Lest you think it’s just a few of us deranged Asian film fans raving about how good Hero is, here are a few numbers and quotes to ponder.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94
Metacritic Score: 80
“An action movie for the ages.”
— Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE“Led by director Zhang Yimou and dazzling cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the unseen Hero production team has made what just might be the most artistically sophisticated, most formally beautiful martial arts film the genre has seen.”
— Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES“You can feel the movie’s sensibility and its powerful emotions in every aching image, which leaves you so caught up in these ancient times, you’re loath to return to present- day normalcy.”
— Desson Thomson, WASHINGTON POST“From beginning to end, Hero is a painting in motion, its fight scenes a ballet with blades.”
— Steven Rea, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER“If you miss Hero, you’re missing a peak of cinematic spectacle — on par with 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apocalypse Now, and The Lord of the Rings. ”
— Jeffrey Overstreet, CHRISTIANITY TODAY
Yeah, it really is that good. Go.