Is Jet Li's "Hero" worth a blind buy? (1 Viewer)

I didn't care at all for crouching tiger hidden dragon and am wondering if this falls into the same or if it is worth it to a mild fan of martial arts movies.

Thanks

Jon, if you didn't care for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I do not think you will like Hero. They are similar in spirit.

That said, it is a beautiful film with great action.

I disagree, I also do not care for cthd, but HERO is one of my favorite movies. It has some corny flying martial arts, but it doesn't detract from the film.

Although I greatly enjoyed Hero, I would find it very difficult to recommend it as blind buy. It is just too subjective. I find it pretty hard to even compare it to CTHD, even though most would immediately draw comparisons.

I'm actually the opposite. I love CTHD, but thought Hero was just ok.

I recommend a blind rental, but not a blind viewing. I really enjoyed Hero and it is stylistically simiar to CTHD, though very different in story. Though it's not universal, I'd still wager that if you didn't like CTHD you won't care for Hero.


Some? Half the movie is "corny flying martial arts." (sigh) Well, to each their own

I too echo the sentiments of this thread: If you didn't like/love CTHD you probably won't like Hero. It doesn't have as much of the romantic undertones of CTHD but it's very heavy with a Rashomon influence. I'd rent first

Anyone else jonesing to see House of Flying Daggers? (And does Zhang Ziyi have a lock on these movies or what?)

I thought it was very good too, but not for everyone. I've become picky about the films I buy these days so I would rent it first and if you feel it's one you would watch multiple times...buy it.

Rent it with the intent of seeing it with a group. Have everyone chip in and it'd be a 25 cent movie and a good conversation piece. Even if you didn't like CTHD, a bunch of people I know in the same boat really loved Hero.

Personally, I loved it. Saw it at a film festival a few months ago, and watched it again last weekend with some friends when it came out in general release.

It is an astonishingly beautiful film. If you're someone that just loves great cinematography, this is the film for you.
Lots of really great fight sequences. More fights than CTHD.
To me personally, I also found the story of Hero better than CTHD, and the whole Rashomon thing was quite wonderful.

If you didn't like CTHD, I would not recommend it as a blind buy, but I would recommend renting it to see what you think. It is a really excellent film.

Is there not a director's cut available in other regions. There seems to be a bit of confusion (to me anyway) about the various DVDs that are out there and the length of each. Can anyone clarify this ? Thanks.

Exactly. Don't risk the blind buy, rent it. If you really like it that much buy it. For my taste I liked both CTHD and Hero, but think them quite different films. My wife did not like CTHD but loved Hero. As someone else pointed it, this is a highly subjective film experience, so I do reinforce my suggestion to rent, or, better yet, catch it in the movie theater while you have a chance (if you still have a chance), as any kind of DVD experience at home will not beat the giant 35 mm theatrical experience of Hero at a good movie theater.

There is an extended version available but it is not the director's cut. I don't know if a true one will ever be released.



If that's how you feel, you will be greatly disappointed in many martial arts movies. Flying Kung Fu has been in stories going back a very long time in Asia so it appears in film. When I saw HERO in the theater some guy yelled "BullSh*t" when they started flying around so I guess a lot of people don't get it.

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is very good but different than HERO. Political climate is only a backdrop in HOTFD and the relationships of the characters are more up front and personal. I actually recamend watching it twice. It's a different movie the second time once you know what happens. Beatifully done. The story isn't new or groundbreaking but there are some great performances. Here's a review of the Edko region 3 release. http://www.loveandbullets.com/hofd.htm

Matt

I bought Hero as a blind buy. Didn't regret the purchase at all. Hero is a movie I'd describe as "beautiful".

Matthew, I'm not sure if David meant to say Zhang Ziyi or Zhang Yimou but if he was referring to the director than it should be Zhang Yimou. Zhang Ziyi is the actress.

In regards to the HOTFD, I wasn't impressed the first time I saw it so I'm waiting to see it again in the theatre or DVD, to see whether I'll like it more the second time around.

Lorenzo -
Good catch! I'll edit my previous post.
That's what I get for reading too quickly and typing even faster.

Matt

I really like Hero as well as CTHD. They were both different movies with the only similarity being the "flying kung fu".

I also doubly agree that you need to see it on the big screen if possible. It was one of the most beautiful films I've seen ever. Barring seeing it in theaters, rent then buy.

Hey, nothing wrong with Zhang Ziyi.

I meant Zhang Ziyi. She stars in all three movies (CTHD, Hero, HOFD). I think she's incredibly talented but I was just curious as to why she keeps showing up in all these wuxia films... does she know where the proverbial bodies are buried?

Actually i thought House of Flying Daggers was a pretty bad movie. Pretty much just mass confusion and made little to no sense, but this probably isn't the thread to be discussing it.

For Hero, I dug it, I liked the way of telling the story, maybe a bit gimmicky, but it worked for me. I'd say it's more action oriented than CTHD, and the colors are pretty stunning. Lots of people don't like it though. I'd say Zhang Yimou in general is style over substance, but at least with Hero has enough substance to make it a decent flick, and to those that are willing to get sucked in a pretty good movie.

I can't really compare it to CTHD though, to me it had a totally different feel to it. CTHD was more of a romance movie with the occasional fight scene. Part of this is probably because of Chow Yun Fat, whereas Hero was much more focused on action, considering you have Jet Li in the movie.

I didn't like CTHD, but thought HERO was better. Not enough to buy it though.

It had some interesting visuals in it.

But, all I remember from watching it is hearing some guy snoring loudly through the whole showing. I guess he wouldn't recommend it.

I'd say Netflix it.