creates a ballet of action to thrill audiences|’Hero’ to wow audiences with expert choreography

By By Keith DuCharme

Daily Staff Writer

Finally, after years of sitting on a shelf, “Hero” has been released to American audiences. Once dubbed “too Asian” by movie executives, it has now been plugged into multiplexes, free of any changes.

It is one of the most visually spectacular films you will see this year.

You might remember hearing about this film two years ago, when it was nominated for “Best Foreign Film” at the Academy Awards. Diehard fans may have been able to import the DVD for awhile, but never before have they been able to see “Hero” in its big-screen glory.

You can thank Quentin Tarantino for that. A martial-arts film freak, Tarantino agreed to have his name slapped on the American release in exchange for keeping the original version intact. They don’t even really need the aura of Tarantino on this beautiful film to sell it, though.

As the opening credits roll, we are given a brief history of China. It was once made up of several kingdoms, with constant fighting and bloodshed. The King of Qin, the most powerful kingdom in the land, has the power to unite these kingdoms into one. The only thing stopping him are the constant attacks from three deadly assassins, leaving the king fortified in his heavily-guarded castle.

But news comes one day that a master swordsman, called Nameless (played by Jet Li), has defeated the three assassins. The King invites Nameless to his castle to tell him how he accomplished such a feat. As Nameless recalls his encounters, the story changes here and there until it reaches a shocking revelation.

Like the 2000 film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the movie is full of martial-arts action and gravity-defying stunts. But “Hero” takes the choreography a step further. Not only do the actors fight, but they dance through a ballet.

In some instances, the fighters glide through the air in slow motion as drops of rain freeze in midair. In another scene, the leaves float down from trees and descend around the two warriors.

Much detail has been given to set and costume design. As scenes are revisited from different perspectives, the color pattern changes. What once was a startling red has now been replaced by a deep blue. The color coding is a nice way for Director Yimou Zhang to show not only the changing storyline, but the changing attitudes of the actors.

There is no doubt the level of detail and expert choreography will wow the audience, but the action slows down occasionally to further the story, and that’s where the movie may fall flat. This being a Chinese film, the mannerisms of its characters and plot conventions are slightly different than what American audiences are used to. Many will embrace these changes as something fresh and original, but others might be downright confused, similar to the confusion many felt at the conclusion of “Crouching Tiger.”

Of the thousands of films made every year outside America, only a handful make it this far. This should tell audiences there is something remarkable about these films. Viewers are practically guaranteed an enjoyable experience, as long as they don’t mind reading subtitles.