I've always been a huge Jet Li fan, but his American movies have failed to grab me in the same way as his more epic accomplishments in China. Actually I have still enjoyed quite a few of his American movies, such as the highly stylish Romeo Must Die, but no matter how much I enjoyed them I couldn't bring myself to award any of them a 4-5 star grade. This is because Li's strengths lie in that certain style that Hollywood doesn't like to touch. Rather than simply rely on his amazing physical skills he has developed his acting muscles until he has become one of the most charismatic action stars in the business, and when he's playing a role of authority he holds a presence few can match. Yet it's always difficult to hold a screen presence when you're talking in pigeon English, especially when the role amounts to little more than an underwritten guy who knows how to fight. It's a good thing then that he has not totally abandoned his roots like so many others did; because he has now been given the chance to star in Ying xiong; which is, put simply, one of the most accomplished Martial Arts movies ever made.
As the title suggests Ying xiong's (Hero in the English translation) story examines what it takes to truly become a Hero. It's the tale of the soon-to-be First Emperor of China who is on the brink of conquering a war-torn land during the violent dawn of the Qin dynasty over two thousand years ago. Unfortunately he has three opponents whom he fears more than anyone else. Their names are Sky, Broken Sword and Flying Snow and they are three assassins who are determined to assassinate him to prevent him from ever rising to power. As the story starts a man, who we come to know as nameless, has asked for an audience with the emperor in order to tell his tale of how he has challenged and defeated all three of these enemies. He gives a detailed account as to how he battled with and killed the 3 assassins, but when he finishes the emperor doesn't reward him, instead he counters his story with a Rashomon like retelling of events as he believes them to have happened.
Nameless himself is played by Jet Li who once again gives an authoritative yet emotional performance. Despite the name he's not a hero in the Clint Eastwood mold, where he looks tough and fights, he's a person who is doing something he doesn't necessarily agree with but believes it to be the right thing. I know a lot of people believe that you can't judge a persons acting when they're speaking a language you don't understand but Li really does transcend the language barrier by his tone of voice, mannerisms but most of all through his eyes. I challenge anyone to watch this film and tell me that there isn't more emotion behind Li's eyes than most Hollywood actors achieve in their whole performances.
His opponents are played by equally respected actors. Sky is played by Donnie Yen (nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 1992 Hong Kong Film Award: Once Upon A Time In China 2.), Broken Sword is played by Tony Leung (Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival: In the Mood for Love) and Flying Snow is played by Maggie Cheung who has won noticeable recognition many times but is probably best know for her role as Leungs co star in In the Mood for Love. In Ying xiong all 3 of them show why they have received so much acclaim in the past as the portray these noble hero's with a power and level of authority to rival the Once Upon a Time In China series. Real credit though needs to go to Zhang Ziyi who first came into the international eye for her brilliant performance in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and to this day she continues to amaze me. No matter how many times I see this girl in action I can not get used to how amazing she truly is. Her face is so photogenic and she portrays a natural vulnerability that draws you into every character she plays.
Ziyi is not the only similarity that I'm going to draw to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon though, because Ying xiong has also got some incredible cinematography. If there's anyone doubting that movies count as a genuine form of art then they should check out this film. Every shot has been perfectly captured for maximum beauty and not once did I notice a point where the films visual style faltered. Even in the fight scenes the cinematography has been used to highlight the emotions that permeate the film. Slow motion is used at key points in order to highlight a particularly heroic moment, such as a scene where 2 of the characters join together to deflect the kings arrows. This films visual style is its biggest strength because not only has the cinematography been perfectly handled, but the effects are also incredible. That for me was the main problem with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon because the films effects just seemed a little too exaggerated to be real. In Ying xiong though when they start running over water the scenes are handled with such grace that you find yourself genuinely drawn into these moments.
For once though the sound has been given as much attention as the visuals; because the soundtrack fits into the heroic nature that the film is trying to set up. Once again I find myself using the scene with the arrows to explain my point, but it really is the best example. As the scene starts you see two of the characters jump into the battle and the music used is everything you would expect. Yet their actions have an effect on another character who then starts to do calligraphy, and at this point the music slows down. The slower music represents the feeling of heroism that motivates the characters and it's the perfect choice for conveying those feelings to the audience. To be honest I find that the music is usually more important to me than the visuals because this is the area that I pick up on first, so it's nice to see a film that gives attention to both area's so well. It's all down to the Eastern style though because in the west they would have probably used Rock music or something but here the chinese music gives off a feeling of beauty and bravery. Which are both perfect for this type of movie making.
Now you've probably noticed this already but I liked this film a lot. It's easily the best film of this year, as well as being one of the best martial arts film that I've seen to date. There are some things that I haven't mentioned such as the amazing fight choreography but please remember that these area's are still just as important as the ones I mentioned. Everything in the film comes together well enough to produce a work of art, and it's worthy of being considered a masterpiece.
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