Member Cesare Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hero has Qin Shihuang, interesting narrative structure (not awfully original, but still interesting), some symbolism (general and internal) and intriguing dilemmas to chew over, HoFD doesn't. Hero wins hands down...:-) The character development in HoFD is no big deal - and I wouldn't say there is more of it in HoFD than in Hero. The guys and the girl in Daggers are (at first sight at least - at second sight, I actually do have doubts) somewhat closer to what we usually term as "round characters", but a good stock archetype is always better than a boring round character. Characters in Hero do develop - both in terms of changing motivations and outlook and in terms of changing perspective. There is a lot of development in Hero. Even better - it's not simply linear. There's a fairly profound horizontal and vertical dimension to it. Hero is a complex, dynamic thing, HoFD is just a fairly mediocre love story with good-looking actors, stunning visuals and cool fights. Just an opinion, of course - and opinions are bound to differ...:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 The action in Hero is admittedly great, but the drama is rote and overdone. House of Flying Daggers doesn't break new ground in terms of acting or storytelling, but it is far simpler, less melodramatic, and as a result, more entertaining to me. Does that at least make sense? So two men fighting over a girl till the seasons change and it starts to snow isn't over the top melodramatic to you?XD I'd take Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung over Andy Lau and what's his nut anyday, plus you have two KF legends par off onscreen in a classic Rashomon storyline. Hero's a better movie for my money imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DeathShrike Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hero has Qin Shihuang, interesting narrative structure (not awfully original, but still interesting), some symbolism (general and internal) and intriguing dilemmas to chew over, HoFD doesn't. Hero wins hands down...:-) The character development in HoFD is no big deal - and I wouldn't say there is more of it in HoFD than in Hero. The guys and the girl in Daggers are (at first sight at least - at second sight, I actually do have doubts) somewhat closer to what we usually term as "round characters", but a good stock archetype is always better than a boring round character. Characters in Hero do develop - both in terms of changing motivations and outlook and in terms of changing perspective. There is a lot of development in Hero. Even better - it's not simply linear. There's a fairly profound horizontal and vertical dimension to it. Hero is a complex, dynamic thing, HoFD is just a fairly mediocre love story with good-looking actors, stunning visuals and cool fights. Just an opinion, of course - and opinions are bound to differ...:-) You know, I will give Hero credit for the non-linear storytelling. That's a good point. I guess I simply just disagree with the interesting dilemmas thing. I didn't find those particularly interesting, more well-worn. I also think the thing that separates Hero from Daggers is reach. House of Daggers is simpler, but knows that, and aims to be a pretty good movie. I think Hero aims to be much much more, and ultimately fails (for me). I think opinions can also differ as to whether it is better cinematically to strive for greatness and fail, or to have simpler goals and succeed. Personally I would rather a movie stick to what it knows it can do than try for something it doesn't have the talent behind it to attain. Kudos to Hero for trying, but I feel like it not only fails to achieve, but it wasn't coming from an honest place, and instead was attempting to replicate an earlier hit, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I that regard, I feel like House of Flying Dagger is more it's own thing, and thus more entertaining to me. To ME, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DeathShrike Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 So two men fighting over a girl till the seasons change and it starts to snow isn't over the top melodramatic to you?XD Point taken. But I found the over-the-top melodrama entertaining in Daggers. In Hero it felt trite to me. I'd take Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung over Andy Lau and what's his nut anyday, plus you have two KF legends par off onscreen in a classic Rashomon storyline. Hero's a better movie for my money imo. Well, there was an episode of Diff'rent Strokes that had a "classic Roshomon storyline," so I'm not sure if that necessarily makes for a good movie. As for the fight, I thought it was too short, and ultimately not that great. This conversation has actually made me decide to try and give Hero another chance. I haven't seen it since the first DVD I bought, but I will Netflix it, and report back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cesare Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 I guess I simply just disagree with the interesting dilemmas thing. I didn't find those particularly interesting, more well-worn. Sure it's been here many times already. I'm not saying Hero brings anything strikingly new. But to me, those sorts of dilemmas are interesting. I guess we just won't agree on the succeed/fail point. I wouldn't say Hero has failed - and may I add, it has never bored me - I liked every minute of it. I also wouldn't really compare CTHD and Hero. Maybe I just don't remember CTHD very well, but as far as I can recall, it centered around different themes. I think that the central theme in Hero really is that of heroism and all its possible facets. CTHD is IMHO much more about relationships (and it handles the material waaaay better than HoFD). Concerning HoFD - that's where I think Zhang Yimou failed... The story is so simple (nothing wrong about that) and yet it somehow fails to work - for me, anyway. And if Kaneshiro and Lau were not so aggressively adorable, I would have felt tempted to request my money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DeathShrike Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 I also wouldn't really compare CTHD and Hero. Maybe I just don't remember CTHD very well, but as far as I can recall, it centered around different themes. I think that the central theme in Hero really is that of heroism and all its possible facets. CTHD is IMHO much more about relationships (and it handles the material waaaay better than HoFD). The only comparison I would make between Hero and CTHD is that I think Hero was inspired BY CTHD to combine that style of action with slower character-based drama. From that comparison, I think Hero suffers tremendously as I don't think Zhang has the skill to make these scenes as interesting as Ang Lee does. But I do think you are right about CTHD being far better than HoFD. I don't think HoFD is even a great movie, but I like it more than Hero. Concerning HoFD - that's where I think Zhang Yimou failed... The story is so simple (nothing wrong about that) and yet it somehow fails to work - for me, anyway. And if Kaneshiro and Lau were not so aggressively adorable, I would have felt tempted to request my money back. I understand your points! As far as acting goes, I actually think Z was better in HoFD than Hero, and that makes a HUGE difference to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted February 7, 2015 Member Share Posted February 7, 2015 What da hell ?! Good thing this remake never turned up so far. On the Hero vs HOTFD, I'd take Hero - I found HOTFD kinda disappointing, it's a good movie with solid action but I wasn't too convinced. Both are still miles above CTHD, my god this movie is boring and overrated... CTHD is the one needing a remake/reboot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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