Instead of writing about the storyline which most of you will have already read, i've decided to quite simply give you my opinion and views on the film.
First off, i have to admit that i'm abit biased as i adored the film, own it on DVD and have watched it about 4 times already. But i'll try to give a fair opinion.
The first time i watched Hero, i was mesmerised by the amazing colours and sceneries. The fight scenes were of such grandeur and class that it made me want to study martial arts. Having chinese origins, i was also very proud to see a film boasting chinese culture and being in my opinion not too "hollywoodised".
It's hard to pin point exactly what makes the film great. The fight scenes, the landscape, the directing, the actors themselves? All are so wonderful and come together so well it's fair to say that it was a joint effort. All of these elements contributed to making the film so exciting.
The storyline is simply and easy to follow but still exciting. However if you're expecting a complex plot, don't bother watching Hero. It's not about that.
The film is mostly just a series of fight sequences but i see nothing wrong with that. No one ever wonders where the plot is in pornographic movies do they? So i would say that Hero is the porn of the Matial Arts industry. Great looking sequences, very exciting camera work and actors that are very good with their swords!
The only thing that i can think of as negative is that by the 4th time i watched it, i did start to think that maybe the fight scenes were alittle long. Abit like when you watch matrix reloaded again and that Neo vs all the Agent Smiths in the park fight seems to go on forever. However, no one can deny that the first time they saw it it was pretty amazing.
All in all, i thoroughly recommend watching Hero. I have seen posters up in my local UGC cinema so i guess it'll be coming out in the UK very shortly. However i'm abit concerned because on the poster it read : Quentin Tarentino presents: Hero Where did Quentin Tarentino come from? I don't remember seeing his name in the original credits? Maybe they're "hollywoodised" it abit? Or maybe they even have a version with dubbing, after all most of the actors in the film speak excellent english. Either way, it's worth checking out. If not for the crazy fight stunts, then at least for the sheer beauty of the Chinese and Mongolian Landscape.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Martial Arts - Director: Prachya Pinkaew - Original Language: English\Vietnamese\Thai\Mandarin - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Tony Jaa, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Production Year: 1981 - Martial Arts - Director: Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida, Masahiro Tomikawa, Tomisaburo Wakayama
While I appreciate that you do not want to give away the plot, it would have been helpful to summarise it a little bit. I have never heard of this film. I liked your opinion, though.
MAFARRIMOND 11.09.2004 14:18
I've heard a lot of good things about this film. I will have to watch it. Maureen
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