4/5 Gorgeous fable filled with meaning and color
  by Erica Bell (Washington State)
I've only just seen this after years of catching snippets on TV. Others here have detailed the plot much better than I could. Color, music, drop-dead scenery (encompassing western Chinese deserts to Beijing's Imperial City to the Karst Country of the coast) and fantastic acting take this martial arts film to a completely different level from even Jet Li's other films.

One thing I wanted to mention was this: the Asian film scene has a WONDERFUL star in Tony Leung Chlu-Wai, who plays Broken Sword. A subtle actor, Tony Leung Chlu-Wai's face is like an open sky--emotions just flit across it like scudding clouds. He's mesmerizing. He's by far the best actor here, regardless of all the swordplay. For some reason, he reminded me a little of Rod Steiger--not because he looks like Steiger, but because he has that same bottled-up talent.

The king, played by Chen Dao Ming, is also marvelous. His middle-aged face is filled with intelligence and a quiet acting style that's a joy to watch. When he verbally spars with Nameless, I cought myself wishing we could just watch him!

Li's competent, and all the action's just up his alley, but he's so contained I found him uninteresting. Fancy saying that about Jet Li!! No, watching the many versions of "what happened to Broken Sword" simply made my night. I'm looking forward to seeing him in other films.

5/5 Action and Beauty
  by Eric S. Kim (Southern California)
Make no mistake. This is a fine Martial Arts flick. While it does have some fantastic fight scenes (the choreography is definitely majestic; equal to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "House of Flying Daggers"), it does have some beautiful scenery. You get to see deserts, forests, lakes, hills, and the palace of Qin all in just a hundred minutes. And the use of one color in particular sequences is what really makes this film more than it is, though I'm not sure what the colors really signify (I'm no film expert). Oh, and don't bother with the seemingly "unrealistic" things that go on in the film, like flying in the air and dodging arrows with nothing but your clothes, because it's art. It's not logic, but it's pure art. The only thing I didn't like about "Hero" was Zhang Ziyi. She is a great actress, but I found her doing a bit of overacting a few times. But with that said, everyone gives excellent performances. Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, Chen Daoming, and Ziyi turn out to be a great team of actors. Let's hope we see more from these men and women again.

So go see this film. You'll be mesmerized.

5/5 Hero
  by C. Nelson
One of the most visually beautiful movies I have ever saw! Worth every penny.

5/5 Fight of a hero
  by E. A Solinas (MD USA)
In recent years, Zhang Yimou has been creating some truly epic movies -- expansive, lushly opulent action films with a heavy dose of tragedy and romance. And before he even created "House of Flying Daggers," Yimou created "Hero" -- visually rich, stunningly action-packed, and beautifully made, "Hero" is a unique film that takes the soul and senses on a rollercoaster ride.

Ancient China (third century B.C.) was divided into seven kingdoms, and the most powerful lord was the King of Qin (Chen Dao Ming). He wants to unite China under his own rule. But he lives in fear of his life, most particularly from a trio of deadly assassins: "Broken Sword", "Flying Snow" and "Long Sky" (Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen respectively). And lest they get close to him, everyone is kept at a far distance and the King is surrounded by armed guards.

Then a man called Nameless (Jet Li) arrives, announcing that he has somehow killed them, and is actually permitted to sit within a certain distance of the King. How could he have killed three incredibly powerful warriors? Not just by his impressive martial arts skills, but through his cunning as well. He uses sexual divisions and jealousy, calligraphy (yes, calligraphy), and his wits to defeat all three assassins in turn.

But the king is not convinced that Nameless is telling the whole truth, and concocts a version of his own that also explains Nameless' actions and choices. A game of wits starts to form between the mysterious warrior and the wily king. What is the truth behind the hero's story?

Despite having been released much later, "Hero" was apparently the first of Yimou's wuxia action movies -- and while it doesn't cover much new ground in the fantasy martial arts area, it's a magnificent and awe-inspiring film. And perhaps most uniquely, it draws heavily on Akira Kurosawa's classic "Rashomon," by having the King and Nameless provide wildly different versions of the same story. What is the truth? It turns out to be far more complex than even those involved would have thought.

And Yimou's wire-fu creates a film where style and fantasy overcomes the realistic, full of lush color and swirling action scenes. People slash off hundreds of oncoming arrows and leap through walls of droplets -- just try doing that in the real world. And the fight scenes are, simply put, balletic -- they fight while suspended over a lake as their swords dip through the water, fight to music, battle in a swirl of fallen autumn leaves.

As exquisite as the action seems, it would be empty without a suitable plot to go with it -- and while deceptively simple, Yimou's storyline is actually rather complex emotionally. There's a passionate romance that is splintering apart, personal rivalry, and the whole question of what the titular character's plans are, and what he ultimately chooses to do. The one flaw is that I'm not sure why he makes the decision he does -- it seems rather out of left field.

Jet Li and Chen Dao Ming give the best performances of this film -- they both portray intelligent, suspicious men who are playing a strange game of truth and deception. Their back-and-forth conversations are entrancing. The three assassin actors -- as well as the wonderful Zhang Ziyi, as the mistress of one of the men -- are given secondary roles, but do an excellent job of imbuing them with little hints of humanity, tragic romance and briliant skills.

5/5 Words cannot describe
  by Carter (Lawrenceburg, IN USA)
This was an incredibly beautifully made movie. The action and fight scenes alone are amazing but the use of the colors during the telling of Nameless' exploits against Flying Snow and Broken Sword each has a use. I can rewatch it numerous times without getting bored.

For any Jet Li or Zhang Ziyi fan, this movie is a must own. Even the soundtrack draws you in to the movie, letting you feel what the characters feel.