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Hero

Hero

2002
Romance
Drama
2h 0m
The time: two thousand years ago. The place: the violent dawn of the Qin dynasty. The story: the soon-to-be First Emperor of China is on the brink of conquering a war-torn land. Three opponents are determined to assassinate him and one loyal subject stands in their way. (Miramax)
Your probable score
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Hero

2002
Romance
Drama
2h 0m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 62.7% from 7813 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(7813)
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Compact view
Rated 14 Aug 2007
94
96th
A stunningly beautiful movie with an interesting plot. The color schemes really sold this one for me.
Rated 18 Jan 2008
1
6th
It tries to be something epic and poetic, but really it's just artificial and silly. Occasionally it achieves a moment of visual brilliance, but that's the only compliment I've got for it (and I think it's mostly overrated in that department anyway). The story is boring, and its structure is pretty horrible. As it goes on it tries to reveal that the characters have more emotional motivation than you first realized, but still I couldn't care less.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
59th
Looks absolutely fantastic (even better than Crouching Tiger), and has an interesting narrative structure and matching color scheme. But the story seems fairly artificial and not all that interesting.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
8
93rd
My favorite of the recent string of overly lushly filmed Chinese martial arts super-epics. The story is deceptively shallow, but here's the thing: it's absolutely gorgeous. The use of color, the art direction, the epic sets, the flowing kinetic motion in the fight and action scenes, holy fucking wow does it look amazing. It also doesn't hurt that the fight scenes rock my cock.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
65
56th
Hero is one of those movies that was way too short. I was expecting a three-hour epic from what I heard about the movie's plot. I didn't think the Rashomon-rip style of story-telling was done effectively, and although I enjoyed the way they defined a true hero (basically mocking off American film's version of one), it was anti-climactic. But beautiful fight scenes keep the score up.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
65
25th
Disappointing. I had high hopes -- a wuxia movie directed by Zhang Yimou with a great cast. There were scenes of exquisite beauty (especially in the color palettes), and a couple of good fight scenes, but on the whole it was all rather boring. Oh well.
Rated 28 May 2008
92
83rd
Modern visual poetry. If you can appreciate good choreography in a martial arts movie, and a Kurosawa inspired story, this one is recommended.
Rated 10 Jan 2009
100
98th
So beautiful and illustrious it's almost impossible to breathe through.
Rated 23 Feb 2008
95
92nd
Arguably the greatest of the Chinese martial arts fantasy films, loosely based on actual history, very well acted & exceptionally photographed. An absolute visual revelation, & one of the best films of any kind so far this century.
Rated 05 May 2011
85
93rd
A spectacular and extravagantly ridiculous martial arts epic, "Ying xiong" is one of the most visually stimulating and over-the-top films ever made. The fighting scenes are even more handsome than those in "Wo hu cang long" and emotional resonance is achieved thanks to some very fine acting. The conventional story is unconventionally told, using multiple layers. Zhang's direction is remarkable. When it comes to pure spectacle, few films can compete this in terms of sheer visceral glee.
Rated 17 Sep 2007
87
81st
Beautiful visuals - just flies you through some of the most amazing scenes ever seen.
Rated 25 Oct 2021
15
3rd
O kadar saçmalık, propaganda ve gereksiz şiirsellik dolu ki film bitince omzumda buzdolabı taşımış gibi hissettim adamlar kalkıp 90 vermiş. Nasıl olabilir ya nasıl.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
61
40th
null
Rated 13 Apr 2019
78
55th
An exquisitely filmed and designed epic with a coldly mechanical plot grinding away; the superb technical elements, including a striking and inventive use of colour to distinguish the competing narratives, make you wish Yimou could tell this story with a little more genuine passion; stoic performances by most of the cast, save Cheung, don't help in this regard. There's still plenty to luxuriate in, including the genuinely staggering epic sweep Yimou brings to his battle scenes.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
95th
Gorgeous, with a great story that unfolds in layers. Plus, some amazing fantasy martial arts sequences. Donnie Yen vs Jet Li is a rare treat.
Rated 19 Jan 2010
40
33rd
It's interesting if you look at it as a communist propaganda epic. Not much else happening besides a lot of billowing curtains.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
100
98th
This is THE WAY greatest movies of all times are made. Biggest and the most expensive Chinesse film ever. And if it was hollywood's most exensive it would be definatelly crap. Great story, fabulous acting, scenography fascinating, directing perfect. bravo! Touching and beautiful, extremelly beautiful. Way to go China!
Rated 30 Jan 2007
89
85th
Hero is elegant and full of great action. The story is great, and the whole movie is quite breathtaking. Really good!
