http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/04/film-review-hero-2002/ The Review of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Films Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:44:15 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/04/film-review-hero-2002/comment-page-1/#comment-1903 Dennis Fischer Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:45:20 +0000 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/04/22/film-review-hero-2002/#comment-1903 Frankly, I consider HERO to be better than THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, though both are beautifully shot and designed productions. What struck me about HERO is not only how truly mythic it was, but also the moral complexity. The Emperor is portrayed as an Imperialist warmonger who is in an all-out war against all his neighboring kingdoms. As Nameless talks to him, the Emperor conveys his deep desire for peace by conquering all his enemies and thereby uniting China. Through the Rashomon-like plot, we realize that Nameless is, like the other assassins, willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the Nation, and that he has to look past the bloodthirstiness of the Emperor to decide what is truly best for CHINA. This is truly one of the best wuxia movies I have ever seen. Frankly, I consider HERO to be better than THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, though both are beautifully shot and designed productions. What struck me about HERO is not only how truly mythic it was, but also the moral complexity. The Emperor is portrayed as an Imperialist warmonger who is in an all-out war against all his neighboring kingdoms. As Nameless talks to him, the Emperor conveys his deep desire for peace by conquering all his enemies and thereby uniting China. Through the Rashomon-like plot, we realize that Nameless is, like the other assassins, willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the Nation, and that he has to look past the bloodthirstiness of the Emperor to decide what is truly best for CHINA. This is truly one of the best wuxia movies I have ever seen.

]]> http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/04/film-review-hero-2002/comment-page-1/#comment-1900 » Film Review: House of Flying Daggers (2004) Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:07:26 +0000 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/04/22/film-review-hero-2002/#comment-1900 [...] on 22 Apr 2008 at 08:07 pm | Tagged as: Reviews, Movies Director Yimou Zhang’s follow-up to HERO (2002) is another high-class, artsy interpretation of the martial arts genre. Like its predecessor [...] [...] on 22 Apr 2008 at 08:07 pm | Tagged as: Reviews, Movies Director Yimou Zhang’s follow-up to HERO (2002) is another high-class, artsy interpretation of the martial arts genre. Like its predecessor [...]

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