Hero:
Review By Shirodka
(JetLi Forum) -
Positive Major Spoilers
Ok
this is for the folks who want to know what I think about Hero in all its lurid
detail.
Ok first off the bad stuff. It's a bit slow and the pacing is uneven. Too many
gratuitous slow-mo shots. Some fights are just window dressing but do nothing to
advance the movie.
OK Gooooood stuff.
Jet is quite a stone cold *beep* in this movie - for most part he's unmovable
and unflappable, even when they strip search him in the beginning (yes ladies,
you heard me write, JET'S NAKED BACK ha ha). But he does have his moments like
the sly way he looks at Tony when his remarks to create jealousy hit home or the
incomprehension in his voice when he questions Tony's relunctance to kill the
Emperor. I think Zhang Yimou could have tried to bring out more of that subtle
characterisation. As always though, Jet really shines in the fights and he has
quite a few good ones. The fight with Donnie is short but quite thrilling and it
was very satisfying seeing Jet do some magic with the sword. Another of my
favourite scenes sees him deflecting arrows outside a calligraphy school -
beautiful hard core graceful wushu stuff. His skirmish with Zhang Ziyi in the
library is also chock full of cool moves and really lovely to watch. Then
there's Jet splitting a paintbrush, Jet splitting water....well I could go on
and on.
The other fights are quite memorable too and there a couple that I liked
particularly. One takes place in a yellow forest between Zhang Ziyi and Maggie
Cheung. What a scene that was. Maggie is a virtual typhoon in that fight -
untouchable, unflappable, unbeatable. And the other is the fight between Tony
and The Emperor - both come off very professional and that was something very
natural about the way the 2 duelled. The fight atop a gorgeous lake
unfortunately did nothing for me. I found it unecessary.
The special effects were very well done - it was very awe-inspiring seeing the
droves of arrows swooping though the sky like killer bees. Then there are others
like the way the candles flicker in front of the Emeror, a library full of
falling paint-brushes which are guranteed to induce a "kewl" from the mouths of
the susceptible.
Chen Daoming as the Emperor is a real pleasure - sly and egomanical at one
point, anguished and principled in another. His Qin Shihuang is a man of razor
sharp intelligence and carries an unseen burden. And I found it very touching
and tragic that Maggie's character in the end, never fully comprehended Tony's
aversion to killing the Emperor even when he died for that purpose.
OK MAJOR ENDING SPOILER HERE - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
But the best thing about this movie, (at least IMHO) came during the last couple
of minutes in the movie. When Jet reveals to the Emperor that he can kill him in
10 paces (the distance that now separates the 2). There is a quiet but audiable
gasp from the Emperor, but he eventually decides to put his life in Jet's hands,
so moved is he by Tony's relunctance to kill him and Jet's hesitation. And when
Jet spares his life, he tells the Emperor "Unify China but no more conquering.
Remember the blood you have spilled and the lives you have taken." Chen
Daoming's geniune expression of amazement that once again he has cheated death
was wonderful. And later when his officials exort him to execute Jet that
amazement turns to anguish - ironically, the Emperor is bound to a higher power,
the law of his country and his people. His dilemna is further magnified because
in an earlier scene, he laments how none of his officials understand him (and in
the tragic end, they still don't). For some reason, the scene reminded me of the
scene in the Bible where Pontius Pilate desparately wanted to let Jesus go but
the crowd kept shouting "Crucify him!" - well that scene has the same emotional
resonance. And I will remember Jet's expression and form as the rain of arrows
came down on him for a long time.
All I know is that whatever misgivings I had about the movie in the earlier 90
minutes, vanished in that instance. And oh, and I think I teared a bit in the
end too