Hero: Quick Takes

Corey Yuen's remake of Chang Cheh's Boxer From Shantung has the technical elements firmly in place (high production values and fine cinematography, a Shaw Brother's production after all) but not story and characters for the audience to invest interest in. The plot revolving rival triad gangs in 1920s Shanghai evokes feelings of average filmmaking and director Yuen's attempts at fleshing out characters falls flat most of the time. The often watchable Takeshi Kaneshiro is surprisingly bland but veteran Yuen Biao skillfully weaves in his years of experience to make Master See a more compelling character. Corey also goes off on some wild comedy tangents which makes one wonder if Wong Jing directed when Corey himself was on screen. The action choreography by Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak does the job though, mixing martial arts and gunplay with very little wirework. Corey certainly ain't no John Woo when shooting gunplay but the physical fighting is creative and even very brutally violent at times. Doesn't fully redeem the ultimately uneven Hero. Also starring Yuen Wah, Yuen Tak and Valerie Chow. The Universe Hong Kong dvd is cut for violence while the UK disc is uncut.