How to watch: Available on Hulu (with subscription); $3.99 to rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and Google Play
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Daoming Chen, Donnie Yen
Director: Yimou Zhang
Writers: Yimou Zhang, Bin Wang, Feng Li
Run Time: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: 2002 (China), August 2004 (USA)
Style: Martial Arts, Wu Xia, Wushu, Drama, Chinese
More information on this film can be found on its IMDB page.
My History with Wu Xia
To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of Wu Xia films. I would much prefer a ground-based, hand to hand fight scene. Something about the magic and wirework has never clicked with me. I understand the appeal of Wu Xia; it just has never really sat well with me. I grew up with the hand to hand ferocity of Jackie Chan, Gordon Liu, and Bruce Lee, and my horizons were broadened with Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, and Wu Jing. Of course, I had seen plenty of Jet Li and Donnie Yen films, but they were movies like Flash Point, Ip Man, The One, and Unleashed.
I was socialized to think that wirework, especially obvious wirework, was a hindrance to films of all genres. Today, I know that this kind of thinking is ignorant. The powers and abilities of characters within Wu Xia serve a purpose. Sometimes they can be just as beautiful as a perfectly choreographed fight scene.
Overview
In Yimou Zhang’s Hero, Jet Li plays Nameless, a local swordsman who claims to have killed the biggest threats to the emperor. Nameless is summoned for an audience with the emperor to present the weapons of the assassins Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Falling Snow (Maggie Cheung). With every weapon presented, Nameless must provide the story of how he managed to single-handedly eliminate all threats to the Qin Dynasty. But his stories may not be true.
Story Review: 8.5/10
Multilayered Narrative
The base layer of the story takes place within the Emperor’s hall. This is where Nameless tells the story of how he killed the three assassins. As he tells the story, we are shown what happened through various flashbacks. Each one depicted with varying and abundant use of color in setting and costumes. By the end of the film, we are provided three different stories: the first a lie told by Nameless, the second is speculation from the emperor, and finally Nameless provides the truth. The three stories each moving the narrative of the present forward. As each story contains the same characters, the portrayal of each one consistently changes.
The relationship between Broken Sword and Falling Snow is beautifully acted by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. They are given plenty of opportunities to play with their characters through the different stories. Their love is not only on display through their emotions but also through their choreography. Whether they are fighting together or with each other, their emotion shows through the fight.
Surrounded by Color
As mentioned before, each telling of the story features entire sets and costumes made up of one color or color palette. I have seen hundreds of martial arts films from all over the world. Very few put this much attention into the set and costume design. A film like Five Elements Ninja comes to mind, but even that pales in comparison to the beauty that is Hero. I’m not saying that colors are used to accent specific scenes; the colors almost are the screen. Massive green fabrics contrast to the black walls between them. Floors, walls, scrolls, and garbs of blue permeate the senses as characters and their swords glide within it all.
Martial Arts Review: 7/10
A Perfect Moment
Is anything in film ever really perfect? If there is such a thing, then this film contains one of those rare moments. While a majority of Hero is a heavy Wu Xia style, this one fight scene is some of the most excellent weapons-based action that I have ever seen. There is some limited wirework here, but a vast majority of the fight is pure and intense fight choreography. Who better to steal the show than two modern legends of Chinese cinema? Surprisingly, Jet Li and Donnie Yen had not shared a screen since 1992’s Once Upon a Time in China II. The scene sees the spear-wielding Donnie Yen taking on Jet Li and his sword. Their charisma combined with their chemistry and immaculate Wushu skills add up to equal one of the most stunning sequences in the history of Wu Xia.
Wu Xia for the Masses
In China, the Wu Xia genre makes up their fantasy films. We, as Americans, watch Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings and accept them as intense drama. This intense drama just so happens to take place in a world of dragons, elves, and orcs. We are socialized to see this as fantasy, and anything else is just odd and different. Wu Xia is fantasy, just not that of our own conception. Although I respect the amazing stunt work that goes into many Wu Xia films, even I struggle to get through many of them. While Wu Xia is completely normal in China, the various powers that characters possess and the warriors flying across the screen are jarring on this side of the world. It doesn’t help that Western audiences have been groomed to laugh at excessive wirework.
Hero definitely falls into the Wu Xia category, but it manages to feel palatable for foreign audiences. While there are moments of sudden flight, the scenes are so well crafted that one who is not accustomed to seeing something like this can look past it. This is helped by the inclusion of fantastically choreographed swordplay.
Jet Li is obviously amazing in his moments of action, but he only makes up so much of the film. The rest of the cast pull off their legendary assassin characters with style and grace. Ziyi Zhang had previously executed incredible martial arts in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon but she took it upon herself to learn a new set of skills for this movie. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung have starred in their fair share of Wu Xia films, so they naturally took to the physical requirements. Even the emperor himself, Daoming Chen, wonderfully executed his fight scene with Tony Leung.
Overall: 8/10
Conclusion
Every genre of film has a selection of must-see motion pictures. Yimou Zhang’s Hero falls into that category. Of course, the action is solid. Donnie Yen and Jet Li set a high bar for weapons-based choreography, but the action is not actually why this is a must-see film. The cinematography, the set design, the costumes, the use of color, and so many other things come together to help shape a completely gorgeous work of art. Every scene feels like a painting come to life, inhabited by wonderful characters. Nothing went into this film without immense thought and care put into it. Even if Wu Xia is not for you, watch Hero for everything around it. The incredible performances from all of the cast, beautiful scenery, and more than spectacular use of color are enough to draw in film lovers from all corners of the medium.
What did you think of Yimou Zhang’s Hero? Check out more Martial Journal reviews, and when you are done, head over to my Youtube channel to hear my thoughts on other martial arts films. I recommend this video about why I got so upset while watching this film in particular.
Check out my Youtube channel where I review and discuss martial arts films.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUYUbj1Rjnf07S3UbVvKZ0Q?view_as=subscriber
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