Rated 15 Jun 2012
87
90th
Blows you away with the stellar imagery and awesome set pieces all captured with graceful camerawork. Great use of color.
Rated 19 Dec 2009
70
48th
Starts off with silly hats, people flying around fighting, but then it shows there is actually a story and maybe even a moral in the whole thing.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
74
53rd
Lots of flash, no substance.
Rated 01 Jul 2010
80
22nd
Visual poetry. Gorgeous cinematography and framing of scenes. Good Music. Good acting (esp the younger actress). But some actors were a bit dramatic at places. In a few scenes I was smiling, when I was not supposed to. Too much flying via invisible ropes that it was ridiculous at times. The entire film is a bit too long for my taste. But a worthy effort that I guess can be enjoyed better on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Rated 29 Jul 2012
85
78th
A visually stunning film with excellent performances from the cast and a compelling story.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
53rd
Excellent choreography and story, but I felt like I was simply watching a tribute to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with a new plot and characters.
Rated 18 Mar 2007
65
33rd
This art-style and subject matter is a little tired and Hero does nothing to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack.
Rated 23 Aug 2008
94
95th
Art Direction is simply phenomenal.
Rated 23 Aug 2009
90
90th
I love how this movie manages to build itself around a simple but profound concept. Visually about as entertaining as it gets, the soundtrack is great, and the story is surprisingly good.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
26th
The problem with hero, is that it tries to force-feed its view on the beuty of battle to the crowd. One becomes weery pretty quickly from the close-ups one leafs during swordfights.
Rated 27 Feb 2007
68
49th
Visually stunning film but I'm simply tired of such much over the top wire-fu.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
92nd
Absolutely amazing camera! Wow
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
91st
Very good action film that tends to fill the gaps between action sequences with interesting scenes.
Rated 25 Jan 2010
85
92nd
Zhang takes the flawed narrative and creates a grandiose dramatic story of recruiting warriors to assassinate the first emperor of China. Everything about this is supposed to represent a dream like mythical story of the past rather than a portrayal of reality. Zhang probably received inspiration from traditional scroll art to weave a living and breathing painting with his mastery over visual effects and color. Quite simply a beautiful and interesting story.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
93rd
Simply beautiful. The colors!
Rated 14 Aug 2007
73
62nd
I'll admit it, in the midst of all the flashbacks/pseudo flashbacks, I was getting confused. But when the movie finally got through all of it, and I had a firm grasp on what was going on, I found a good movie. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a good experience nevertheless.
Rated 19 Jul 2011
95
88th
A sumptuous movie that'll excite your eyes if not your heart.
Rated 01 Jun 2009
78
27th
Great kung-fu. Terrible ending. But that was the point. Don't agree with the philosophy.
Rated 06 May 2008
81
61st
I don't usually have a thing for Kung-Fu movies but something about this movie appealed to me. The story is very moving and complex. The visuals are all mind blowing. I look forward to more Kung-Fu movies of this kind over the usual beat-em-up style.
Rated 07 Mar 2011
82
92nd
I found this to be an incredibly beautiful film.The use of color not only adds a distinctive flair but it is also part of the story.The frequent fight scenes while not realistic have a very fluid and graceful look to them and are well choreographed.The icing on the cake for me was the well done and layered story that kept me engaged and thinking by the end about the subtle ways we twist the truth and use events and people to further are own ends.
Rated 17 Feb 2007
70
39th
The main selling point here is of course the imagery. It's absolutely beautiful. The story isn't the best, but it didn't ruin the experience for me, and neither did the acting. It got tedious in parts, though.
Rated 04 Dec 2011
71
66th
Hero is (often) breathtakingly beautiful, and worthy viewing just for that. The story, however, feels empty and strangely artificial, with its Rashomon-like structure never quite working, the different perspectives it offers later dismissed as weightless fantasies. It could be a comment on how time shapes legends and myths, leaving us with only a shadow of the truth, but it's ultimately a disservice to the characters who are never fleshed out enough for us to grasp the gravity of their decisions
Rated 24 Sep 2008
65
22nd
Like a beautiful woman with no conversation and an annoying laugh. This is a lovingly made picture that feels slow and wooden.
Rated 06 May 2013
82
93rd
One of the most stunning and beautiful films I've ever seen. Even after I watched it repeatedly over some years it doesn't loose its magic. And I don't even mention the awesome people-fighting-in-mid-air-jumping-ridiculously-far-and-high-Hong-Kong-movie-style. It's the way the scenese are shot, the story is told and the costumes are chosen. Add Hong Kong's top actors at that time and you have 1,5 hours of pure pleasure.
Rated 27 Jan 2013
100
92nd
A masterpiece. Brilliant and beautiful. Visually stunning. Emotionally powerful. Action packed. Excellently choreographed. An epic retelling of a legendary piece of Chinese culture and history.
