Anybody seen Jet Li's Hero yet?

Danbo

Danbo

Joined
Nov 28, 1999
Messages
14,985
Had a couple of hours to kill the other day, so I coughed up $5.50 and sat through this movie. Sure wish I hadn't though. Maybe, if you liked "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and wanted something even more unrealistic, you might enjoy this flic. Not me. The whole movie is spoken in Chinese, with subtitles at the bottom. That's annoying enough, but then you have people flying across treetops and walking on water while swordfighting off multiple attackers. :barf:

One minute, these swords are going edge to edge with no damage. The next minute, somebody decides to not kill their opponent, and slaps them with the side of the blade. The sword flops around like a piece of soft rubber. Pretty stupid looking, IMHO.

Other than some beautiful countryside to look at, and some fairly cool sword fights(although horribly unrealistic and unbelieveable), this flic is a huge waste of time.
 
I thought the action was fun(though not even close to realistic) and the cinematography was great. The story needed some work though. Not enough character development. I was constantly wondering why the characters were making the choices they made.
 
I found it entertaining but a big disapointment. :grumpy:

Im a huge Jet Li fan and like Donney Yin as well. I thought they were the best part of the entire film. In the begininig with the rain and spear vs. sword fight.
Very cool! :cool:

The film kinda went down hill after that. Too bad that was the begining. :yawn:

While most of the film was 'pretty' and scenic. Boring or humorous.
I mean, come on. They killed the same people about 3 or 4 times over the course of the film. Talk about effeciency. :D
 
Danbo,

I hate to say it, but if you aren't used to the genre, it's "unrealistic". If you grew up with it, it's either "art" or just de rigeur. It's no different from "reality TV", Hollywood's 53 shots from a revolver without reloading, hover jets...

To a certain extent, most of the "martial arts" is just operatic dancing, and Jet Li admits as much. Set in a time of legend, it's no different than sci-fi set in the future.

Think of their swords like plasma rifles, or teleporters or holodecks.

Watch it for the cinematography, the sets, the costumes, the emotions, the morals; what it's trying to communicate.

Did you notice the parallelism between the two parties? What about the symbolism of the calligraphy school?

My bottom line: it's a neo-traditional Chinese film. What did you expect?

-j
 
Zhang Zimou's Hero won't be appreciated if you view it from the perspective where other martial arts/sword-fighting movies are portrayed.

Zhang's idea in this particular case is vastly different from the normal martial movies. He's looking at it from different angles. People from the East understand his way of telling that Hero story.
Zhang based it on the story of China's first Emperor who united all the warring states that made up ancient China.

Critics say Zhang was trying to rub the present political strongmen in Beijing the right way.

Personally, I find Hero refreshingly different. It shows that a story has different perspectives, just as a house has many windows. So if you look into a house from a particular window, you will find a different view, so you would from another window.

However, his latest flick, House of Flying Daggers, may appeal to those who life the "normal" Chinese martial arts/sword-fighting movies. Flying Daggers has spectacular fighting scenes. Quite well done. It will appeal to those who find Hero's flavour less than satisfactory.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love Jet Li. I think he is probably the best martial arts star since Bruce Lee. I just didn't care much for this movie. Yes, it was intertaining, but only in a "what the hell is going on?" kinda way.
 
I thought it was decent at best... I thought the sets and costumes were very well done, especially the scene where Li fights the Snow guy (The first fight scene), the colors in that forest were pretty interesting as well. I didn't like how slow it took to reach the climax though, it was a very long movie for what was happening in it.

The only major draw was the scenery, costumes and the fight scenes on there own were pretty cool, IMHO.
 
cutty said:
I like Jet Lee.
Click to expand...
...ouch....painfully punnery at best.....yikes...:eek:


I liked the movie. Not as well-developed overall as CT-HD, but still very enjoyable. I took it on the same level that biogon is talking about. I knew I wasn't coming to a typical Jet-Li chopper flick.....I was actually impressed he'd do it....not surprised....just impressed.

The battle in the leaves....amazing and intense. Some of you more knuckle-headed types....probably went right over your head.

