Absolutely brilliant

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I certainly disagree with the message. I understand that this is a telling of how China came to be by "uniting" the different kingdoms but it, possibly inadvertently, sends the message that war and conquer are good. The king is a ruthless man who will do anything to achieve his goals of bringing the different kingdoms together. This includes the killing of many individuals. Sometimes war is necessary. To protect. But never to conquer. We should all be united, but not in the way this film presents. We can live separately yet together in peace. The different kingdoms could have thrived separately but this king was willing to kill so that they would all be forced under one rule. Not because the others were dealing with injustice or the like but because that's just how he wanted it. So while the film is obviously stunning visually - the choreography, the use of color, lighting, etc. it all ultimately fails in its portrayal as the message is not one that deserves to be uplifted. It's a great film for its endeavors but ultimately shameful in what it's trying to tell us. Allowing the king to succeed may have stopped the killing but he started it to begin with and this choice undoes the entire sacrifice of nameless and the two lovers and their pain.

A beautiful masterstroke from director Zhang Yimou, Hero is a beautifully constructed wuxia film that is infused with history, Chinese culture, honor, and themes of overcoming hate and the pain that can be caused from not conquering that hate. Through this film, Zhang Yimou not only creates a terrifically entertaining martial arts action film, but he also creates a film that is a moving and stirring look at the unification of China and the sacrifices that went into that monumental step.While the movie does take some liberties with historical retelling, what top box office film doesn't? Without fail, the movie plucks at the heart-strings of its viewers and masterfully captures the human aspect of War and how it affects the minds of the ruled.

This is my second Chinese movie that I've ever watched even when I have been living in China for 12 years. First of all, I thought that all the Chinese movies weren't as good as American or Korean. Also the first movie that I watched didn't really go well, and it was boring. However, this movie impressed me a lot. I've watched this movie in school for film class. At first, I was not expecting anything because I didn't really like Chinese movie. However, as I watched all the movie, cinematography started to impress me. The story was kind of weird (I guess that's the reason why I couldn't give 10) but the cinematography grabbed my attention and started to make me enjoy the movie more. I think this movie have lots of graphic and lots of unrealistic scenes, but the back ground and cinematography is great. Those two factor saved this movie, without those two, I think this movie was not that great.

Hero is visually pleasing and artistically beautiful masterpiece by Zhang Yimou. It is a Chinese martial art film and the director presents this majestic art from using minimal bloodshed in the movie. Zhang Yimou re-tells his version of the assassination attempt of King of Qin( 220 - 210 BC ) with Jet Li as his protagonist - "Nameless". This movie also brings up the subject of Maoism.Hero is a rare movie which blends storytelling into a visual poem. The color composition it blows your mind away, even more so when you realize the significance of each color with respect to the story. It is the central grace of the movie and the director, Zhang Yimou, reportedly made incredible efforts to fulfill his requirement. There is mesmerizing natural imagery and costumes in the film which takes us back to the ancient china.The acting was good, though at some places it felt a bit unreal and forced. Music in the movie complemented the visual poem Yimou was trying to create. In conclusion, I would like to say that I liked this movie a lot and would recommend this to anyone who appreciates natural beauty and art.