
Hero is one of those movies that gives the fine hairs on the surfaces of your body a lift when the deeper meaning of it all seems to click into place. Jet Li is the Nameless Servant, one who has tirelessly worked at a chance to assassinate the Qin Emperor for ten years and has perfected a move that can kill at ten paces. All he needs to do is find a way to get within ten paces of the most important man of his time. In exchange for proof of the deaths of other notorious warriors, Nameless is awarded distances increasingly closer to the Emperor until he finds himself within lethal range. With a bound, his plan falls into place, and we are left with a deeper understanding of what it means to be a warrior and to hold the balance of life and death.
To watch the movie is a pleasure. The liberal use of vibrant hues and symbolic mise-en-scene makes Hero an engaging, exciting movie. The colors will change as Nameless’s plan unfolds for the Emperor in order to embody the spirit and emotion of each stage. Vibrant red woods accompany the defeat of Master Broken Sword’s vengeful servant, green accompanies the series of events that conclude with Broken Sword’s epiphany, and white drives the true events of the plan along as a distinction from what was previously just an elaborate lie. Paying attention to the mise-en-scene shows us the heartless politician’s breath condensing on an otherwise warm day as they chant for the execution of the Hero. We notice the honor among the assassins as they show their weapons before battle and the lack of it among the soldiers of the Qin as they annihilate a Zhao village without a warning.
In terms of globalization, Hero takes place in times long past; there is not much room for global themes to show within the actual storyline and plot. However, the movie concludes with the etymology of “Our Land,” as a connection between the China we know today and the China that held with such honor and respect for life long ago. This closing remark suggests that China has not changed from such ideals, although we know from our imported children toys and volatile Chinese drywall that something went wrong somewhere between then and now. Harsh opinions aside, Hero will still go down as a personal favorite and an excellent movie to ponder on those days when you just want to sit down to a calming, thoughtful movie of life, death, and duty.