Hero

Rent It!

 

You don't need to be a lover of Chinese history, ancient folktales and, martial arts to love this film.  It may serve as the perfect introduction to the genre.  When HERO was first released in China in 2002 it quickly became the highest grossing film of all time in that country and the most expensive to produce.  It took two years, executives from Disney and Quentin Tarantino to get it released to theaters in the U.S. through Miramax which delayed the release a (so far) record six times.

HERO was Jet Li's first appearance in a film produced in mainland China.  The film's scope is enormous.

The one thing most people remember about this movie takes place when archers launch an attack with so many arrows at once the sky goes dark. 

The film was not without it's controversy as a product of the People's Republic with pundits citing aspects of the plot line that they believed to be sending political messages supportive of Chinese reunification.  I leave that to others.  It's just a very well made, exciting thing to watch. Rent it!