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Hero
Hmmmm, what can I say about this movie? I'm not exactly a big connoisseur of wire fu martial arts flicks, though I do have to admit to being a big fan of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. But from the trailers last summer, Hero looked to be a damn impressive movie.
Visually it did not disappoint. Lots of intriguing use of color, wind, and special effects all combined to achieve a feast for the eyes. Many of the fight scenes are just downright amazing to watch.
Where I think the movie fell short for me was in plotting and characters; that is, there only the tiniest thread of a plot and a cast of very one dimensional characters. Don't get me wrong — I can appreciate movies where the plot is secondary to the visuals or atmosphere or characters. But in this case, while watching this movie I found myself constantly distracted by it. "Okay, so he killed three assassins, now cut to a series of flashbacks where he takes each of them on." At least Kill Bill, which, let's face it, has a similar plot, didn't take itself so seriously.
In the end, the movie was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe I had read too many hyped up "best movie of the year" type discussions of it. I still have to give it credit for some amazing visuals, but I guess I was just hoping for something more ... substantial. 2.5/4 stars.