Rated 24 Aug 2009
90
81st
Great action film. Beautiful cinematography of course, with an intriguing story interlaced with amazing action scenes. A must see.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
88th
Amazing use of color to tell the story...this is a beautiful film, and if you follow what I like, you know I like films that are pretty...who cares about the plot...but this has everything...plot, twists, color, beauty...you can't take your eyes from the screen.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
66th
Some pretty incredible sequences but too over the top. Story was very tight.
Rated 25 Feb 2011
35
1st
Occasionally spectacular. Often ridiculous and pretentious. Wooden acting. Bad dialogue. Unconvincing story. Completely unbelievable ending. With this movie, Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, once respected director Zhang Yimou has stopped making films with any meaning or social significance and simply gone after the money. Shame.
Rated 21 Oct 2012
85
89th
Beautiful. ?? is one of my favourite movie 'morals' of all time.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
80th
The Politics are a bit disturbing, but it's a top film, beautifully shot, yadda yadda. Tony Leung is astonishing.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
60
28th
Overrated. Really pretty, but Zhang Ziyi really sucked in this for some reason. The romances were boring; I didn't care what happened.
Rated 16 Oct 2007
88
54th
From the sweeping visuals to the heartbreaking love story, this movie packs quite a punch.
Rated 20 Sep 2010
90
97th
Hero is a visual masterpiece. It is peaceful and calming while still being able to bring the same type of action that is expected from a martial arts film. The characters have real depth, the acting is well done, and the style it was filmed in truly is beautiful. The way it manages to portray its message is effective, allowing the viewer to look back at the end of the film and reflect on what has happened. Overall, it is a film with a broad appeal that should be watched.
Rated 26 Aug 2008
79
75th
This is a really good flick. Its got several twists out of the ordinary and a surprise ending. Excellent cast and very beautifully shot.
Rated 17 Aug 2009
90
78th
Good action, good drama, very stylish.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
93
83rd
As good as Cr. Tig. Hid. Drag. Except this came out 3 years later and one can only handle so much Kung-fu.
Rated 10 Jul 2012
9
88th
An absolutely brilliant, beautiful movie.
Rated 07 Mar 2007
71
62nd
Although I found it to be one of the better films of the past year, considering its lofty ambitions, it's still a bit hard not to consider this a bit of a disappointment.
Rated 17 Jun 2009
65
41st
Overrated in my view. Lot of build-up to the fight, but it's over kind of fast.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
87th
Okay... this wasn't what I was expecting when I originally went to see it, but I ended up being very impressed by the end of it. Yes, it's a Jet Li film so yes, there's some seriously kick-ass martial arts... but the main spin on this film is very artsy/dramatic. Keep that in mind before you get half way through and are like "wtf mate?" Still... the artsy stuff was absolutely amazing, and the director/writer/cinematographer for this film did phenomenal jobs.
Rated 12 Nov 2007
85
66th
Lovely, as his films always are.
Rated 03 Jan 2014
94
85th
A sumptuous movie that'll excite your eyes if not your heart.
Rated 30 Jan 2010
8
78th
(2nd viewing, previous score 6, wtf ?!) I enjoyed 'Crouching Tiger...' but Hero's story was far more absorbing and visually speaking, it's quite a treat. Those Chinese "wire work" films never disappoint. Recommended.
Rated 18 Oct 2011
85
88th
Great visuals and a surprisingly gripping story. The wire-fu was amusing, but probably my least favourite part of the whole thing. Way better than The Usual Suspects. What?
Rated 20 Feb 2014
81
84th
An excellent, misunderstood film. One of the few wuxia films that understands the non-literal value of choreography. Perhaps its only flaw is that it does not commit fully enough; I would have liked to see it be even more stylized. (For example, instead of treating one of the final fights as a more literal plot point, the stylization could have carved its message about the land into the land itself with movement.)
Rated 22 Feb 2007
100
97th
i dont think enough people understand this movie...amazing script...perfect metaphors...fuckin love it
Rated 11 May 2009
90
75th
So beautifull!
Rated 11 Jul 2008
81
81st
The costumes, set pieces, and action sequences are absolutely stunning. A lot of slow motion but in this movie it works well. Interesting use of multiple interpretations of the same story.
Rated 10 Oct 2010
68
65th
More fighting please. There were some stunning visuals, a strong cast but needed a lot more action.
Rated 22 Jan 2008
65
85th
Justifying imperialism. Impressive in a lot of ways. It feels very Chinese, not as in exotic, but as in not really intended for a Western audience. I don't mean that as either criticism or praise, just an impression.
