I'm not much interested in the sweep of history and sagas of legend where we often see the exploits of ignorant men in the light of destiny and what not. Artifice that doesn't acknowledge itself stands in our way. But I let myself be taken in by anything that comes across my eyes, believing no thing to be better in itself than others and that they all have potential.Here the thread that takes me in is that it involves China in a defining period, the unification under the Qin. It was an important time, more pertinently for me as the time that gave rise to to different schools of thought, practices of seeing and making sense of the world, some of which I treasure and they ended up forging Chinese soul forever. In a significant way the China we know was first created in this time.None of that is particularly mined here so on that count I leave empty handed. I get the saga, the lavish scope, the camera that cleanly sweeps over crowds or across imperial rooms. Sporadic battles and the tangled knots of ironic fate. In pace, sweep and intricacy, it's fine work. Some viewers thought of Gladiator, what I saw here is a kinship to Kurosawa's Shakespearean work and Japanese jidaigeki. Zhang would portray the same period and king in Hero, this is the earthier version.The one thing I found particularly noteworthy is the plot that revolves around the lovely Gong Li. Simply seeing her is an occasion for me and the other reason I'm here, the way she holds herself with aloof grace. I have made it a point to see her in most things.The story around her tantalizes; she has been sent by her husband king to a rival kingdom, her actual mission is to find and inspire an assassin of her husband that will give him the pretext for invasion. The life she comes to share with the scarred assassin (in Japanese films he would have been a scruffy ronin), hinting at genuine romance, while we are aware of duplicity and illusion, the agency it carries from the machinations to forge a world. I would love to see that as its own film.

I have found this epic to be of an astonishing, striking, even heartbreaking beauty. Some kind of monumentality in beauty and decorative richness, a magnificent dramatic movement and dynamism. The choreography herein is hugely enjoyable, the actors are thoroughly enjoyable. I have been a big fan of CROUCHING TIGER … as well, but this one was even better. They have Kitano's ingenuity in delighting in what is pleasurable. This beauty affirming adventure cinema is an act of courage. When was the suspense so exquisite and genuine? And the art of showing huge crowds, gigantic armies …. The film has something deeply satisfying, and a steadfast good taste. There is an enormous pleasure in making such a deliberately impressing and clean show ….It's good beyond words. Few, few adventure films ,let alone epics, gave me such an uninterrupted delight.Fan can be monumental. …is not monumental art—but is monumental fun,like Leone's movies, like some '60s epics; also like the hobbits trilogy. It is large—sized fun.

Average attempt at a grand epic. Sadly the film is overly long, unnecessary slow, especially at the beginning & ending "chapters" of the film.The biggest disappointment of the film had to be the editing. It was quite poor in parts & if it was part of the "visual style" of the film, then it was totally unnecessary.That said still worth at least a look

Chen Kaige lost his sense of tempo. I envy Europeans and Americans who can watch the film without following the dialog with their ears, because it is painful to do: slow, unnaturally heavy, and over-deliberate. But Westerners, on the other hand, suffer from the poor quality of subtitle translation, which manages to lose all the subtlety and double meanings that make a careful study of the film so much fun.