The plot here won't really impress too many Westerners -- one might think that the conflicts derived in the movie, most notably traditional (Mandarin) versus modern (Cantonese) values, would carry more weight if they were versed before hand in the culture. The script also meanders about, with a lot of screen time given to Takeshi's romantic exploits. Even though the acting in these scenes is actually quite good (and touching in parts), they seem to take away from the story proper.

However, the action sequences in Hero are so extraordinary, a viewer starved for martial arts mayhem would do well to forgive the movie's melodramatic shortcomings for the sake of the great fight scenes present here. Yuen Biao -- one of the most under-rated martial artists in Hong Kong (at least to Westerners) -- has never looked better, and Takeshi Kaneshiro also manages to impress with his moves here. Overall, Hero is a rock-solid action film that manages to deliver some pathos along with the punching.

REVIEW:
This film signaled Shaw Brothers return to feature filmmaking after nearly two decades of producing only television programming. Unfortunately, it never lived up to the standards set during Shaw Brothers heyday in the '60's and '70's. An awkward plot never really comes together, while the acting is generally flat. Only Corey Yuen's inventive action scenes really make this film worth seeing as they evoke images from John Woo's bullet ballets to Tsui Hark's hyper kinetic action pacing.

Starting with the positive elements, the action is enjoyable even if most of it has been seen elsewhere. An ageless Yuen Biao is in great form, whether trading blows with Takeshi on a speeding horse carriage or battling an army of hatchet-wielding assassins single-handedly. Japanese import, Takeshi Kaneshiro manages to perform convincingly in an action lead physically in terms of looks and ability yet lacks the charisma to draw us into his character.

On the downside, the film never seems to know where its going in terms of plotting. At one time or another it seems like a send up to The Godfather, THE MAMBO KINGS, and even The Shaw Brother's own BOXER FROM SHANGTUNG (1972) which is essentially the same film. At one painful spot in the film, our "hero", Ma seems to lose his memory after a disastrous series of events and his friends convince him that it was all a dream. Then follows a series of humorous lies concocted by Ma's friends which Corey feels compelled to show us. The scene taken by itself is actually funny but just doesn't belong in the film. The finale is rushed with our protagonists performing over-the-top acts of violence which is unsatisfying.

Corey Yuen Kwai's period adventure "Hero" (Ma Wing Jing, 1997) was Shaw Brothers' spectacular return to the action movie fold after many years concentrating on TV production. A remake of the Chang Cheh classic "Boxer from Shantung" (1972), it's the story of a poor country boy (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who travels to Shanghai in 1911 to seek his fortune and immediately enlists the help of a benevolent gangster (Yuen Biao) who's impressed by Kaneshiro's extraordinary fighting skills. Thus emboldened, Kaneshiro works his way up the ladder of success, operating on the wrong side of the law, until he's challenged by a villainous rival (Yuen Tak) who plots against him. Director Yuen energizes this traditional scenario with typically cinematic bravado, employing thousands of extras to invoke the spectacles of old, and he allows the screen to explode into violent action every ten minutes or so, pitting hordes of axe-wielding assailants against lone warriors who use their surroundings to fend off a potentially horrific death. The melodrama is cranked up for all it's worth, and cinematographer Tom Lau paints a vivid picture of Old Shanghai, while the extravagant music score reinforces the film's old-fashioned appeal. The cast is uniformly excellent, and divided squarely into the beautiful (Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow Kar-ling, Hsuan 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). But while the film delivers on action and spectacle, it fails to generate an authentic emotional resonance because the characters aren't really strong enough, though most viewers will no doubt be satisfied by the genuinely thrilling scenes of combat and destruction.

The film opens around the end of the Qin dynasty, when many immigrants were making their way to Shanghai. Poverty and crime rule most of China. A young man, Ma Wing Jing and his brother enter the fabled city and become laborers at the pier. Tam See is the most powerful gangster in town, having control of the center of the city and having an alliance with the British Army. Wing Jing and See become friends during a confrontation. Their friendship grows as both men start to realize their dreams, Wing Jing's to be a powerful and wealthy man, and See to settle down with a woman he can truly love.

Wing Jing meets the singer at the club (Jessica Hester) and falls in love with her, not realizing that she is the star attraction. After stealing her picture from a display, Wing Jing and his brother plot to impress her. First they rob two foreigner's of their money and cloths, and set up a midnight rendezvous. Unfortunately, Wing Jing has run afoul of a rival gangster, Yeung Seung who has bribed the police in an effort to gain control of See's night club. The two bothers are arrested and held until they manage to escape just before dawn. Jessica, having waited outside in the cold with her manager all night, gives up and returns home.

See decides to retire, he gives the night club to Wing Jing, as repayment for saving his life during an attempted murder. See arranges the trade and ask his lover (Valerie Chow) to take care of Wing Jing. Unfortunately, she has sided with Yeung Seung.

The performances in the film are all top notch, with fine turns by Takeshi Kaneshiro as Ma Wing Jing and Jessica Hester and Valerie Chow. The comic turn by Yuen Wah, previously known as the mad Vietnamese in Sammo Hung's "EASTERN CONDORS", is a marvelous surprise. His gift for comedy is marvelously understated and hilarious. The stand-out is by Yuen Biao who returns to the screen after a string of disappointments, with a stellar performance. His Tam See is a Triad boss who knows that his time is coming to an end but still has the cunning and craft to uphold his pride. His gangster is almost non-violent, in that he only retaliates, never instigates violence. But when the time comes to fight, Yuen Biao has never looked better.

Corey Yuen directs the film with a maturity and a sense of pacing that has been lacking in Hong Kong movies as of late. The lighting, cinematography and staging of the film are beautiful to watch. The action scenes do not disappoint either. This is the most aggressive and inventive martial art choreography I've seen in some time, actually surpassing Jackie Chan's work in both 'Rumble in the Bronx' and 'First Strike'. The special effects team deserves praise for a fantastic job of making the impossible look possible. An early fight between Takeshi Kaneshiro and Yuen Biao on the back of a horse is to be seen to be believed. Also noteworthy is the score for the film, done in a marvelously lush orchestral style, not representative of most Hong Kong fare. I would dare to say it ranks as high as the scores for both "Titanic" and "Rosewood" as best of the year.

All in all, "HERO" marks a grand return to filmmaking for Shaw Brothers. This is the film that gives us faith that Hong Kong cinema is alive and flourishing.