Jet Li's Hero Is A Chick Flick

Hero was released in China in 2002, and up to that point the movie was the most expensive to make as well as the highest grossing film in Chinese history. The film was not released in America until Quentin Tarentino presented it in August of 2004.

Although it was a critical success and performed reasonably well at the box office, the film was a discomfort to many who saw the film's political undertones as support for autocracy and a world lead by one power; China. Positive promotion of the film died off quickly and after three months in the U.S. it was released on DVD.

Personally, I saw the film as a masterful piece of art. The involvement of colors and the spectacular sets alone would make this movie worth full price of admission. Each martial arts sequence was choreographed with such vision and stunning precision that there is no denying the beauty of movement or the meaning of motion. Yet, as with all great movies, if all this was stripped away to let the story and its telling stand on its own, this work of art would be nothing short of breathtaking.

Two thousand years ago, there was no China. There were seven provinces which divided a population. And one warlord who dreamed of a unified people; one language, one law, one leader. To accomplish this, the warlord, Qin, sends his vast military machine to subdue the other six provinces. Ruthless, yet tactically efficient, his armies succeed wherever they appear.

Two warriors made homeless by Qin's armies, Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and Falling Snow (Maggie Cheung), meet and fall in love. Pledging the deepest of love for each other they dedicate their lives to gaining a home where there is no war, no swords, only peace. The two begin a journey to assassinate the king. The two grow inseparable as they study and hone their skills as swordsmen. Three years before the telling of the story, Falling Snow and Broken Sword make their assassination attempt and fail. In response to the attempt, Qin has the great hall in palace emptied, so no one can hide, wears his battle armor at all times, and forbids anyone to approach within one-hundred paces under penalty of certain and sudden death at the hands of his thousands of palace guards.

Ah, but what would a lethal edict be without loopholes?

The story is told via flashbacks during a conversation with Qin and an unknown Prefect whose name is Nameless (Jet Li). Nameless is allowed within ten paces of the king because he has presented the weapons belonging to the three most notorious assassins in the land to the Royal Court. By Qin's own law, any man who presents proof that he has killed two of the three assassins, Broken Sword, Falling Snow, and Sky, will be rewarded greatly and be hailed as a hero.

There are three different versions of the tale of Nameless' quest to protect the nation told. Each one steeped in intrigue and love. Only one is true.

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Doesn't that feel good?