Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, Chen Daoming
(9-Great Film)
Stunning. Epic. Awesome.
Set before China was a unified country, a nameless hero (Li) is granted an audience with the emperor (Daoming) after defeating the three most dangerous assassins in the land-Broken Sword (Leung), Flying Snow (Cheung), Long Sky (Yen). The emperor demands to hear Nameless’ story of how he managed the feat, and as the hero tells his story, we, like the emperor, begin to suspect hidden motives. Time has dulled some of the film’s technical marvels, but not its ambition, scale, and beauty. It’s a sweeping tale of myth-making and nationalism. It’s one great set piece after another with a surprising, powerful finale.
-Walter Tyrone Howard-
(638)