Film Roar

Hero [Ying Xiong] (2002)

I first heard about Hero (2002) when it set records for most expensive movie produced in China as well as overseas box-office records in 2002. It was with pained agony that I had to wait two years to see it on a US Screen. It was well worth the wait.

Hero is a movie that is truly deserving of the adjective 'epic' and is not only worth watching but very much deserving of being seen in a movie theater with a large, clear screen and a top notch sound system. From the breathtaking panoramic shots of the Chinese desert to the poetic close-ups of rainwater slowly accumulating to drop before battling heroes the cinematography alone is worth the price of admission. I would recommend arriving at the theater early so you may claim a seat close to the screen in order to be fully enveloped by the visuals. The melancholic accompaniment of Itzhak Perlman's expert treatment of stringed instruments as well as rich choral and percussion tempo added to the battles demand a submersion into the soundscape of the movie.

Though it may seem cliché to compare Hero to it's older brother Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), this earlier film provides the best frame of reference for US audiences into the rich mythos of the formation of modern China. At times Hero seems to try to hard to stick to the formula which proved so successful to it's predecessor, but adopting the same themes while adding a unique attention to beautiful detail works well and succeeds in making a rounded and rich world.

There has been much praise among the aficionados of Asian cinema for Jet Li's appearance in Hero, and indeed the seasoned actor did not disappoint nor did his skilled co-horts Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung and Ziyi Zhang who many may recognize from her leading role in Crouching Tiger. I was especially impressed though with the performance by Daoming Chen who manages to find a richness of emotion in the relatively passive part of the King of Qin.

Hero is not a perfect movie, nor will it appeal to everyone. If you enjoyed Crouching Tiger or the other Chinese Myth movies (The Bride with White Hair (1993), A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)) you will likely take great pleasure from Hero. If you are new to this genre I would recommend watching the trailer, it is a very accurate taste of what you will experience on screen. If you do decide to see the movie, try to catch it on a big screen if you can.