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Hero

Hero

Drama · Adventure · Action · 2002

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

Movie details

Hero

“One man's strength will unite an empire.”

2002 Drama · Adventure · Action 1h 39m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Hero?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Mulan: Rise of a Warrior

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Five Element Ninjas

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Rob Roy

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Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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House of Flying Daggers

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The Banquet

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Zhang Yimou

Written by

Feng Li · Zhang Yimou · Wang Bin

Jet Li

Jet Li

Nameless

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Broken Sword

Maggie Cheung

Maggie Cheung

Flying Snow

Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen

Sky

Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi

Moon

Chen Daoming

Chen Daoming

King of Qin

Liu Zhongyuan

Liu Zhongyuan

Old Scholar

Court is in session

Put Hero on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.