Hero
Ambassador
Join Date: 2003-02-24 Member: 13942Members
Join Date: 2003-02-24 Member: 13942Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Best movie of the summer?</div> <b>NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW</b>
Well I just got back from seeing a midnight showing of 'Hero' and I must say it is quite possibly the best movie I have seen all summer. I don't think there was one scene that I disliked or wasn't drawn into. Without futher delay I'll go to my review of it.
While I've only heard of this movie for about a few weeks now, someone in the theater with me told me it had been out in Japan for quite some time now. I like the idea of not having any idea what the movie will be about because then I don't go into the moving with my fingers crossed, praying that the movie will not suck, as has been my experience for several movies this summer i.e. 'The Village'.
The picture opens with an explanation of the time period and the trials this part of the world is facing. There are 6 kingdoms in China and they are all warring for no reason other than to show how big their muscles are. One king, however, from the land of Qin wants to unite the 6 kingdoms to end the wars and bring unity to the region. Apparently in this attempt, there have been 3 assassination attempts on his life, and thus the story opens.
Instantly you are drawn into the character 'Nameless' played by Jet Li. Out of all of the action movies I have seen him in, I would say this would be his break through performance. There is something about the way he presents the character that draws you in and wanting to know more.
Apart from the amazing performances, the cinematography was that of 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'. Although I have not seen it, I know from other reviews and such that they are close; also having the same director contributes to it. For those who like the Indy-type movies, they will appreciate the symbolic colors used in the different scenes, and for the rest of you, you will like the scene for just how awesome it is.
After walking out of it, I thought of nothing else than 'I have to see that again.' The fighting sequences were well choreographed and make you not want to blink your eyes. The acting was marvelous and the cinematography was jaw-dropping.
For those who do not like subtitles, then I would suggest not seeing it as they are used throughout the movie. But I suggest that everyone go see this movie as it will not disappoint you.
Just my 2 cents, and I know it's early but try to keep this at the top so we can all share our opinions on this film.
Well I just got back from seeing a midnight showing of 'Hero' and I must say it is quite possibly the best movie I have seen all summer. I don't think there was one scene that I disliked or wasn't drawn into. Without futher delay I'll go to my review of it.
While I've only heard of this movie for about a few weeks now, someone in the theater with me told me it had been out in Japan for quite some time now. I like the idea of not having any idea what the movie will be about because then I don't go into the moving with my fingers crossed, praying that the movie will not suck, as has been my experience for several movies this summer i.e. 'The Village'.
The picture opens with an explanation of the time period and the trials this part of the world is facing. There are 6 kingdoms in China and they are all warring for no reason other than to show how big their muscles are. One king, however, from the land of Qin wants to unite the 6 kingdoms to end the wars and bring unity to the region. Apparently in this attempt, there have been 3 assassination attempts on his life, and thus the story opens.
Instantly you are drawn into the character 'Nameless' played by Jet Li. Out of all of the action movies I have seen him in, I would say this would be his break through performance. There is something about the way he presents the character that draws you in and wanting to know more.
Apart from the amazing performances, the cinematography was that of 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'. Although I have not seen it, I know from other reviews and such that they are close; also having the same director contributes to it. For those who like the Indy-type movies, they will appreciate the symbolic colors used in the different scenes, and for the rest of you, you will like the scene for just how awesome it is.
After walking out of it, I thought of nothing else than 'I have to see that again.' The fighting sequences were well choreographed and make you not want to blink your eyes. The acting was marvelous and the cinematography was jaw-dropping.
For those who do not like subtitles, then I would suggest not seeing it as they are used throughout the movie. But I suggest that everyone go see this movie as it will not disappoint you.
Just my 2 cents, and I know it's early but try to keep this at the top so we can all share our opinions on this film.
Comments
But yeah, it's kickass.
But yeah, it's kickass. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
A chineese movie made by Quentin Tarantino?
He's white you know...
But yeah, it's kickass. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A chineese movie made by Quentin Tarantino?
He's white you know... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nono, the director is Asian. It's his name on the poster because he was able to convince Miramax to finally release the darn thing.
I don't even really care much for the movie (...no haven't seen it), and I know that it's only endorsed by Miramax, inorder to get people to see it in the US...since generally people aren't going to care if [blanky blank] directed or is involved with a movie if they've never heard of him.
Which seems kind of stupid by Miramax to me...but I don't want to see floaty wire sword fighting and arrows lacking fletchings and rotation being shot as a giant wall. Not because of who's in it.
But yeah, it's kickass. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A chineese movie made by Quentin Tarantino?
He's white you know... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm talking about "Hero" starring Jet Li, i'm not sure what movie you are talking about.
How so? I loved it, I liked the way how they kept telling it (Nameless and the king of Qin) from their own viewpoints and stuff.
Why does it suck?
I thought the filmwork was excellent, too D:
Haha racist.
This is the only film that came from China in years that's been talked about on the Forums...
