Hero
I usually allow a few days to pass before writing a “review” of it for TUG.n - but I think I have a pretty good idea of my opinion of Hero.
I had pretty high expectations going into Hero yesterday, since virtually everyone who has seen it has given it a thumb up, a hot review, or a fresh tomato - so perhaps my perception was skewed a bit - but I found it not being quite as good as I’d hoped. This is not to say that this movie is not one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. The colors were blindingly vibrant, the music crisp and clear and the “wire-fu” some of the best I’ve ever seen.
The only “thing” that I didn’t like about this movie was that it was drawn out a little too far. For fans of this genre, perhaps the pacing of this movie was perfect. For others, this movie will seem boring and drawn out, merely because it is. Disregarding the fact that they told the same story 3 or 4 times, the extended scenes alone made up for 25% of the movie. And, for a running time of only 98 minutes, that’s saying a lot.
I don’t want everyone to think that I hated this movie, or that I thought it was boring; because I don’t think it was. But I am a fan of this genre, and of movies even remotely linked to Asian cultures. Dare I say that I liked Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon better? CTHD had more story to tell, and it told it at a much better pace - besides the desert scene - which broke the movie up quite well (arguably).
If you are not a fan of this genre, I’m not sure how much you will enjoy this film, but I am still recommending that you see it. There are so many crappy movies that are released in the US that when something like this comes along it’s refreshing.
Update: A little bird landed on my shoulder shortly after I posted this, it was an extremely ugly bird mind you, and he asked: “Why did you think it was boring and drawn out?”. I suppose I should have waited that extra day before publishing my short-winded thoughts on Hero, so I appologize. However, it appears it’s time for a rebuttle, albeit a short one.
I did not think it was boring nor drawn out, I’m sorry for saying it. My terminology nor editing skills are up to snuff. What I meant to say was this; that some of the scenes were slightly over dramatized. The film was beautiful, at normal speed and slow-mo. Irregardless, this “dramatization” neither made nor broke the film. And, it definitely wasn’t as noticeable as the 11 endings of Return of the King (a movie I hold in the Top 5 of my all-time favorite films).
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