HERO

stars jet li, maggie chung
3/5
originally released back in 2002, "hero" is about a nameless warrior (li) on a mission to assassinate the tyrannical king. the film is, as a friend of mine had suggested, like an armani advertisement - everything is beautiful. the now everyday wirework of hong kong cinema plays a huge role in this film, having fight scenes over lakes and through the tree tops.

for me, i thought the fight scenes were kinda ho-hum and almost sleep inducing, but for the audience that was watching at the cinemas, they thought it was sorta cool.

whilst the fights scenes are notable, the most remarkable aspect of this film is its narration. the film uses its characters to tell differing tales of battles and triumphs, all with seamless and elegant colour-scheming.

the film is kinda long though i'm not sure of the exact minutes. but i implore you to stay awake! the audio at some cinemas may be really brisk and loud, which was certainly the case at my local cinema. but the sound on the dvd is quite alright.
stand out performance by maggie chung (spelling?), who gives the film the much needed emotional touch.

-LOki