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->How so? I loved it, I liked the way how they kept telling it (Nameless and the king of Qin) from their own viewpoints and stuff.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I liked that too, but that's ALL that happened, that one little happening... over and over again.
You guys are again getting excited over nothing, ala Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. There are dozen of Hong Kong films like this.
You mean the dubbing? If so, the dubbing in The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk is excellently done, you can't even tell.
You mean the dubbing? If so, the dubbing in The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk is excellently done, you can't even tell. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Meh, I don't know what it's called. I guess I gave up on chinese/japanese/whatever movies when I saw kung pow...
You are joking right. I mean you were aware that Ben Stiller is in fact not asian.
I mean I am torn, because you don't look like you're joking. But on the other hand, who in the <b>world</b> could possibly mistake kung pow for a real kung fu flick, as opposed to the spoof it was? I mean it isn't possible to be that clueless, is it? I mean you'd think the references to Enter the Dragon and Game of Death - some of the same references Kill Bill made - would have made it obvious, but if you didn't catch on when the cgi cow showed up, you are truly a vegetable, devoid of any detectable mental activity.
I'd just like to reiterate this point: if you're joking, ho ho, good show old chap most comedic.
If you didn't figure out KP was a parody though, you are an idiot of the first order, a drooling subnormal, a genetic defect: in short, a stumbly-wumbly. Wipe the drool from your chin, it's disgusting.
p.s.: if you think anime sucks because you saw an episode of dbz or something, again, you need to kill yourself. That's like saying Amelie or whatever sucks because you saw an episode of Friends once. No relation, kiddo. None.
Anyways.
Hero was awesome because it was the best propaganda I have seen in so long. "These totally rad men and women gave up their lives so China could be one great country! HONOR THEM!!" God, great. The fight choreography was pretty good, but wire-fu has ceased to be as cool as it was when I first saw it. Just watching Yimou tell the story three times to make the characters into super-perfect archetypes to serve as targets of nationalistic fervor was great. I bet army enlistment across China rose dramatically right after it was released.
And then they mention the great wall at the end, possibly the world's greatest monument to the horrors a dictator will put his citizens through to build something. And of course the raiders it was supposed to keep out just went around it or over it at unguarded points because you can't exactly guard thousands of miles of wall. Millions of Chinese people died to build a pointless (but impressive!) wall.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable movie-going experience.
You are joking right. I mean you were aware that Ben Stiller is in fact not asian. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ben Stiller is in fact NOT in Kung Pow.
Why? I watched it in its original Chinese, and I thought it was horrible. My parents also thought it was horrible.
Having watched it the way it was intended to be watched, I have a more credible opinion than you.
For those who said it sucked, I'm interested to know why it sucked. When I saw it, these two girls next to me thought it was horrible and they laughed during the majority of the film. Now that I think about it, I had barely known these girls but I could already tell what movies they would like. They would like the crap that Hollywood has told them to like, i.e. AvP, Anacondas, and any other mindless garbage.
Again, please tell me why it sucked because I'm interested to know. Go into great detail, and don't just say because of the wire-fighting stuff. I would like to know what aspects of the movie displeased you. What about the storyline did you hate?
I thought it was a nice change of film to see after viewing crap like 'Open Water' and 'AvP'. And Zooby, you don't really have a more credible opinion than Testament just because you saw the original. Try to watch movies that aren't pumped out of Hollywood for a change.
The rest of that post still stands, though.
Ambassador - what the hell ever. The modern American belongs to a country of over 300 million people running the full gamut of race, national origin, prosperity, and education. Sort of similar to Europe in fact, although Europe is a little more homogenous, I think. So trying to pretend that you can make a statement that holds true across the population is laughable.
Additionally, hero wasn't artsy. It <i>was</i> technically brilliant, very good wire-fu and fun was had with color correction. At root though, it was pure propaganda, and the European (and American, for that matter) intelligentsia tend to frown upon propaganda. Especially if it seeks to justify the death of millions in a war of conquest on the basis that all this variety is troublesome. Or did you forget the part where the Emperor of Qin went "nineteen variations of a single character! Goodness, when I rule everything, I'll straighten that out!" Far from "art," that is anti-art, a celebration of conformity and a denigration of the flowering of different cultures, philosophies, and peoples that existed in China before it was unified.
Open Water was closer to being an art film, in that he was trying to do alot with very little.
You know one other movie that annoyed me with its drawn-out scenes of people staring at each other with subtle music playing in the background, interspersed with awesome battle scenes? Lord of the Rings. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> Lots of movies have those.....
Why? I watched it in its original Chinese, and I thought it was horrible. My parents also thought it was horrible.
Having watched it the way it was intended to be watched, I have a more credible opinion than you. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I believe Testament is referring to both yours and Nol's ability to make sweeping, uninformed generalizations.
Chinese: can't stand how they look, and can't stand how they change the voices.
Japanese: It's from the same place that anime comes from, you know its gonna suck ****. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
u r mean! do not insult my brothers! I dont likie rascists! ARRRR