Ying xiong (2002)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Feng Li (writer)
Bin Wang (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Kono kuni wa mada, hontô no hero wo shiranai [Japan] ("This land doesn't know a real hero. Yet.)

Plot:

A series of Rashomon-like flashback accounts shape the story of how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.

Plot Keywords:

China | Palace | Assassin | Sword | King

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 21 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Jet Li	...	Nameless
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Broken Sword
Maggie Cheung	...	Flying Snow (as Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk)
Ziyi Zhang	...	Moon (as Zhang Ziyi)
Daoming Chen	...	King of Qin
Donnie Yen	...	Sky
Liu Zhong Yuan	...	Scholar
Zheng Tia Yong	...	Old Servant
Yan Qin	...	Prime Minister
Chang Xiao Yang	...	General
Yakun Zhang	...	Commander
Ma Wen Hua	...	Head Eunuch
Jin Ming	...	Eunuch
Xu Kuang Hua	...	Pianist
Wang Shou Xin	...	Musician

Also Known As:

Hero (Canada: English title) (literal English title) (UK) (USA)
Jet Li's Hero (USA)
Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero (USA) (promotional title)
Ying hung (China: Cantonese title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

99 min | China:107 min (extended version) | China:93 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

France:U | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Ireland:12 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39290)

Filming Locations:

Dunhuang, Gansu, China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

Jet Li reportedly insisted that the role of Sky, which had been tentatively filled by a different actor, be given to Donnie Yen. Li and Yen had not worked together on a movie since Wong Fei Hung II: Nam yi dong ji keung (1992).

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: At the beginning of the movie, subtitles state that China was divided into seven warring states. At the end, the subtitles then state that "the King of Qin" unified China, without specifying which one. Historically, the king that was the one to unite all of the Chinese states was Ying Zheng (later changed name to Shi Huang Di) who inherited the throne from his deceased father at age 13 (as opposed to the age of the king in the movie). At the time, Ying Zheng began to rule China, the seven states were already reduced to two larger states (Qin and Chu) which was later dominated by Qin when Ying Zheng was 22 years old. It is therefore impossible for the same king shown in the movie to be the king that united all the Chinese states, although the end-note is semantically correct.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nameless: [voiceover] I was orphaned at a young age and was never given a name. People simply called me Nameless. With no family name to live up to, I devoted myself to the sword. I spent ten years perfecting unique skills as a swordsman. The King of Qin has summoned me to court, for what I have accomplished has astonished the kingdom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Excellent

While i enjoyed this movie very much, i believe Hero will get the kinds of reviews and responses that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (CTHD) did, and still does, ie. either you liked it very much, or you couldn't see what the fuss was all about. This dichotomy of opinions makes for interesting study because it seems to cut across cultural and intellectual differences. Everywhere the film is shown, there will a segment of the audience that will love and rave about it, and another segment that will be wondering if they had been watching the same movie. I can't explain why this is so, but i suspect it has a lot to do with a viewer's initial expectation of the movie, and then his perception and appreciation of the nuances in the telling of the storyline.

Hero is a film that is beautiful in many aspects. The direction and photography is artsy without being pretentious. Every shot is worthy of being a work of art in itself. The language spoken is traditional mandarin, but oh, so easy to the ear, even though i couldn't understand every word. (I don't think Tony's and Maggie's voices were dubbed, but i could be mistaken). The main characters were very well acted out, especially that of the role of the Qin Emperor. Zhang Ziyi's character was largely insignificant though, so i think she's been put in to add some star power to the production. The fighting scenes are unusual by most standards, employing an interesting combination of CGI and real action. Some of the powers that the characters possess appear too amazing to be true, but remember that some of the fights only took place in the fighters' imagination. The music, though quite similar to that in CTHD, is appropriate, and sticks hauntingly to the back of your mind long after the movie is over.

I went to the cinema having heard some of the hype leading to the movie, but with no real knowledge of the storyline, and not expecting a lot. I think that helped me enjoy the movie more, because the way the story unfolded actually set me thinking and anticipating in a manner that i could not have had i known more about the storyline. The message at the end of the movie is simple, but certainly open for debate. In fairness, i don't think the director attempted to provide an answer, as to whether the decision made by the Nameless One was the correct one or not, but rather to ask questions. I'd better not give out too much here, but it certainly set me thinking about things for a little while after the show had ended. These days, any movie that can get me pondering after the credits go down has got to be pretty good.

Overall an excellent movie. I'm sure some areas could be better, but i can't think of any right now. Highly recommended.

Score: 8.5/10