well, this past friday i saw hero. first off, a detraction: it was full in the theater, so we had to sit on the third row...not a fault of the movie and, despite being that close, didn't affect my opinion of the movie. we were a bit too close, so it was hard to take in everything, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. beautiful cinematography, excellent fight choreography, great acting on the part of the leads, and a good story. i know that more than a few people in that theater had to be pissed that a) they had to read and b) there were people flying around and fighting. for some reason, people don't go for that sort of thing. to me, that's one of the coolest things about that kind of "kung-fu" movie.
before seeing the movie, i read a few reviews just to get a feel for what other people thought of the movie and many compared it to crouching tiger, hidden dragon. the similarity is evident, but that's because of the genre: wuxia. according to wikipedia, a wuxia film "is characterized by its fantasy component. The heroes in the movie practice martial arts to reach a state where they attain any number of superhuman powers collectively known as shengong, so that they can, among other things:"
wikipedia further compares the wuxian genre to western movies such as star wars (originals), where the force is the shengong, and big trouble in little china (which i just realized was a john carpenter movie), which borrows heavily from the wuxian idea. anyway, i wanted to add that for clarification and to make a point. i've read quite a few accounts where people who saw this kind of movie just can't get over the fact that the characters are flying or doing these amazing things. my point is this: it's a cultural thing in that this is strictly chinese film, you won't see this in american film-making. the characters that have super powers in american films, or western for that matter, have the powers for a well-explained reason. that's not the case in this genre. these characters have abilities and that's that. it's what sets them apart in my opinion. another point: these characters act according to their culture, so they may do things that seem unrealistic to us, but it's a normal deal to them (keeping examples vague to avoid spoil). i just wish people would watch these movies and try and keep the us-centric mindset out of it. it's not an american movie, so it's going to be a little different. the characters are going to act differently. come on, people...open your minds. i've heard similar complaints about european movies. try not to be so american if what you're watching isn't.
back to the movie, though. the comparisons with crouching tiger... aren't unfair, but they aren't the same. crouching tiger is a love story...very intimate and personal. hero, to me, is more grand in scale. it's epic, still has personal elements, but they aren't as prevalent or integral to the story. i liked both...pretty much equally. on one hand, crouching tiger is superior for the intimacy of the story. on the other, hero is superior for the epic quality and grand scale that fits its story. to wrap it up, i'd say that if you like this style of movie: wuxia, kung fu "fantasy," or whatever you call it yourself, go see hero...you won't be disappointed. otherwise, you probably won't enjoy it that much. it's a good movie and i'd venture a score of 9.0.