Hero: a review
Sep. 27th, 2004 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewduckerSome people might find their beauty in Rembrandt, others in Pollock. Some find it in hills and rivers, others in gothic architecture. Some people even find it in the random twisting of a plastic bag in the breeze.
Personally, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Hero is one of the most beautiful things ever. It's got the incredible architecture of pre-Imperial China, sixteen different kinds of scenery so gorgeous they make your head spin and some of the most luscious cinematography I've ever seen. And while it has no plastic bags, it does have an amazing sequence set in an autumn grove where leaves swirl dramatically in the wind. That bit's pretty too.
What it _doesn't_ have is a complicated plot. It's a retelling of a chinese legend - of the assassins that attempted to kill the King of the of Qin. The King is attempting to take over all of China and bring it under his rule (the first time that this would have happened), and is being dreadfully violent and totalitarian about it. Various assassins conspire to kill him in revenge for his destruction of the neighbouring province of Zhao. It's not a complex plot, but it is very nicely told, with flashbacks, twists and some nice philosophising thrown in.
It's also a legend - and as such is told in legendary style. Imagine that it's being retold to villagers around a fire and you'll have the right approach - legendary fighters pull off impossible feats of swordplay, leap incredible distances and act in legendary ways. They don't behave like ordinary people any more than Greek Gods do.
So, go in expecting a complex plot full of deep characters and you will be disappointed. Enter the cinema looking for a legendary tale told by a master and you'll be richly rewarded.
ObComparison: Makes Crouching Tiger look a bit wussy.
9/10
Personally, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Hero is one of the most beautiful things ever. It's got the incredible architecture of pre-Imperial China, sixteen different kinds of scenery so gorgeous they make your head spin and some of the most luscious cinematography I've ever seen. And while it has no plastic bags, it does have an amazing sequence set in an autumn grove where leaves swirl dramatically in the wind. That bit's pretty too.
What it _doesn't_ have is a complicated plot. It's a retelling of a chinese legend - of the assassins that attempted to kill the King of the of Qin. The King is attempting to take over all of China and bring it under his rule (the first time that this would have happened), and is being dreadfully violent and totalitarian about it. Various assassins conspire to kill him in revenge for his destruction of the neighbouring province of Zhao. It's not a complex plot, but it is very nicely told, with flashbacks, twists and some nice philosophising thrown in.
It's also a legend - and as such is told in legendary style. Imagine that it's being retold to villagers around a fire and you'll have the right approach - legendary fighters pull off impossible feats of swordplay, leap incredible distances and act in legendary ways. They don't behave like ordinary people any more than Greek Gods do.
So, go in expecting a complex plot full of deep characters and you will be disappointed. Enter the cinema looking for a legendary tale told by a master and you'll be richly rewarded.
ObComparison: Makes Crouching Tiger look a bit wussy.
9/10
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no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 09:56 am (UTC)I have now seen it three times, with three different people, and each time I found myself just gape-jawed at how incredibly beautiful it was.
Wire fights usually bug me, and they were one of the reasons I didn't like Crouching Tiger; I love watching martial arts combat with actual human skill, and flying around not only takes away a lot of the human power, it frequently slows down combat by putting the combattants on opposite sides of the courtyard (or the side of a building) from one another. In Hero, however, they didn't, mostly because (with the exception of the water fight) the battles took place in small, controlled areas where the wires could make the actors walk up walls and hang from ceilings, but couldn't make them fly spectacularly over large distances. The chess house fight remains one of my favourite things I've ever seen on film, not only because it was so damn beautiful, but because that was some damn impressive combat (I'm still sad Sky didn't get to be in more of the movie, as he was hot).
In other news, I'm listening to the soundtrack right now.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 10:23 am (UTC)I don't know if it was convincing fighting but it was the most beautiful flying of them all - who hasn't longed to soar like a sea bird, feet barely brushing the water and then pulling up towards the sky? plus it looked like a Monet water lily painting, only better ..
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 09:56 am (UTC)Oh, hell yes! It was grand and gorgeous, and mythical, and romantic, and gothic, and Chinese.
Freakin' fabulous.
Makes Crouching Tiger look a bit wussy.
Yep!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 11:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-27 02:47 pm (UTC)