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Truly the worst movie I've ever seen in a theater

Thanks for the memories!

Instant Favorite.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There's no doubt 'Hero (2002)' is lavish, with opulent production design decorating sometimes upwards of eighteen-thousand period-dressed extras and elaborate fight choreography coming up in almost each and every scene (whether or not it's honestly needed). However, all of its splendour tells a tale that essentially amounts to very little other than thinly veiled pseudo-propaganda (though an argument can be made for full-blown propaganda) that paints one of China's past ruthless dictators as a misunderstood 'hero'. No amount of overindulgent excess can fix that or do anything towards making you care about the admittedly impressive visuals you're seeing. All it does is drive the budget through the roof. This was - at its release, at least - China's most expensive motion picture and, while it certainly shows in the scale of the scenery, it isn't reflected by the scope of the story. It's not like the movie is particularly bad. The action-sequences are usually quite breath-taking, using their literal 'story' nature to 'make sense of' - or otherwise solidify - and accentuate their slightly fantastical nature. They often fall into a place of total inconsequence, though, with some being entirely invented even within the possibly invented narrative in which they appear. They also usually lack the weight to make them feel tangible, impactful or properly consequential. This is something not helped by the fact that we know how most of them turn out, due to the poorly acted framing device. This actually acts as more of a limitation than a unique way to tell the tale. It does allow for various perspectives to be placed upon similar events, which are portrayed with varying colour schemes to initially unnoticed but ultimately appreciated effect, but doesn't allow for enough divergence within the narrative and neuters the possibility of anything having any real consequence until the movie catches up with itself. Once it does, its message becomes even more confused and more likely to inspire an eyebrow being raised than the swell of pride that's intended. By this time, the poor pace of the piece has become grating, to the point that the previously somewhat awe-inspiring fight-work has become kind of a chore to sit through, which, perhaps strangely, makes the ending feel less definitive than it actually is. This is really because there isn't a sense of structure, no proper finale outside of an uncharacteristic choice that only serves to pander to the movie's agenda, as opposed to the natural direction of the character's intentions. There are some slightly resonant themes stuck in there, though, even if you have to read past some pretty operatically iffy outside elements to get to them. In the end, the film is much more impressive from a visual standpoint than a narrative one. Even this doesn't hold up, though, because you don't really care about the characters and, as such, can't stay fully engaged throughout. 5/10

It's not often I say "classic" for this genre, there are certain milestones. Much like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon back in 2000, Hero became popular in western audiences due to its easy accessibility and minimal dialogue. This film is absolutely gorgeous. One of THE most beautiful, stunning, majestic cinematic pieces ever conceived. The use of colour is so extraordinary that me attempting to describe it won't do it justice. Whole scenes are built on colours. Costumes, production design, the environment...all based on one colour. An example would be the fight scene in the woods where all the leaves and trees are autumnal, the costumes are shades of red. Then later on in the scene, the shades of yellow and brown transition to red seamlessly and it is just so damn beautiful. If a scene takes place in a desert then everything is presented as yellow. How about in the King's palace? The interior design, armour and costumes are black. It's not even subtle, so you will notice it but it's entrancing and makes the experience ever so hypnotising. The film is about a Nameless warrior retelling his eradication of three assassins to the King, but not everything is as clear as what he says it is. It's an intriguing narrative, if I were to dive into it it would spoil the plot. But there is a point where we have a flashback within a flashback (flashbackception?) so that should give you a clue regarding the linearity of the plot. Important themes are explored such as the similarities between idealism and love, how one can kill or be willing to die for an ideal or love. Excellently acted by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, two assassins who are embroiled in a complicated love affair. Donnie Yen and Jet Li are there to provide the amazing action. A martial arts classic is not without its action, and Hero is damn full of it. The choreography is rapidly insane...how can anyone comprehend the speed at which these guys fight is beyond me. Just...watch this. Please, it's so good.

This is my second Chinese movie that I've ever watched even when I have been living in China for 12 years. First of all, I thought that all the Chinese movies weren't as good as American or Korean. Also the first movie that I watched didn't really go well, and it was boring. However, this movie impressed me a lot. I've watched this movie in school for film class. At first, I was not expecting anything because I didn't really like Chinese movie. However, as I watched all the movie, cinematography started to impress me. The story was kind of weird (I guess that's the reason why I couldn't give 10) but the cinematography grabbed my attention and started to make me enjoy the movie more. I think this movie have lots of graphic and lots of unrealistic scenes, but the back ground and cinematography is great. Those two factor saved this movie, without those two, I think this movie was not that great.

I really did enjoy this movie. The cinematography was sublime and kept the movie in it's entirety from being a flop. The story line was a little bit of a stretch for me, interesting, but a little over the top. However, the cinematography is what really made the watching experience so enjoyable. The directors use of varying angles, speeds, and lighting adds that little bit of oomph to the film. Vibrant colours, extreme close ups, and slow motion scenes seem to be at the center. The director executes the filming techniques in such a way that they add so much more to the film and he does a good job of making sure they don't detract. All in all - I'd recommend this film to somebody who enjoys good cinematography, but I wouldn't recommend it for the story.