Hero (2002)

The critic calls the film beautiful and beguiling, a martial arts extravaganza that defines fighters' styles and lives within Chinese tradition while using a Rashomon-like structure of multiple viewpoints. Zhang Yimou creates a visual poem of extraordinary beauty with spectacular sets, costumes and effects that move the genre into poetry, ballet and philosophy.

Zhang's film is elliptical and primal, using a Rashomon-like structure and dazzling color-coded sequences to explore history, sensuality, and Taoist principles in a spiritually profound way.

The critic praises the film's sumptuous visuals and breath-catching action, noting how it blends fine art elegance with kinetic punch-ups. They highlight the solid universal story of loyalty, love and sacrifice, along with the ingeniously colour-coded Rashomon-style storytelling and rich performances.

The critic describes the film as one of the most visually ravishing in recent years, with color-coded retellings of the story and balletic martial arts sequences that make for a rapturous journey. It is presented as a homage to Rashomon with a poetic, formal plot about assassins and an emperor.

The critic calls it an intoxicatingly beautiful, structurally enigmatic and brief epic that will struggle against Crouching Tiger comparisons in the West due to its cold, stately storytelling and lack of sentiment. They single out the breathtaking cinematography by Chris Doyle and the inventive fight choreography.

The critic calls Hero the real deal compared to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, praising its breathtaking visuals, balletic fight sequences and colour-drenched cinematography by Christopher Doyle. The plot is seen as a minor weakness, flimsy and overly simplistic despite an intriguing political subtext.

The review highlights Hero as a visually spectacular and popular hit with stunning action, star power and impressive cinematography, though the complicated story and apparent endorsement of totalitarianism are noted as drawbacks. It positions the film as a colourful, balletic spectacle ready for Western audiences.

The critic praises the film's artistic sophistication and formal beauty as one of the most visually stunning martial arts films, crediting director Zhang Yimou and cinematographer Christopher Doyle for its color schemes and spectacle. It notes the film's emotional distance and focus on grand spiritual ideas over personal connections.

The review describes it as a luscious martial-arts rhapsody with pomp, panache and narrative puzzles that paints imperial history as a cartoonish romantic pageant, praising the sumptuous colour-coded visuals and extravagant style while noting the political proposition feels fascistic.

The critic finds the film graceful and visually stylish but ultimately inconsequential, lacking the magic and moral power of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He singles out its nationalist message that endorses trust in powerful rulers and justifies sacrifice for order as an unpleasant aspect.

The film delivers striking visual set pieces and technical mastery as a wuxia epic but feels like a sellout with a weightless patriotic story that lacks the purposeful edge of Zhang's earlier work.

The critic praises Zhang Yimou’s elegant martial-arts epic for its painterly use of color, visual flair in fight sequences, and exploration of pacifism through the tension between sword and pen. Some themes like Chinese unification are treated too lightly, and certain character elements feel underdeveloped.

The critic praises the film's beauty and visual spectacle as a colorful action epic inspired by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, while noting questions about director Zhang Yimou's intentions and a jingoistic element in the ending message. The review prefers an existentialist reading of the protagonist's fate over a patriotic one.

The critic finds the film visually dazzling but criticizes its convoluted, impossible-to-follow story that prioritizes spectacle over substance. They single out the exaggerated flying fight sequences and balletic beauty for praise while noting the operatic overindulgence.