 Some movies are so overtly artistic that it takes away from the overall impact of the film. While "Hero" is a certainly an artistic movie, the creative aspects add to both the film's substance and meaning.
I must admit, this movie was quite a bit different than I expected. The previews made the movie look like an epic war of one man against several large armies. I had the feeling it would share a similar storyline with "The Last Samaurai." Well I was wrong on both accounts. "Hero" is about a warrior who fights for one reason, which isn't revealed until the end of the movie. The battle scenes are nearly all one-on-one battles, placing the focus on individuals, not on entire armies like most war movies.
"Hero" upholds the traditional Chinese morals of love, honor, and sacrifice, but also includes a secondary theme of trust. These themes are wonderfully woven together, making for a highly emotional movie. Though If you like movies with a lot of dialogue, this probably isn't the best film for you. There are many scenes that last several minutes without any talking whatsoever. When the characters do finally speak, it is usually only for a couple of seconds. Furthermore, the language is in Chinese, so the movie is subtitled. Fortunately, like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," you forget about the subtitles once the movie draws you in.
While there are no huge battle scenes, there are many individual matches between Jet Li and characters. These scenes are all creatively done, with great use of different camera angles and slow motion effects. Even those who don't like fighting scenes can appreciate the artistic elements in the scenes of this movie.
The plot of "Hero" is engaging, but not very developed. There is little background information given about the main characters and not a lot of context provided for each scene. While this makes the movie less predictable, it is hard to follow at times. I felt that some of the "loose ends" of the movie were drawn together at the end, but not all of them. Even though "Hero" lacked character development and context, I was surprised at how much the movie drew me in.
"Hero" is an artistic masterpiece, focusing mostly on creative detail. This artistic approach carries out the themes of love, honor, sacrifice, and trust in a way that is emotional and meaningful. While the storyline is a bit shallow, this is a great film if you want a refreshing change from the typical American action movie. |
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