Hero

2012 • 99 minutes

About this movie

HERO starring martial arts legend Jet Li in a visually stunning martial arts epic where a fearless warrior rises up to defy an empire and unite a nation! With supernatural skill ... and no fear ... a nameless soldier (Jet Li) embarks on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army that massacred his people. Now, to achieve the justice he seeks, he must take on the empire's most ruthless assassins and reach the enemy he has sworn to defeat! Acclaimed by critics and honored with numerous awards, HERO was nominated for both an Oscar® (2002 Best Foreign Language Film)and Golden Globe!

Ratings and reviews

Love Jet Li, love Donnie Yen, love martial arts, did not love Hero. I respect those who did, but I found the movie heavy, pretentious, and loud. No question that the cinematography is gorgeous, but storyline, dialogue, the interminable "artsy" shots, uh. It takes a lot for me to downgrade a martial arts spectacular. I have been watching martial arts movies since Bruce Lee was alive and love Chinese historical epics, so I hated to dislike this one, but so it is. Gave 3 stars out of respect to cast and crew..

The story is nice, but may not resonate with everyone. However, the visual art is obvious to anyone and there are layers for those with eyes keen enough to discern them.

Brilliant cinematography, sweeping landscapes, colors and mystical Chinese combatants who single-handidly defeat thousand of warriors and test each other. Love lost, love spurned, burning nationalist pride and fabulous imagery and plot. I loved the scene where the attendees at the calligraphy school returned to their work as thousands of deadly arrows rained down on them. Because it was at the heart of their art. Fantastic ending messages.