie.com
Plot Summary: At the end of China's Warring States, the Kingdom of Qin is the most ruthless and ambitious of the seven states. It's King is the target of assassins from all over China. Of all the would-be assassins, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Sky are the most dangerous. When Nameless kills all three, he is offered a chance to meet the King. Namesless explains to the King that how he used their personal relationships to expose and attack their weaknesses, but the King tells a different version of the same story.

This Reveiw CONTAINS SPOILERS. Be Warned.

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Story [10/10]

The story of this movie was spectacular... though I'm sure many of the younger members at this site would find it rather unentertaining. The part of the story that gets me is that isn't just one story... but three. The cover, The assumption, and The truth.



Visuals [10/10]

Wow... this movie was very poetic and very bueatiful. The fight scenes were amazing, simply put. It appeared to be a dance between the fighters. Graceful, and almost peaceful. I loved the diffrent color-schemes. One of the many, many high points to this movie.

Music [9/10]

When I saw this movie, and I listened to the music... I thought Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? Heh... the music is very similar, but it is amazing! Gotta love it.

Characters [8/10]

The character played by Zhang Ziyi was way over dramatic... especially at the end when her master died. Her reaction made me laugh... even though it was supposed to be dramatic. Don't get me wrong... I love Ziyi so it works out in the end ^^;. Nameless (Li) Was amazing... and so were every other characters... they portrayed them well... I loved the character of Flying Snow... very good.

Overall [10/10]

Huh? You might be asking... well, even though there were some lowpoints to this movie... (Maybe one or two...) It is perfect... it is very poetic, bueatiful and... perfect.

Pros:

-Visuals
-Settings
-Music
-Acting
-Plot
-Basically everything else...

Cons:

-Subtitles (Lemme explain... this was actually a pro, but many people don't like to read the subtitles... so I put them here... eh...)

K... talk about the movie here!

[Alakazam]

Hmm...I didn't read your review, since I intend to see the movie. I think it looks pretty cool. I didn't realize that it's got subs, lol. I think that's a pro as well; it adds another level of realism. But, you're right; most people hate subs. *Foolish ignorant Americans :rolleyes: *

[mlugia]

SPOILERS INCLUDED HRHRPWN

Ok, I watched this movie when it came out in China (downloaded a copy, no subbies cuz I can understand mandarin hrhr), and I haven't seen the subbied one yet, but I have seen some english trailers for it and...

THE ENGLISH TRAILERS ARE FREAKING STUPID

Original version:

Story: Well, it's interesting, not your average hero fighting ppl plot, but rather questions point of view and deception, nice. 8.5/10

Presentation: Loved the fighting scenes, music was decent, but standard for Wuxia movies, and uh, yeah. Ending was lacking, I thought, but the guys have cool beards! *drools* 9/10

Characters: Lacked depth, but what can you really do in a movie that's like 2 hours long? It's not one of those Wuxia series (*drools at Jin Yong's works*) so the characters are well done. Didn't like any of Ziyi's parts tho XD 9/10

Overall: Decent, IMHO better than CTHD because it's not "Book 4 of a 7 book series" or whatever CTHD was, it started, and it finished, unlike CTHD (which is like the only benchmark you can really compare it to in recent years in the foreign market), so a good movie. Besides, the fighting scenes rocked, and the scenery was like :-* 9/10

Note:

The English trailer that you see in Canada gives away the plot twist, where instead of saying Li's objective to kill the assassins for the king, they flat out tell you that Li wants revenge on the king and did it to kill the king.

like wtf, you don't give away the plot twist in 20 seconds worth of commercial, stupid asses.

[Kenny_C.002]

Cuz the Canadian trailer ppl are all a bunch of dumb...butts. lol

btw, did the subbing matter? I mean, it in Cantonese or Mandarin? Mandarin? Crap. I mean...I'll be reading the subs like half the time...

[Ace]

I have a DVD that was right from China. Apparently, one of my Sister's friends have ties there. It's subbed too. :biggrin:

I have yet to watch it though, but it looks pretty cool :neutral: