Hero

One of the most visually and philosophically brilliant movies I have seen to date . And to think I was almost not going to go and see it , for reasons of sheer laziness to read subtitles off an Asian film !!!

The movie is set almost 2000 years ago , when China was not even a country but 7 different kingdoms, that fought and killed each other for years. "Nameless" (Jet Li), wants to avenge the death of his people and considers the Ruler as a tyrant like everybody else does. Only to realise in the end, after meeting up with the king (to kill him), that his only intentions were to unite all the kingdoms and stop the war and bloodshed. Don't want to give out the ending for those who just might catch the movie , after reading this ;-)

Its an artistic masterpiece in my opinion complete with vivid colors, breathtaking backdrops, and an exemplary display of martial arts.... of course if you can get past all those people being forever suspended in air and moving in slow motion. The things that bowled me over was the depiction of each characters version of an event in a different color....the swarm of arrows shot by the army ...and lastly the wall of logs that Li brings crumbling down with his swift sword !!!

Its definately worth seeing especially if you can catch it on a big screen . Although many of my asian friends do not share my fascination with the movie :-(

Trivia : The chap who directed this movie is apparently the same guy who made the teaser for Beijing Olympics , during the closing ceremony in Athens.