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Cast:
Jet
Li
Maggie
Cheung
Tony
Leung Chiu Wai
Zhang
Ziyi
Chen
Daoming
Donnie
Yen
Action:
Ching
Siu Tung
Stephen
Tung Wai
Producer:
Zhang
Yimou
William
Kong
Director:
Zhang
Yimou
Score:
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HERO
AKA:
Jet Li's Hero
Year:
2002 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
At
long last, the wait is over. After such a lengthy production
schedule, the hype machine for this film managed to go into
overload, and many comparisons were made before the film had
even entered its first Chinese theatre. Already nominated for
a best foreign film Oscar (but not winning), every Western
critic who had seen it could not help themselves but to make
references to other epics such as 'Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon' or 'Rashomon'. Such comparisons, in
my opinion, are unfair and I viewed the film as it should be:
on its own merits.
This
review is of the HK Edko DVD and therefore the Theatrical cut.
A Director's cut version is due out shortly, but will not be
seen in theatres, as a film like this deserves. Unfortunately,
a cinema release of this cut in the West is not even certain,
since Miramax hold the rights and are infamous for their
disgraceful treatment of Chinese films. I just hope they don't
dub it if it does get released.
The
visual style of this movie is what impressed me the most, as
each set of events or fight sequences has its own unique
colour scheme wonderfully captured by cinematographer
Christopher Doyle. You really have to see it for yourself. The
narrative is predominantly told in flashbacks, with each
sequence often being retold from a different perspective.
Although this method has been done before, it should not be
seen to compete, and works very well for this film as our
perception of the truth - and who is right or wrong - changes
throughout. Jet Li's portrayal of "Nameless" is very
well done, and shows a side to his acting ability that
Hollywood has not yet allowed. The one criticism would be that
not enough time is spent on developing other characters,
particularly Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Broken Sword
(Tony Leung). Fortunately, this should be elaborated upon in
the forthcoming directors cut. Their scenes are still emotive
and strong, while the inclusion of Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi
play more as extended cameos getting a bigger bite at the
action.
The
action scenes within the film have clearly divided people.
Those most critical were those who expected a more traditional
ground-based style in the mould of Yuen Woo Ping, but in this
instance, the chief choreographer Ching Siu Tung elects for a
more aesthetically flamboyant approach straight from the
traditional Wuxia novels. Here, characters can literally fly
and walk on water while delivering their attacks, taking the
abilities seen in previous movies to a higher level. What we
gain in the visuals, we lose in the choreography and only Jet
Li's encounter with Sky (Donnie Yen) contains true martial
artistry. That is not to say they are not exciting because
they are, and I personally loved them, even though I am the
biggest fan of the 80's modern day style! Some of the fight
scenes do incorporate CGI and while it is not always
convincing, it does not ruin them in the same way that Andrew
Lau has done in recent films such as 'The
Avenging Fist'. In this case they are an enhancement and
not just a cover up for talent.
I
should remind the reader that this is not a film for everyone,
and I doubt most western audiences would take to it very well.
In this reviewer's opinion 'Hero' has shown that an
exquisitely photographed film does not always have to be a
case of style over substance. I eagerly await the extended
version to see if some of the characters and flashbacks are
built upon. In the meantime, I heartily recommend this DVD to
any fan of Wuxia flicks as the action and pacing is still very
good, and a fabulous advert for Chinese filmmaking. With
Korean cinema getting all the plaudits at the moment, it is
nice to see that the HK/Chinese can still compete.
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