Post by fairbank on Jan 29, 2005 22:06:10 GMT -5
Prior to 2001, the movie industry never entertained the notion of using the following 2 phrases in the same sentence: "Martial Arts" and "Box Office Smash Hit." 2001 changed everything with the advanced "wire fu" techniques of the film of the year, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This film featured Chow Yun Fat and two lovely female co-stars including Michelle Yeoh, and was truly a tribute to the martial prowess of the fairer sex. I digress.
The latest of the genre is Hero featuring Jet Li and Donnie Yen. In short, if you liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you will love Hero. With dazzling color and beautiful cinematography, Hero is acted with the subtlety of an M. Night Shyamalan film. The story unfolds retrospectively, and builds to a dramatic climax. Both Li and Yen are superb martial artists in their own right, and their combat against one another is a scene for the ages. In one portion of the battle, they recognize that neither has a substantial edge, so they pause and battle in their minds, systematically probing one another's techniques to identify flaws.
Hero is more philosophical than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but is paced more evenly with riveting action. My one criticism of Hero betrays only a personal bias. There is great emphasis on armed combat (with spear, bo staff, bow and arrow, swords, etc) to the exclusion of unarmed combat, where both Li and Yen excel. Both men are capable of impressing audiences without the augmentation provided by wires and computer graphics. I long to see the cameras pan back, and capture all the artistry from head to foot.
American audiences tend to see eastern action stars flying through the air with the aid of wires and exclaim "that is so unrealistic; that could never happen." They fail to realize that this is merely visual hyperbole: an exaggeration of what eastern cultures believe are the potential of an actualized athlete. Conversely, eastern audiences find Superman hilarious.
[Note by Soulfyre: "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are both available in DVD format from Amazon at the link I provided to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", above.]
The latest of the genre is Hero featuring Jet Li and Donnie Yen. In short, if you liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you will love Hero. With dazzling color and beautiful cinematography, Hero is acted with the subtlety of an M. Night Shyamalan film. The story unfolds retrospectively, and builds to a dramatic climax. Both Li and Yen are superb martial artists in their own right, and their combat against one another is a scene for the ages. In one portion of the battle, they recognize that neither has a substantial edge, so they pause and battle in their minds, systematically probing one another's techniques to identify flaws.
Hero is more philosophical than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but is paced more evenly with riveting action. My one criticism of Hero betrays only a personal bias. There is great emphasis on armed combat (with spear, bo staff, bow and arrow, swords, etc) to the exclusion of unarmed combat, where both Li and Yen excel. Both men are capable of impressing audiences without the augmentation provided by wires and computer graphics. I long to see the cameras pan back, and capture all the artistry from head to foot.
American audiences tend to see eastern action stars flying through the air with the aid of wires and exclaim "that is so unrealistic; that could never happen." They fail to realize that this is merely visual hyperbole: an exaggeration of what eastern cultures believe are the potential of an actualized athlete. Conversely, eastern audiences find Superman hilarious.
[Note by Soulfyre: "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are both available in DVD format from Amazon at the link I provided to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", above.]
