[KFCC] A Man Called Hero Review

Story: Hero Hua must flee to America after he kills a foreigner who was responsible for the death of his parents, he leaves behind his wife and friends. During the voyage to America he becomes friends with a monk, after leaving the ship they are brought to a mine where they must payoff the cost of the voyage. Hero ends up killing one of the cruel guards and must go into hiding. Meanwhile his wife, who is pregnant, and his friend come to America to find him. After a few weeks they meet and decide to live in America. Shadow a fellow student of Hero comes to warn him a danger as there are several ninja's after them seeking information about their master. After several terrible incidents a prophet informs Hero that he is cursed and all around him will have bad luck and misfortune. He choose to leave everyone around him because he fears for their safety but how long can he hide from his destiny.

Review: This film is very similar to Stormriders, considering the fact that it is the same team that produced this film. Some of the cast in this film are from Stormriders as well. This movie is based on a comic called Redsword and they do a good job of bridging it to life. This movie falls into the new trend of 3D Kung Fu/Swordplay, there are a lot of stunning special effects and computer generated graphics and visually this movie a very beautiful. The story is well developed, it goes beyond a basic story and many events during the course of the film change the direction of the story. Unfortunately the movie ends with a few unanswered questions.

There are many interesting characters in this film, there is little background for the characters other than Hero. Most of the story follows the events of Hero's life but yet you don't truly understand him. The other characters play a good support to the story. The only other character that notable is the Japanese challenger to Hero, the role is small but there is a lot more that could have been done with that character.

There is more story development during this film than action but the action picks up more during the second half of the movie. Don't let that discourage you, the story is very good and is one of the most important aspects of this film. The fights use a lot of special effects like Fantasy Kung Fu movies but in this film they are all computer generated giving a look that is unseen in other movies. The martial artists in the film almost seem like Magicians weaving magic instead of kung fu. It is very beautiful but the physical combat is still lacking.

The subtitles are decent, they are very small but clear and readable. You occasionally get some white on white but that is expected in most movies. This is a very interesting movie, as its predecessor Storm Riders they push the genre to a new direction. Taking the Swordplay to an almost magical level. It is a visual masterpiece but the lack of traditional fights scenes leaves it bit empty. This is still a new step in the future of the genre, we are sure that a balance between the special effects and martial arts in future films of the type. None the less this is a beautiful movie with a wonderful storyline. Most people will enjoy this, but perhaps the hardcore fight scene fans will find it disappointing.