Rated 29 Aug 2015
98
79th
In this visually arresting martial arts epic set in ancient China, an unnamed fighter (Jet Li) is being honored for defeating three of the king's most dangerous enemies. When Nameless recounts his battles with the assassins -- Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) and Moon (Zhang Ziyi) -- the king begins to question some of the details. As Nameless goes on, the king challenges the tales, interjecting his own take on these perhaps suspect version of events.
Rated 18 Jul 2010
10
2nd
ridiculous...
Rated 21 Dec 2007
90
94th
Quality story, not too much of that oriental over-acting and absolutely mind-blowing visually.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
91
82nd
What was the story? Who cares when the film is so visually-stunning
Rated 16 Sep 2008
50
72nd
Smuk - intet andet
Rated 14 Jul 2009
85
86th
I loved the colors
Rated 18 Jan 2019
90
91st
To be honest I didn't expect the story to be as emotionally potent or as narratively interesting as it was. That was a nice surprise. And then on top of that, the choreography was wonderful and the scenery was beautiful, with enough wind (you must always have things blowing in the wind) to satisfy all wind-lovers (?). Seriously, this film is gorgeous and nails everything it sets out to do. I might up this to a 95 in the future.
Rated 06 Oct 2009
50
26th
The colors match the story you see. What, you want something else? These movies are seriously overrated and honestly not much better than the movies Jet Li was doing at the start of his career - the difference is Hero is pretentious wankery while Twin Warriors was a daft comedy with naff dubbing.
Rated 01 Sep 2010
79
40th
Spectacular visuals, but a loaded movie with questionable motives.
Rated 20 Sep 2010
90
21st
Beautifully shot and well acted. The story was a welcome change from the typical kung fu revenge flick.
Rated 16 Oct 2008
75
59th
Beautiful cinematography, something we seem to be used to when it's a historical epic from Asia. Hero is no exception.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
81st
Well crafted, and utterly fantastic.
Rated 24 Feb 2007
80
63rd
Brilliantly retells the same story from varying persepectives and shows these perspectives through the uses of different colors. While the idea is novel it does cause the movie to become a tad repetitive however not enough so to hurt the movie in any substantial way.
Rated 28 Apr 2007
91
90th
Chinese propaganda never tasted so good
Rated 18 Aug 2007
95
84th
A story in a story in a story. Awesome visuals. Great !
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
64th
Wow, really really interesting. So much beautiful imagery through things like colours and the plot is so so much more intelligent than I had expected. With a style reminiscent of Pulp Fiction, it's only really some dodgy looking special effects that hold it back a bit. Well worth a look if you fancy something a bit different.
Rated 21 Aug 2007
93
87th
This is why we need HD.
Rated 19 Jul 2012
98
96th
Beautiful film!
Rated 06 Jul 2013
80
89th
Awesome cinemathography & choreography.
Rated 17 Apr 2009
35
32nd
Ah, another dull kung-fu film, this time with a mildly interesting color theme. A few scenes save this from being a total waste: Jet Li's confrontation with Sky and the siege on the calligraphy school but they don't keep the story meshed together.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
40th
I decided I'd boycott movies that Terentino says he has something to do with but he really doesn't, but this one's an exception, well done movie.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
40
10th
Gorgeous. Thats about it. The entire plot is based around continual retellings of the same story, which gets old since each new telling only offers you slightly more than the last. Seemed artificially long. Also, totally mediocre acting.
Rated 12 Jan 2011
60
36th
PRETTY COLOURS. I'm not really a kung fu guy. I find - and this may explain why I'm not a kung fu guy - that once we tip toe over the threshold of believability I get bored and stop paying attention. I don't think I'm alone in this. My bordom encompasses for visual tricks such as wire-fighting, as well as more substantive, story related scenes such as when two swordsmen defeating something like 500 (or more? I forget how many) Royal Guards without even breaking a sweat. Literally.
Rated 24 Jan 2010
80
30th
Amasing scenery, however the plot feels somewhat haphazard.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
91
85th
An epic and beautiful story set in ancient China. One of the best martial art movies of all time.
Rated 20 Jul 2007
60
60th
It put all its eggs in the pretty basket.
Rated 19 Apr 2011
72
83rd
[Directors Cut]
Rated 30 Jul 2012
5
98th
The fights lack 'oomph' but it looks and sounds incredible.
Rated 13 Nov 2008
60
25th
acceptable. but still lame.
Rated 21 Jan 2013
86
73rd
One of the most beautiful action movies to ever come out. The story isn't that remarkable, but with all sorts of well planned out action sequences and stunning cinematography, "Hero" stands out from other action films.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
50
29th
looks impressive, but struck me as being shallow.

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