Hero is a movie that paid close attention to every detail that will make a movie memorable, from the essential aspect of having an important message to deliver to the subtle eye candy on screen, Hero is a masterpiece.
It tells a tale during 230 to 221 BC in ancient China, the kingdom of Qin, waged war and conquered six kingdoms, unifying the people into what would become the first dynasty of China - or as the film called it, unifying 'all under heaven'. Although, the spoils were Qin’s for the taking, Emperor Qin (Cheng Daoming) remains on guard, as the best assassins known to the defeated nations are still out to assail him. Due to numerous close calls, no one is allowed within a hundred feet of the king under the penalty of death and thus time progressed having our Emperor ruling with an iron fist but not sleeping well at night fearing his demise, which is where our story begins.
A nameless warrior (Jet Li) presents himself to the Qin army displaying the weapons of Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) claiming to have bested them in battle. He is handsomely rewarded with gold and wine as he recounts his victories each time coming closer and closer to his majesty, until only 10 feet away from the Emperor. But there’s a twist, when Nameless has told of how he came to defeat the three by his skill and wit the king realizes that the stories he has heard are lies. The Assassins he feared in the past were nothing in comparison to the great threat that is now 10 feet away from him, the problems he ran away from all his life is now looking at him in the face. However Qin did not conquer 6 opposing kingdoms because he was a fool, he realizes his only course of action was to confront nameless –holding a fearless poker-face expression Qin re-tells the story as to what he believed were the version of events. What the king doesn’t know however, is that he has still not come to the real truth of whom Nameless is and why he has come to kill him, and it is in this last story that the truth will finally be revealed as well as the king’s fate.
Nameless told Emperor Qin that before he came to assassinate him, he had asked all three assassins for their trust in him -that he can succeed where the others had failed because he is “unknown” to the world. Broken Sword was the only reluctant one as he had an epiphany during an assassination attempt, he told Nameless the Emperor of Qin must not be killed and left him with three words (Under All Heaven). Nameless is confused and when asked for further meaning Broken Sword yields his sword and tells him to seek the palace and he shall understand the meaning.
This movie has taught me a lot, to Nameless his biggest duty in life was avenging his fallen kingdom … those that have lost their lives in the war deserves to know that men of their nation will continue fighting was Nameless reasoning. Yet Emperor Qin’s duty in life was ruling a nation while another six ruling nations were out to gut him. He literally had to “kill or be killed”, he was fortunate enough however, to be the 1 out of the 7 but now he has a responsibility to “the people”. Nameless understood this, he had the epiphany at the end -realizing with Qin’s death at such an early period in unification of the land, there will surely be unrest, more power mongers and many more innocent will surely die … therefore he had to weight his personal satisfaction towards the greater good. His Satisfaction against the lives of those "under all heaven"
__________________
And like that .... he's gone
And like that .... he's gone
Last edited by kaisersoze; 03-22-04 at 11:20 PM.