Through the film's striking use of color and landscape, combined with its riveting action sequences, it goes beyond the chronological constraints of a typical blockbuster film.

Until the final 15 minutes of its deceptively short hour-and-a-half running time, Hero is a marvel, one of the best films to be released in the United States this year. It concludes, however, on a note both emotionally unsatisfying and morally idiotic.

As they move through the martial-arts sequences, the performers leave the impression that the laws of gravity are subject to amendment. The rules of love and war -- all's fair -- are, Hero makes clear, immutable.

It says a lot about the importance of unification, making it clear that its protagonist becomes the Hero of the title both for what he does and doesn’t do. “Hero” has managed (and will keep managing) to stand the test of time. [Full review in Spanish].