Think fem-dom.....pleasure-n-pain.....go see it again. Then you'll "get it". Sly lil' movie-makers.....:D
 
I think it's easier to understand and appreciate if you are familiar with the storie(s) of Qin Shi Huang Di, the first emperor of a unified China and the attitude(s) toward him.

There is a very strong love-hate relationship with him as a historical/legendary figure and this movie plays on that a lot. As a result, there is a lot of discourse on the political motivations of Zhang Yimou when creating the film.

I rather enjoyed the story and those potential political motivations, as well as the romances of "old China". I could be highly negative towards the fights and stuff but it had its points. Zhang Yimou is known as a highly visual director (former artist, IIRC) and this is a very visual movie.

After watching my fill of Chinese art movies, I was rather refreshed by this rehashed story done in a relatively new way, and it was much more coherent to me than a lot of the artsy movies coming out of that side of the world.

I liked it but I think it's because I probably watched it with a perspective more akin to that which it was geared for.
 
I saw it last week. I would echo the comments of those who said that to appreciate the movie, you have to appreciate the genre.

Here's a tip - when you watch it, do not expect to see a documentary on Chinese combat. Watch this movie as you would view a painting - not necessarily for the mimetic quality, but for the insights into human nature, Chinese culture, etc.

It's on that level that the movie succeeds greatly. One of my favorite movies in recent days.



SPOILER


For those who have seen it - here's my overview that helped me dissect the movie and understand it.

Part One - Predominantly red. Characters are portrayed as controlled by their emotions, except for Jet Li's character, who manipulates them. One-sided view of human nature.

Part Two - Predominantly blue (or cool colors). Characters are portrayed as cold, calculating, self-sacrificing. Almost machine-like. No emotions to get in the way of making the difficult decisions. Also one-sided view of human nature, but in the other direction.

Part Three - Predominantly white (or think of it this way - white is actually the result of the FULL spectrum of colors). Characters are portrayed as having emotions, but they are not ruled by them. They make the necessary sacrifices to achieve the end they desire, even at great personal sacrifice, but it is not easy for them to set aside their emotions. They anguish at the decisions, but ultimately do what is necessary.
 
As a Chinese myself, "Hero" is familiar in that it comes from a well-definable genre of kung-fu swoordfighting costumed drama epics (though given a different twist by the director) and yet has been "updated" to belong more to the fairly new trend that has blown in recently that merges it with what I call the Chinese Art house movie.

It's quite good if you see it in its cultural context and interpret it acording to the rules set by that genre - the gravity defying fights and unearthly martial prowess are part of that.

U should see some of the more far-out epics (only available in Cantonese or Mandarin) hre the hero and villains exchange energy blasts from their palms or fists, and where a blow from them or their weapon can shatter a mountain side! The closest Western parallel to the Chinese kung fu costume flick in movies or comics is the Western superhero comic book or movie, in fact...
 
First off, I'm new to the genre. Crouching tiger was pretty alien to me and I didn't understand what was going on. I can't say I didn't like it, but I need someone to explain things to me like symbolism, etc. I have to buy the DVD and watch it again. I bought Hero and I loved it. I felt like I got an insight into a culture I hadn't understood much before. It made me reflect on the meaning of war and made me view our western win-at-all-costs views as rather primitive.

mgeoffriau, thanks for the explanation of the colors. That was something I really wanted someone to explain to me. I still don't get the flying or the dipping of the sword tips in the lake.

On the DVD go to the settings menu and you can watch the movie dubbed in english.

The first battle scen rocked. I loved when the old man stopped playing and jet lee gives him coins to play another song. The fighting isn't necessarily realistic, but very entertaining and well choreographed. Not many action movies are very realistic, anyway.

I was very impacted by the message of Broken Sword and by the emperor, especially at the end when the emperor reads BA's scroll. The climax of BA's and Snows relationship was very moving too. The actress who plays Flying Snow is beautiful.
 
