DVD : Quentin Tarantino Presents: Hero [2004]

Rating: - Tiresome paean to totalitarianism = propaganda.
I have a problem with these 'dancing on air' martial arts films, a-la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: they look daft. Once you've seen one guy on a wire you've seen them all. Once you've seen a guy stamping his feet forty feet up a bamboo tree you say `Oh, look, a bird'. The only place where these effects have ever seemed anything other than laughable is in The Matrix: because it isn't a real world environment. There you can make allowances. Hero has lots of stylish fighting, but if you can't take it seriously, what's the point? An exercise in futility.
Hero is additionally befuddled by the message it attempts to impart: totalitarian societies are okay because although they are born in bloodshed they lead to a united, peaceful society. Oh they do, do they?

Brought to you by the Chinese People's Democratic Marketing Board.

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Rating: - My favourite Chinese action film of all time; An unforgettable masterpiece.
THis film is beautiful; and there are not many action packed films that can be said to be beautifully filmed, as well as offering tense suspense and action. Colours are a core aspect of this film's meaning. It has both been very skilfully, and artistically filmed. A classic and masterpiece as well as a kung-fu film with brains.(at last!). A breathtaking cinematic experience. The film's cinematography is excellent.

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Rating: - Amazing
I could not do this film any justice to attempt to critique it. For those three people who rated one star, I feel deeply sad that you might never get to hear this amazing story. I feel sad that such disrespectful comments could be made towards one of the few, but onward going, examples of human excellence. To switch off after ten minutes, to think the film is really about flying through the air, that is the greatest travestiy.

This film falls within the halls of fame of hollywoods screenwriters, bringing together some of the most extreme elements of existing; death, love, peace, war, human existence itself. All of this delivered in an epic story about the struggle and saviour of mankind, that represents more today and the betterment of the whole human race, just as muc as it did back when China was killing itself from within.

If only our planet today could be Our Planet. Immense film.

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Rating: - "In any war there are heroes on both sides..."
Excellent wire-work choreography is stunning to look at, but it doesn't make a great film on its own.

Initially I thought that that was all I was going to get, the film didn't seem to offer much more than the un-named hero telling three stories of how he managed to kill the three most wanted would-be assassins to the Emperor....

...But how wrong I was - what appears to be an over simplistic story ends up gloriously laced with twists and by the end of the film you fully understand, and have a respect for both the assassins and the Emperor.

As with House of Flying Daggers, there is a reliance of colours throughout the film, with many scenes using mainly grey visuals with an emphasis on one bright colour. This seems to be one of Yimou Zhang's signatures as a director and is incredibly effective at giving the film a stylish look, and many of the colours are symbolic in some way.

I've already mentioned the choreography, and this is coupled with some effective CGI. Sometimes CGI can appear obvious and results in you stepping out of the film as believability ebbs away. But here it looks natural, and adds to the epic feel of the film - the arrows from the archers in the battle scenes are amazing, and the visuals of such a vast army are breathtaking.

In a nutshell: What I thought was going to be a pretty shallow film became an epic with a deep emotional edge. There are no 'goodies' or 'baddies' in this film - just people who are prepared to die for what they believe in. We are left in silent respect in front of the screen at the end, but with the knowledge that after the credits have rolled, those who were prepared to die for their beliefs, gave their lives to make a change.

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Rating: - A visual feast
Fans of the genre will not be disappointed. Good story, solid performances, some fantastic fight sequences and great colour.