Hero

2004 "One man's strength will unite an empire."
7.9| 1h39m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 27 August 2004 Released
Producted By: Beijing New Picture Film Co. Ltd.
Country: Hong Kong
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

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Beijing New Picture Film Co. Ltd.

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david_hokey_16 I certainly disagree with the message. I understand that this is a telling of how China came to be by "uniting" the different kingdoms but it, possibly inadvertently, sends the message that war and conquer are good. The king is a ruthless man who will do anything to achieve his goals of bringing the different kingdoms together. This includes the killing of many individuals. Sometimes war is necessary. To protect. But never to conquer. We should all be united, but not in the way this film presents. We can live separately yet together in peace. The different kingdoms could have thrived separately but this king was willing to kill so that they would all be forced under one rule. Not because the others were dealing with injustice or the like but because that's just how he wanted it. So while the film is obviously stunning visually - the choreography, the use of color, lighting, etc. it all ultimately fails in its portrayal as the message is not one that deserves to be uplifted. It's a great film for its endeavors but ultimately shameful in what it's trying to tell us. Allowing the king to succeed may have stopped the killing but he started it to begin with and this choice undoes the entire sacrifice of nameless and the two lovers and their pain.
Mary To give your life for a greater good is one thing. To give your life for a violent tyrant with delusions of grandeur is another. As noble as the idea "One under the sky" may be, it all depends on who unites the people and how. Because that was also Hitler's ideal, to create one big empire, never mind human casualties. Can we still justify the loss of even just one human soul as "necessary for the greater good" ? Can we still accept the barbaric idea that human souls are dispensable for the good of the cause ? And who defines the righteousness of the cause? These were cruel and savage times but we're supposed to understand better now. There is nothing truly wise or ethical or humble about the King of Qin, not even in the film. All he's after is power, as so many conquerers before him. He says at some point in this film that he does not intend to stop with China, his ultimate goal is to conquer the Earth. Just another megalomaniac , drunk with power, who justified his viciousness and lust for glory with a noble lie - we've seen so many of them in human history. I went through a few reviews and I only found one that pointed out the obvious and clarified a few things. It is indeed shocking that so many viewers cared only for the spectacular effects and the beauty in the scenes and did not even care to examine the message of the film a little deeper. I thank the user by the name "potteries" for pointing out that : "the dynasty the king founded collapsed rapidly after his death as a result of the hatred for his regime". Of course it collapsed. Such regimes are unstable by nature. Tyrannies always collapse. The goal to "unify the people" can never be reached through tyranny. That's why democracy and human rights were invented.
The Movie Diorama It's not often I say "classic" for this genre, there are certain milestones. Much like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon back in 2000, Hero became popular in western audiences due to its easy accessibility and minimal dialogue. This film is absolutely gorgeous. One of THE most beautiful, stunning, majestic cinematic pieces ever conceived. The use of colour is so extraordinary that me attempting to describe it won't do it justice. Whole scenes are built on colours. Costumes, production design, the environment...all based on one colour. An example would be the fight scene in the woods where all the leaves and trees are autumnal, the costumes are shades of red. Then later on in the scene, the shades of yellow and brown transition to red seamlessly and it is just so damn beautiful. If a scene takes place in a desert then everything is presented as yellow. How about in the King's palace? The interior design, armour and costumes are black. It's not even subtle, so you will notice it but it's entrancing and makes the experience ever so hypnotising. The film is about a Nameless warrior retelling his eradication of three assassins to the King, but not everything is as clear as what he says it is. It's an intriguing narrative, if I were to dive into it it would spoil the plot. But there is a point where we have a flashback within a flashback (flashbackception?) so that should give you a clue regarding the linearity of the plot. Important themes are explored such as the similarities between idealism and love, how one can kill or be willing to die for an ideal or love. Excellently acted by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, two assassins who are embroiled in a complicated love affair. Donnie Yen and Jet Li are there to provide the amazing action. A martial arts classic is not without its action, and Hero is damn full of it. The choreography is rapidly insane...how can anyone comprehend the speed at which these guys fight is beyond me. Just...watch this. Please, it's so good.
gamergcfan The start is really cool, with very enjoyable action scenes. The emperor's perception of the hero originally could be a red herring...or not? The sense of mystery made it exciting to find out the actual story. But ugh, I was really disappointed in the story later on.The plot went all over the place and had practically no cohesion with all sorts of stuff not making much sense. All those plot twists were annoying.The visuals are beautiful, but that's basically the only thing I can compliment. The action scenes were quite cool at first, but later on became rather annoying with all the exaggerated jumping and whatnot.I would recommend only watching until the first half. The second half is filled with irking plot twists and is overall less exciting. Two-thirds into the movie, I was already losing interest because the plot felt nonexistent just for the sake of tacking a moral message in the end.TL;DR: It was cool in the first half, but the really poor plot towards the second half marred the movie.+ Great visuals+ Enjoyable action scenes in the startReally illogical and contrived plotAction scenes eventually become annoyingly exaggerated