Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Hero…What is a hero? What kind of a person is a hero anyway? Does is signify bravery? Or is it power? Or is it strength?

In the beginning of the film, Jet Li’s character says something along the lines of “In any war, there is a hero on both sides”, and I agree completely. While Stonewall Jackson may have been on the Confederate side during the Civil War, his military genius goes untouched, regardless of who he fought for. That is a real hero, one who is praised by any side of the conflict.

As this movie began, I thought this was going to be about Jet Li kicking a bunch of a*s and becoming a hero in ancient China. I’m glad that wasn’t the case, but still it ended up being a lot worse.

It starts out with us introduced to Li’s character, who is known as “Nameless”, probably because his parents never gave him a name. He is brought to the Emperor of the Qin.

-Break for History Lesson-
This period in China (just before the beginning of the first millennium) was known as the “Warring States Period”. It was basically a cyclone of chaos and turmoil between the different regions. The Emperor of the Qin had a plan to unite all the lands, and stop the wars.
-End History Lesson Break-

The Emperor of Qin isn’t exactly loved by his people. Because of his wish to unite the lands, there are many out to take him out to stop his plan. We soon learn about the fabled ׁ assassins” – Sky, Broken Sword, and Snow. All three are conspirators who plan to murder the Emperor of Qin, as they are all from the Zhou region. The reason Nameless is brought to the emperor’s court is to be rewarded for taking out each assassin. The Emperor has some pretty tight-knit security, so the Nameless hero can only come within a hundred paces of him. But after explaining how he got rid of each assassin, he is able to move ahead in distance towards the emperor (the closer you get, the higher the honor). His evidence of actually getting the job done is the sword of each assassin as well as a couple witnesses of his battles. Pretty soon, after explaining how he got rid of the final assassin he is able to come within 10 paces of the Emperor.

All the stories that Nameless talks about are pretty cool. First he brings us back to his fight with the first assassin, Sky. All the fighting and effects are attractive, though a bit overdone in my opinion. If you are a fan of fantastic action and jaw-dropping special effects, then you will enjoy the rest of the movie. However, if you are like me and prefer a more realistic approach if you are making a historical film, then the film will seem like a complete joke. For instance, when Nameless was fighting Sky, they actually pause and pay the blind man to keep playing the instrument as they fight. Amusing? Yes. Unrealistic? Yes!

A lot of the martial arts scenes are so overly exaggerated that I actually got offended, that the director tried to pass this off as a movie. The scene with Broken Sword’s calligraphy comes to mind. As the Qin army of thousands stand outside the school and shoot a swarm of arrows at it, the people remain inside and keep practicing. The old sits and plays his instrument as arrows fly around him, and they seem to hit everything but him.

Plot-wise, the film gets worse from here. The Emperor seems pleased with Nameless’ duties, yet we learn that he doesn’t believe him. And then, the Emperor re-tells the stories by how he believes they occurred. By some miracle, the Emperor seems to be right, amazingly guessing each and every little detail of what actually happened, without ever being there! That’s what did it for me. Its surreal to the point where its not even enjoyable because you just laugh at its ridiculousness. There is a fight scene where Nameless and Broken Sword fight on a lake. Yes, you read that right, they fight on top of water. They run on it (totally jacking Jesus) and jump in the air. As they come down they dip their sword into the water for a second and then fly back into the air. I tried hard not to roll my eyes at the silliness. It seems like the movie is serious, but a lot of what goes on makes it look like a “National Lampoon’s” parody.

Because of the constant re-telling of what happened, the movie sinks lower and gets loonier by the minute because everyone dies about 3 or 4 times, each in a different way because of a different version of what really happened. You soon lose track of what is going on and are clueless as to who is telling the truth and who is lying, that’s why I would recommend watching this movie more than once to appreciate its merit. I have only seen it once myself and that may be why I did not enjoy it as much. It is very easy to get lost in the plot, and for that the movie can’t be a 5 Star film.

Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of good in Hero, and in fact it is easier to spot it than the bad. The visual effects are some of the most stunning that I have ever seen. The mere imagery and atmosphere that they create make you feel that you are right there in Ancient China. As I said before, a lot of things are over done (i.e: millions of leaves falling everywhere in the fall, and turning blood-red in a split second when the women start to fight) but I guess the directors went for the visual brilliance rather than substance.

In terms of action, this should be any martial arts fan’s wet-dream. Personally, I’m not into that stuff as much. I found it hilarious how the people got the sudden ability to fly when in combat. It kind of puzzled me later on. If the assassins had to ability to defy gravity when fighting each other, why didn’t they just fly away when the Emperor’s men were pursuing them? That would seem like a more reasonable choice rather than fighting all of the henchmen (who sucked at combat, by the way), in which they were outnumbered 1000 to 2. You see? It is mind-bending and impractical details of the film like those that truly made this movie less enjoyable in my eyes.

The message of the movie was pretty admirable. In terms of facts of history, it did a swell job. I found the historical background titles in the beginning and the end very helpful and interesting. Broken Sword’s small message in the sand proves to be the most vital detail of the the final theme of the movie-the unification of China, also explaining how to this day they still call their country “Our Land” (well, who else’s would it be). I liked the portrayal of the character’s ambition in their dream. The assassins agreed to Nameless’ plan in letting him kill them because they felt that strongly in their ideals, and would settle for anything in accomplishing their goal (in killing the Emperor).

In terms of the title, I agree with Nameless’ words that I quoted in the beginning of this. Is Marshall Zhukov a hero to the Russians because he was such a “brilliant” commander in defeating the Germans on the front, or is he just considered one because he was Russian and a person of high status. Sure the Russians praise him, but go to Germany…is he a hero there? Nope. I have always hated the term “national hero”. If a person is a true hero, than he will be an inspiration to everybody everywhere, not just to his own nation.

Woaahh…went off on a tangent there. Sorry for the mini-rant. Anyway, the movie is pretty cool. Barely believable, but cool. Watch it if you are an avid fan of martial arts or East Asian culture. Watch it if you are easily amused with upscale special effects. Watch it if you are Chinese and are a nationalist who gets a kick out of saying “our land”. Watch it if you think I am full of sh*t and merely misinterpreted this film in saying it is mediocre.

Signing off,
“The Nameless Russian”…

…aka ~M~


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older