Zhang Yimou's brilliant double-feature

reviewed January 2005

I saw Hero quite some time ago; actually, I got to see it through a “sneak peek” night at the new Regal Cinemas next to the MCI Center a few days before the theater opened.  Deal was, free movie and $1 popcorn and soda.  Hell, yeah!  Even if it is Regal, my diabolical nemesis in the movie-theater world.  The new theater is beautiful — I didn’t see any signs about not being able to bring in bags or backpacks (a huge reason why I stopped going to Regal theaters), but give them time:  they’re new at being evil.  There were 12 employees behind the counter; everyone was friendly; everything was spotlessly clean.  I guarantee that didn’t last 20 minutes past the opening night.  I also wonder how long the superpowered air dryers in the bathroom will continue to operate.  They were pretty scary, actually; I could actually see my skin being flattened by the blast of air. 

Anyway, Hero is a beautiful, epic story of a crucial part of Chinese history, when the warring kingdoms began to come together to form one nation.  Surprisingly, that ideal, as much as the love story, moved me deeply.  Jet Li, the nameless hero, still isn’t the best actor, but he sure can kick some ass in exceedingly graceful ways.  Better acting comes from Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung as Flying Snow and Broken Sword, Nameless’ adversaries.

The story is layered and complex without being confusing, and the varying accounts tie together fluidly and cleverly.  A real masterpiece, and highly recommended.

Some time later, I saw The House of Flying Daggers, a lush, gorgeous epic from the same director as Hero, Zhang Yimou, but without Hero’s emotional punch.  Zhang is best known as an art-film director, but he does a superlative job with the action in both Hero and House.  Yet his artistic eye has not deserted him.  Where Hero’s beauty is simple and natural, House features vibrant colors and intricate patterns in clothing and sets.  It’s truly stunning, and the fights are fantastic.  You might think you can’t see anything new once you’ve seen the Heros, the Crouching Tigers, but somehow they keep finding ways to astonish.

I’m less than enthused by Ziyi Zhang, the young star of House who also has a supporting role in Hero (and starred in Crouching Tiger).  She’s not a very good actress, and though she’s supposed to be blind in House, she’s not very convincing at it.  Fortunately, Takeshi Kaneshiro, as her love interest, the undercover police officer assigned to "rescue" her from arrest and find out through her where her secret society, the Flying Daggers, is based, is much better, a suave, charming, powerful actor.

The two movies make a nice (if long) double feature, but Hero comes out on top in the end.

Back to homepage
Reviews A to F
Reviews G to L
Reviews M to R
Reviews S to Z
Search