This past Saturday I had the opportunity to see HERO, at a local theatre. Director Zhang Yimou's brilliant martial-arts film, starring Jet Li as the nameless warrior.

The acting and use of color along make this film stand out from the usual samurai action film. A fictional depiction of the Qin Kingdom and how it's leader came to conquer and unite the peoples of China. Li is a warrior who has apparently killed three famous assassins who had plotted the death of the Qin emporer, taken to the imperial palace Li tells of how he defeated the three.

As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that there is more than one version of events. It does get a bit confusing towards the end as we come to see that even things we have witnessed might not have taken place as first shown. It's easy to see why this film was such a major box-office hit in Asia. Highly recommended for those who enjoyed CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.