One of the problems with the majority of martial arts films is that most people don't view them seriously. New, Hollywood type pictures are often just overwrought music video style offerings that are all visuals over substance or story. And most of the older Asian films are, well, goofy and/or poorly made.
There are exceptions to the rule, such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but even they have their drawbacks to some - including yours truly -- including all of the non-realistic, wire-fighting and related leaping, flying and other Peter Pan-esque, gravity defying moments.
Of course, that film was cut some slack since it was something of a fantasy tale. "Hero," on the other hand, is presumably meant to be a serious and realistic flick with a complex story (and it was a 2002 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Picture).
The problem is - at least for me - that it also contains plenty of wire-fighting action, stunts and more. Fans of such material will likely be in hog heaven, and aside from "CTHD," it's easily one of the more accomplished, polished and better looking martial arts films.
Once people start flying though the air in various poses or stand on thrust out swords and more, however, I started to lose some interest. With no reason given for such anti-gravity maneuvers and capabilities, the film quickly lost some points in my book.
All of which is too bad since it sports an impressive visual veneer. This is truly an epic style film filled with sweeping vistas, casts of thousands (real or computer generated) and some wild and spectacular imagery.
The story by writer/director Zhang Yimou ("The Road Home" and "Raise the Red Lantern") and co-writers Li Feng (apparently making his feature debut) and Wang Bin ("Dreamland," "Breaking the Silence") isn't a slouch either and certainly is head and shoulders above the usual hokey tales found in such martial arts flicks. Somewhat borrowing its plot cues from "Rashomon," the story revolves around a lowly prefect who reportedly dispatched a number of assassins sent to kill the King.
That allow him to be granted a rare meeting with the secluded and heavily protected Excellency, but the ruler is no dummy. He automatically assumes there are holes in the hero's story and begins to address his concerns and questions about the story and claims.
That's when the Rashomon type story kicks in as we get to see separate versions of the same story, with each differing from the others in details and outcome. While it's an interesting storytelling gambit, I figured out the "surprise" quite early on. Yet, since everything isn't built around or so dependent on the big twist, that really isn't too big of a deal.
That will be especially true for those waiting for the anticipated match-up between stars Jet Li ("Kiss of the Dragon," "The One") and Donnie Yen ("Shanghai Knights," "Iron Monkey"). While there are some impressive fight moments, all of that wire-fighting, slow motion footage and/or quick edits end up detracting from some of the seen and potential martial arts fireworks.
Joining the fray is Maggie Cheung ("In the Mood For Love," "Police Story") and Tony Leung ("In the Mood for Love," "Chungking Express") as the other assassins, while Chen Dao Ming ("My 1919") plays the heavily protected and wise ruler. All are fine in their roles, and their characters and performances are certainly a step above what's usually found in such films.
Of course, viewer reaction will likely vary wildly. Diehard fans with probably love the action (and wire-fighting) and others may be moved by the sacrifice and other non-fighting, dramatic moments. Others, however, may like some of what's offered, but may also find the occasional hokeyness (in dialogue and plot) and other non-realistic moments as too jarring in relation to the epic scale of everything else that's offered. "Hero" rates as a 5 out of 10.
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