Customer Reviews
Tiresome paean to totalitarianism = propaganda. - By: mad_mushroom, 07 Jul 2008 
I have a problem with these 'dancing on air' martial arts films, a-la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: they look daft. Once you've seen one guy on a wire you've seen them all. Once you've seen a guy stamping his feet forty feet up a bamboo tree you say `Oh, look, a bird'. The only place where these effects have ever seemed anything other than laughable isin The Matrix: because it isn't a real world environment. There you can make allowances. Hero has lots of stylish fighting, but if you can't take it seriously, what's the point? An exercisein futility.
Hero is additionally befuddled by the message it attempts to impart: totalitarian societies are okay because although they are bornin bloodshed they lead to a united, peaceful society. Oh they do, do they?
Brought to you by the Chinese People's Democratic Marketing Board.
My favourite Chinese action film of all time; An unforgettable masterpiece. - By: Aesop, 23 Jun 2008 
THis film is beautiful; & there are not many action packed films that can be said to be beautifully filmed, as well as offering tense suspense & action. Colours are a core aspect of this film's meaning. It has both been very skilfully, & artistically filmed. A classic & masterpiece as well as a kung-fu film with brains.(at last!). A breathtaking cinematic experience. The film's cinematography is excellent.
Amazing - By: N. Robinson, 31 May 2008 I could not do this film any justice to attempt to critique it. For those three people who rated one star, I feel deeply sad that you might never get to hear this amazing story. I feel sad that such disrespectful comments could be made towards one of the few, but onward going, examples of human excellence. To switch off after ten minutes, to think the film is really about flying through the air, that is the greatest travestiy.
This film falls within the halls of fame of hollywoods screenwriters, bringing together some of the most extreme elements of existing; death, love, peace, war, human existence itself. All of this deliveredin an epic story about the struggle & saviour of mankind, that represents more today & the betterment of the whole human race, just as muc as it did back when China was killing itself from within.
If only our planet today could be Our Planet. Immense film.
"In any war there are heroes on both sides..." - By: DangermouseZilla, 27 May 2008 
Excellent wire-work choreography is stunning to look at, but it doesn't make a great film on its own.
Initially I thought that that was all I was going to get, the film didn't seem to offer much more than the un-named hero telling three stories of how he managed to kill the three most wanted would-be assassins to the Emperor....
...But how wrong I was - what appears to be an over simplistic story ends up gloriously laced with twists & by the end of the film you fully understand, & have a respect for both the assassins & the Emperor.
As with House of Flying Daggers, there is a reliance of colours throughout the film, with many scenes using mainly grey visuals with an emphasis on one bright colour. This seems to be one of Yimou Zhang's signatures as a director & is incredibly effective at giving the film a stylish look, & many of the colours are symbolicin some way.
I've already mentioned the choreography, & this is coupled with some effective CGI. Sometimes CGI can appear obvious & resultsin you stepping out of the film as believability ebbs away. But here it looks natural, & adds to the epic feel of the film - the arrows from the archersin the battle scenes are amazing, & the visuals of such a vast army are breathtaking.
In a nutshell: What I thought was going to be a pretty shallow film became an epic with a deep emotional edge. There are no 'goodies' or 'baddies'in this film - just people who are prepared to die for what they believe in. We are leftin silent respectin front of the screen at the end, but with the knowledge that after the credits have rolled, those who were prepared to die for their beliefs, gave their lives to make a change.
A visual feast - By: Professor Celluloid, 17 May 2008 Fans of the genre will not be disappointed. Good story, solid performances, some fantastic fight sequences & great colour.