Realistic? No, but that's not why I saw it. It has some of the most stunning cinematography I've ever seen. House of flying Daggers, not as beautiful to look at but better characterization, I thought. The genre isn't for everybody. But for my money it isn't any more absurd than the Hollywood UberCop movie, where the good guy breaks rules/regulations and state/federal laws, kills the bad guy, gets the girl and lives happily ever after.

Frank
 
Perhaps I'm too old,too cynical or been in the MA for too long.When I was young & just starting MA,the MA movies just came out,we went to see them cause they were "MA" movies! Sat thru two,saw fights that were totally "rediculous",saw MASTERS crouch & leap to 2nd stories!! Walked out,shaking my head.Went and saw HERO(when it came out),GUYS IT WAS LOOOOONG & I JUST DIDN'T LIKE IT! Well to each his own! You all can watch these,wish you the best !! Me,I'll save my $$.
Be safe,
Jim
 
I only tried watching it because i'm a fan of tony leung. I couldn't get through the movie. It just didn't grab my attention. I like martial arts movies and also chinese/hong kong movies but this was just unbearable.

I know people are trying to say that the chinese can appreciate it more but from a movie making point it isn't that great.

And i'm getting fed up of people flying around bamboo trees.

I actually enjoyed a movie that Zhang Yimou acted in a long time ago. It was called Terracotta Warrior. I don't know why but i've always remembered that film.

Some of my favourite Hong kong movies

Infernal Affairs (best HK film in recent years)
The Killer (John Woo's best film)
Hard Boiled
Chungking Express
Shaolin Soccer (funniest film i've seen in a long time)
Farewell My Concubine
Young Master (classic Jackie Chan)
The Way of the Dragon (the best JKD movie from Bruce Lee)

Nowadays since Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon everyone is trying to make movies like that...it's just getting boring.

My parents just went to see a new HK comedy called Kung Fu Hustle. Anyone seen it? Heard it's really funny.
 
I imported the R2 version a long time ago and loved it. Wonderful choreography and music, not to mention scenery. Classic Chinese fairytale of the legendary histories (this is a fairlytale morality play... oh and don't forget the green... when the characters unify their different natures and are at peace). Flying and water walking demonstrates the great mastery of chi that an epic hero from a legendary time should have. Be interesting to see if they ever do a movie about Fu Hao (she was a military general from the legendary Shang dynasty 1,000 years before this movie, and was thought to be a myth until they recently dug up her tomb)
 
I'm also of Asian / Chinese background but can't speak to language, so had to read the subtitles as well (go figure...) I won't say Hero was the most enjoyable movie I'd ever watched - I much preferred Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. However, the cinematography was breathtaking and the use of striking colours was not lost on me. It was certainly more poignantly and artistically executed than the typical Chinese MA flick. The overly done melodramatic style and totally out-there martial arts were things I expected, so they didn't phase me at all. Perhaps I've seen too many original Chinese martial arts serials in my younger days. This one came across as actually relatively tame compared to the bizarre stuff my grandmother used to like to watch !

One thing - because the actress Zhang Zi (spelling ?) was also a major character in Crouching Tiger... I just couldn't get rid of this feeling that Hero was promoting itself based on Crouching Tiger's notoriety with Western audiences... I'm probably wrong, but it was something I just couldn't shake during the movie.

If it had less melodrama and was edited more sharply towards more intense martial arts scenes, it wouldn'tve just been a brightly coloured Hollywood MA flick. My 2 cents. Jason.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that these movies were not meant for the western audience... These movies were in theatres in SE asia one or two years before they made it here to our shores.
 
Saw it, loved it...as the director of CTHD said the martial arts is about enlightenment, there training has reached a level where they can use the breeze as a stepping stone, a drop of water. They're bringing myths of the warriors of old on the the cinema screen...which I find ammusing and fun to watch.

BTW the sword flex thing, I have owned Jian in the vacinity of 300 years old which after restoration was extremely sharp and had an astonishing amount of flex...also when in use I've seen custom blades flex after and exiting cut, a good flex is desireable, more so in chinese sword arts where the art is fluid (unlike japanese which can be rather bold and constrictive).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top