Hero

2002 Martial Arts

Hero is two-time Academy Award nominee Zhang Yimou's directorial attempt at exploring the concept of a Chinese hero. During the peak of their Warring States period, China was divided into seven kingdoms all fighting for supremacy. Most determined to dominate China was the kingdom of Qin, whose king (Chen Daoming) was wholly obsessed with becoming the first emperor of China. Though he was an assassination target for many, none of his would-be killers inspired as much fear as the legendary assassins Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Sky (Donnie Yen). In hopes of thwarting his death, the king has promised endless wealth and power to anyone who defeats his would-be murderers. No results come until ten years later, when a man called Nameless (Jet Li) brings the weapons of the three assassins to the Qin king's palace. Nameless claims to be an expert swordsman who had defeated Sky and destroyed the famed duo of Flying Snow and Broken Sword by using their love for one another against them. Once Nameless comes face to face with the king, however, it looks as if the situation is more complicated than he had thought. Also featured in Hero is actress Zhang Ziyi (The Road Home, Crouching Tiger, Hiden Dragon) as Broken Sword's devoted servant, Moon. more..

Director: Zhang Yimou

Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Chen Daoming, Donnie Yen

Reviews

  • Swooningly beautiful, furious and thrilling, Zhang Yimou's Hero is an action movie for the ages.

    Michael Wilmington - The Chicago Tribune

    27 May 2013

  • A walloping entertainment, brimming with the magic-realist action that made Ang Lee's somewhat similar "Couching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a hit.

    David Sterritt - Christian Science Monitor

    27 May 2013

  • I wish 'Hero's emotional heat rose more intensely -- more recklessly. There's something grand but distant and almost fetishistic about the operatic solemnity with which Zhang approaches the Rashomonic story of assassins attempting to kill a king.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 May 2013

  • The film never musters the intimate feel the gifted director brought to such early films as "Raise the Red Dragon" and "Ju Dou." You cheer his accomplishment in Hero without ever feeling close to it.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    27 May 2013

  • Not as profound as it is pretty, Hero nevertheless gives us something to ponder beyond Zhang's feat in mounting such a magnificent production.

    Carla Meyer - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Foreign Language Film

    Academy Awards (2003)

     
  • Yimou Zhang

    Berlin International Film Festival (2003)

  • Best Foreign Independent Film

    British Independent Film Awards (2004)

     
  • Christopher Doyle

    Brothers Manaki International Film Festival (2003)

  • Christopher Doyle

    Camerimage (2003)