HERO

A friend of mine got tickets for a preview showing of the new HERO movie at the UGC Haymarket, London, the other night. (I was going to say Premiere but there were no stars and no paparazzi there ;) Even though my friend used to work in London, and even though he worked in that very same borough of town, he still managed to get us lost. Nice one, Al ;)

Anyway, being a fan of martial arts and foreign language movies, this historical flick from Zhang Yimou, of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", was a treat. Apparently it had been at number 1 in the US box office for 2 weeks prior to us Brits getting it and that puzzled me - is this the sort of stuff that Americans like to see, especially with its slightly convoluted story line and subtitles? (it does jump about a bit - but to good effect) So we had a debate about it - is it because Quentin Taranto is associate producer? Or is it because the Amercians liked "Kill Bill" and are now into Oriental flicks? Or something else? How will it do in the UK?

I digress, once again - It's only 90 mins, so you'll not get pins & needles or a numb bum and the story keeps you thinking, guessing, so its not just beautifully directed but good food for thought too. The martial arts, the scenery, the variety of settings, the magnificence of the whole film is just... well, Great. It's a BIG movie.

The only thing that I'm not so keen on is the wire stunts, as were so prominent in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" but don't let that spoil it. Al's mate, Chris, said it reminded him of Peter Pan *snigger*. The Matrix arial action was more my cup of tea, but hey...

It's a good movie, go see it and enjoy the breathtaking scope of it all. Get comfortable, open your mind and marvel in the visuals whilst you read the cue, unless you know Cantonese of course. 9/10.