I
am sorry the movie did not live up to your expectations (initally). I had very
high hopes for Hero but after having read the opinions of the Mainland Chinese
on various magazines and website, I knew what flaws were present. And like I
said before, I don't consider this to be the best wuxia movie that ever was, I
still think its a wonderful piece of work - despite its problems (reference
previous review). Let me discuss a little about the fight scenes. I do not think CTHD had better "flow". The first fight that Michelle Yeo had with Zhang Ziyi was jerky and staccato. I laughed out loud when Chow Yun Fatt had this "up up and away" look on his face before he took to the sky. I agree that not all the fights in Hero came off well, like the example of Maggie's fight with Jet, but for most part it was good. Jet's fight with Donnie, Jet deflecting the arrows, the forest fight between the 2 ladies (loved the way colour was used in that one), the storming of the army, and finally the fight between Tony and the Emperor were excellent and special in different ways. An unlike you, I loved the fight between Ziyi and Jet. I did not think it too long because I understood Moon's unwavering loyalty and desparation that she would fight to an inch of her life to protect her master. And I understood that Wuming would have taken pains not to hurt her (as shown by his use of defecting sword hits). I think it was beautiful. But I thought the lake fight was redundant and should not have been in the movie at all. It didn't do anything to advance the story as far as I was concerned. It doesn't matter if the fight itself was bad, that scene had no business being in the movie.
As for the characters, they do seem emotionally distant, a point I brought up in my review which is in contrast to the intimate characters in CTHD. Which is why I felt Hero was not that "viewer-friendly". I read a review where the critic complained that there was very little in the way of explaining why the assasins had such hatred for the Qin Emperor. And yet, while the acting is incredibly retstrained, and the characters dialogue so sparse and cryptic, there were moments when their passions came through more strongly than any histrionic display of feeling. I am thinking of the part when Maggie asks Tony - why didn't you avoid my sword? The sly way in which Jet smiled when his remarks to create jealousy hit home. And Chen Daoming was amazing and without a doubt my favourite character in this movie. That man has more acting talent in his little toe than some people have in his entire body.
I know a lot of people think there is no story, no character development, but I have seen very few movies that have managed flash backs as well as this one. And I feel that there IS a story, a meaning, a theme. I liked the way that intertwined the art of calligraphy with the art of swordsmanship which is a great respect to the martial arts, because a good practitioner cannot just do the physical and neglect the intellectual. That was pretty much sumed up in the way both Jet and Tony apraised one another : "Good calligraphy; good swordsmanship" That a good fight is as much about the planning (as in the Jet's first fight with Donnie), sizing up the enemy etc as it is about the movements. That sometimes the path to peace is a violent one, littered with the sacrifices of individuals. I thought Maggie was an incredibly tragic character because I don't think she ever understood Tony's relunctance to kill the Emperor even at the end, but that she knew she allowed vengeance to replace love in her heart. And her grief was palpable. And like I've said before, whatever irritations I had with the film in the beginning vanished the moment Jet spared the life of the Emperor. The scene the followed was like a page from the Bible when Pontius Pilate, desperate to release Jesus gave in to the people. It was almost as if I could feel the sickness in the Emperor's stomach as he gave the order to execute and I know I will have that same feeling when I watch it again. It was the final twist, the final irony, that the Emperor, mighty conquerer and seemingly above the law, was still beholden to his people and his government. I loved the way Jet exited the movie with his slow but sure steps and his head held high and his face an expression of peace. And I totally agree with you that his mannerisms were excellent. Did you notice how he walks with his fists clenched right at the beginning - as if to restrain some unseen power? Did you see how he holds out his sword and bows his head in respect of his opponent? Did you see the turmoil in his face when he knew he had to help Maggie stop Tony in the "white" library scene?
I don't know - I'm starting to feel like a studio plant, but I saw all that, the first time I watched Hero and I'm still thinking about some of the scenes that I am particularly fond of. I can't wait to get this movie on DVD (especially since it will contain an extra 20 minutes of footage).
P.S. Didn't you just love the arrow deflecting scene?!