Why so much hype?

What a waste of my time!!!

Excellent, smart action film.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Takeshi is in this, need i say more? Out of all the movies I have seen, this one is the best. The plot is great; it gives you a feeling of being back in the days without actually being in that time frame. The costumes seems authentic enough. The choices for the beggars' clothes to westerner's trousers and shirts seems flawless. Some scenes has some film noir. Some shots are dark with sadness. This film also features a femme fatale. Where there is a femme fatale character, there are love triangles. Also there are classical Chinese comedic scenes. If you like action-gangsta-martial arts type movies, you'll like "Hero." It's also a movie for all age ranges. I would recommend this other movie "The Returner." Starring that movie is also Takeshi.

HERO (Ma Yong Zhen)Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoCorey Yuen's period adventure HERO marked an impressive return to the action movie fold by Shaw Brothers, following a long period in which the studio had concentrated almost exclusively on TV production. A remake of the Chang Cheh classic BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972), HERO follows the adventures of a courageous country boy (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who flees rural poverty and relocates to Shanghai circa 1911, where his impressive fighting skills bring him to the attention of a benevolent gangster (Yuen Biao) who agrees to mentor him. Thus emboldened, Kaneshiro rises through the ranks of the criminal underworld, until he's challenged by a powerful rival (Yuen Tak) who plots against him. Tragedy ensues.The concept is old-fashioned, but director Yuen energizes proceedings with New Wave fervor, employing thousands of extras in a bid to recreate the majesty of old Shanghai, whilst filming the combat sequences in a defiantly modern manner, pitting hordes of axe-wielding assailants against lone protagonists who are forced to use acrobatic manoeuvres and everyday objects to fend off a potentially horrific death. Yuen's script (co-written with Kay On) is eventful and melodramatic, and the sweeping visuals (by cinematographer Tom Lau) are further highlighted by a sumptuous music score, co-written by William Hu, Raymond Wong and Lincoln Lo. But while the film delivers on action and spectacle, it fails to establish the characters as anything more than stock figures, which essentially limits the narrative's dramatic impact. For all that, however, the performances are uniformly excellent, and HERO's all-star cast is divided squarely into the beautiful (Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow, Jessica Hester), the bold (Yuen Biao at his most virtuous), and the beastly (Yuen Tak as the villain, lacking only a top hat, cloak and twirly moustache).NB. Shot in mainland China, the film was consequently subject to strict Chinese censorship laws which curtailed some of the gorier violence (a Shaw Brothers trademark). These scenes weren't restored for the HK theatrical/video release, though a more complete version turned up later on DVD in the UK.(Cantonese dialogue)

Since this is Takeshi's first, maybe only, kung fu flick i'll say this: Watching him do martial arts was cool. Especially the part where he wields a sword....although he's no Yuen Biao. I like this movie but I can't say much for the H.K. dvd version. If you watch the Hong Kong dvd version released by Universe, know that it is CUT. About 30 seconds is cut from the final fight scene which is important to the story. If you want to see the UNCUT version you'll have to get the United Kingdom (U.K.) dvd version or the vcd. Get your hands on the UNCUT version and watch it again to see what happens.

If anybody remembers the Shaw Bros., this revived version of early 70's classic movie, originally heroed by Kwan-Tai Chan, would suffice their expectation. Except for the absence of Chan's legendary charisma in old version (I never could have found it from Kaneshiro), this movie is full of satisfactory style and high-stunt action which are originated from Chang Cheh's works in Shaw Bros. in early 60's. Very stylish and meticuliously taken in main China, taking full consideration of old fans' taste for Biao Yuen's fantastic agility and John Woo's blood-spirting gunny action. Plot and performance are just so-so, but the music and art design are very luxurious. As an old fan, I would prefer the old one since no young-generated star like Kaneshiro could not fit for the character of Ma Wingjing,nowadays. However, as a standpoint of the renaissance of Shaw Bros.' golden age in 70's, this movie shed a confident light on their future industry, not in Hong Kong any more but in mainland China.