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(About Our Ads) "HERO" (2004) (Jet Li, Donnie Yen) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons None Moderate Extreme Mild Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Mild None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Minor Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Adventure: After claiming to have dispatched three assassins who desired to kill the emperor, a nameless prefect must address his ruler's questions about his claims and story. PLOT: It's China's Warring States period where separate kingdoms battle for supremacy, resulting in many deaths. Accordingly, the King of Qin (CHEN DAO MING) wants to conquer all of China and thus eventually bring peace to the diverse lands. Yet, there are a number of feared assassins, including Broken Sword (TONY LEUNG), Flying Snow (MAGGIE CHEUNG) and Sky (DONNIE YEN), who've wanted him dead for many years. Thus, everyone is surprised when a nameless prefect (JET LI) arrives carrying the assassins' weapons and claiming to have killed all of them to defend the King. Such a feat gets him a private audience with the King who at first is grateful for the prefect's allegiance and duty. Yet, being the wise ruler that he is, the King begins to question the prefect's claims, particularly when the prefect begins to describe how he infiltrated the assassins' lives. As the stories of battle and death emerge, it's a question of which if any is the truth. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into martial arts movies and/or are fans of the martial arts stars in the film, they most likely will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JET LI plays a nameless prefect who claims to have killed three assassins to protect the King. TONY LEUNG plays a calligrapher and assassin who's biding his time to kill the King. MAGGIE CHEUNG plays his assistant, lover and fellow assassin who also wants the King dead. DONNIE YEN plays a third assassin who also wants to kill the King. CHEN DAO MING plays the reclusive, wary and wise King who begins to question the prefect's claims about killing the assassins. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure film that's been rated PG-13. Violence consists of many highly stylized battles and fight sequences where people battle and/or kill others with swords and spears. Some of that material is non-realistic and most is bloodless (although we see arrows and such sticking out of bodies). All of that fighting and related stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate, while some viewers may find it unsettling or suspenseful. A couple has sex beneath sheets on the floor (related sounds but unspecific movement), other sex is implied, some brief and non-explicit, sexually related dialogue is present, and a man's bare butt is briefly seen in a nonsexual context. Finally, various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (including killing or wanting to kill others). If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. Finally and due to the same basic story told in different ways and by different people, not everything we see turns out to be true (although we still see it as real at the time). ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None. BLOOD/GORE There are various scenes showing people impaled by swords, arrows and the like, but those particular scenes don't show any related blood. We see some blood run off a man's shoe and puddle on the floor after he's been stabbed with a sword. We see a tiny bit of blood drip off a sword that's impaled in a tree. We see a slightly bloody cut on the king after he's been sliced. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The King of one kingdom wants to conquer all of China. The various assassins want to kill the King (for a variety of reasons). FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed "Violence" might also be unsettling, tense or suspenseful to some viewers. GUNS/WEAPONS Swords/Spears: Used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR All of the fighting and stunts may be enticing for some kids to imitate. Snow and the Prefect go outside a school and block the enormous amount of arrows that are falling all around them. A person pulls a sword through the already dead person in front of them, thus committing suicide on the same blade (we don't see the impact or any blood). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A mild amount of dramatic and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY We briefly see the Prefect's bare butt as he's undressed and then dressed to see the King. There is talk of a night affair between Snow and Sky. The Prefect brings up the story of Sky and Snow having a fling (to make Sword jealous). As an apprentice brushes his long hair, Sword suddenly grabs her, has her on the floor and tears off her clothes (we only see her head and shoulders). We then see an aerial shot of their movement beneath sheets on the floor (nothing explicit and no details can be discerned) and hear her pleasured sexual sounds. Sword tells Snow that he wanted her to see him having sex with an apprentice as retaliation for her reportedly having a fling with Sky. We see Snow and Sword in bed together beneath the sheets (he's asleep, she's awake), somewhat implying sex. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Snow lost her father to Qin's army and also wants revenge on the King. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The comment that people give up their lives for many reasons, but also kill for the same. Revenge. The comment that one person's pain is nothing compared to the suffering of many. The notion of using violence against warring lands to bring peace among all of them. VIOLENCE Sky battles a man using his long pole to ward off the other man's sword jabs and slices aimed at him. Sky then proceeds to hit and kick others before bending their swords with his pole. Some of the blows to the others' bodies are harsh, but the recipients appear to be okay. The Prefect and Sky spar with swords that goes on for a bit. The Prefect then rushes at Sky, stabs and seemingly kills him (although we don't see any impact or blood). The King's archers (and there are many of them) fire upon a calligraphy school (where Sword and Snow are working) with a tremendous barrage of arrows. Most of them stick into various parts of the outside of the building, but some make it through and strike young women inside (no blood). After their instructor has them go back to work/training, another volley of arrows rains down on the building, with one girl being hit in the back and another in the back of the head (no blood, but we see the arrows sticking out). A woman runs a sword through a man's back, killing him. We see some blood run off a man's shoe and puddle on the floor after he's been stabbed with a sword. An assassins' apprentice chases after Snow and repeatedly tries to attack her, but Snow simply floats/glides out of her way and repeated attacks (that include some close calls with the tip of the apprentice's blade to Snow's neck). A woman is impaled by a sword (we don't see the impact, but do see the sword in her chest, although there's no blood). The Prefect briefly battles with a woman and he apparently kills her with his sword (but there's no impact or blood). A woman stabs a man to keep him from going on a mission. The Prefect stabs a woman with his sword (no impact or blood). The Prefect battles Sword with swords over a body of water (they fly around in a sort of balletic fantasy, although it's all supposed to be real). An assassins' apprentice implies that her master committed suicide. Snow and Sword battle with swords, with her eventually stabbing him (no impact or blood). An assassins' apprentice comes at the Prefect with her sword and the two spar until he repeatedly strikes her with the flat edge of his sword and then blasts her backwards with it. The Prefect and Snow battle again, with him stabbing her (no impact or blood). Snow and Sword make their way through an armed army, shredding their opponents' swords, shields and spears with their swords. We see many people falling down (presumably wounded or dead), but there's no blood or immediate impact. Sword battles the King with his sword and we see a slightly bloody cut on the king after he's been sliced. The Prefect appears to impale a man with his sword, but we then see that he didn't. After fending off her attack, a man lowers his sword and allows a woman to stab and mortally wound him. We see the sword sticking out of his clothed body, but don't see any blood. A person pulls a sword through the already dead person in front of them, thus committing suicide on the same blade (we don't see the impact or any blood). A massive volley of arrows flies through the sky toward a person (landing in a large castle door). We then see that they apparently killed him (as an open shape of his body is among the arrows in the wall and we see a covered body being carried away from the scene). Reviewed June 29, 2004 / Posted August 27, 2004