A Man Called Hero

Based on a Hong Kong comic book, 'A man called Hero' details the cursed life of a man who gains mastery of a martial art after his Master dies in a duel with the movie's central villain. The majority of the film deals with Hero's past as his son and his best friend travel to America in search of him. Along the way, they meet up with Hero's senior who, himself, is in search of Hero. The other slant to the story revolves around the issue of Chinese immigrants and the lives which they led when they journeyed to America in search of gold, only to find slavery. The slave masters unite with the villains and out of this struggle, Hero appears to save the Chinese immigrants from being annhilated. The final battle between Hero and Invincible, the villain who duelled with Hero's Master before his death, thus takes place.

'A Man called Hero' is the second film that utilises the same computer-generated effects in 'Storm Riders' (which was another movie adapted from a comic book). There are less effects in this feature which probably means a lower budget commitment. Instead, the film dwells a lot on hero's past and how he came to becoming a self-exile. The acting is not particularly great IMHO with Ekin Cheng playing a mediocre hero. I felt that an actor who could display a better sense of emotion should've been casted for the role of Hero but I guess that Ekin Cheng was selected for his popularity. Moreover, the female lead is played by xxx xxx who was Ekin's sweetheart in 'Storm Riders'. I'm not quite sure as to the story's focus on the subject of racism. It's quite normal for a Hong Kong film to dwell on the history of America's Chinese immigrants in the early part of the last century, but this film goes far deeper into the darkness of that era, and even involves the Ku Klux Klan. By the way, Yuen Biao makes an appearance as the innkeeper whilst Shu Qi (popular Taiwanese actress) plays a villainess who falls for Hero after he spares her life.

I actually saw "A Man Called Hero" before "Storm Riders", which came first - and subsequently is compared due to the fact that the same production company, director, and cast is used this time around.

Regardless, I have to say that contrary to other reviewers, I enjoyed "A Man Called Hero" far more than Storm Riders. Don't get me wrong, Storm Riders is a great movie, but as far as pure entertainment is concerned, "Hero" does the job better. I just feel that the story, characters, and settings do a better job of drawing you in than the typical "Mystical Ancient China" backdrop that Storm Riders gives you.

Sure, there are plot holes - but these are easily overlooked seeing as these holes are filled with amazing spectacle fights. The fight scene most people mention is the duel between Master Pride and Invincible. I have to say that this is the most visually impressive battle in the movie - and one of the best I have seen in HK movies to date.

I have to say that the Ninjas in this movie look really cool. I think it's the fact that they look like chauffers makes them seem even MORE hardcore than they are to begin with. Either that or it's nice to see ninjas other than the way they're typically shown.

Another thing is that I enjoyed seeing how the characters interacted with eachother and changed throughout the story. In Storm Riders, for the most part, they were just like "I am a warrior. I will fight you now and conquer your land... for the fire monkey!" There was really little depth in them. Hero, on the other hand, is "born under the star of death" which essentially means that whoever Hero has an emotional connection to is in danger of dying. This obviously has an effect on the man, and you can tell by Ekin Cheng's solemn performance. Most of the time he is intensely emotionless. Yeah, that doesn't really make too much sense, but I think you know what I'm trying to say! He seems like he doesn't care, but you know he could make you combust with the wave of a palm.

Lots of people complain about the Statue Of Liberty duel. Why? It was far better than the Statue Of Liberty fight in, say, X-Men! Stop whining.

As it is, A Man Called Hero is a movie you should definitely see if you're into SFX Battles, Turn of the Century Dramas, Ninjas, Ekin Cheng, or HK films in general. This movie is what woke me up to HK cinema. Go for it!

Well, some believe that this movie is bad, but it isn't. I found rather incredible, comparing to the Storm Riders. It has better special effects, also, the version I saw was dubbed compared to the rather dissapointing subtitles on the american DVD release of the Storm Riders. Sadly, the Strom Riders is the the only movies you can compare this to, but in many aspects this wins out. It's about the same length, with most of the same actors. The shinning points are the action, music, and the story. The story is kind of tragic in a way, but it's perfect, and doesn't leave you crying or smiling, just with you r mouth open at all the jaw dropping scenes. Though I wish it did have a lot more action, there are many fights, and they are all fantastic.

To sum it up, it's a really good film, leading up to the final battle, which is the best fight scene in any live action film I have ever scene, and the fact that it takes place in some what modern America is a plus.

This film is the highly anticipated movie by the same production team that brought us the excellent "StormRiders". Again, based on a long running Hong Kong comic, I had high expectations. The story is based in the early part of the century and is basically about the title role's (played by Ekin Cheng - Wind from the Storm Riders) reconciliation with his son played by another HK canto-pop teen idol. However, it is in the story that the film is horribly let down. This is not helped by the continuous use of the flashback to fill in the gaps - the film loses it's structure. This may be due to the amount of story from the comics that has to be crammed into an hour and a half covering over 20 years. The special effects are again excellent as you would expect, although the statute of liberty finale is slightly overdone. Definitely not in the "StormRiders" class but enough loose ends to suggest a sequel. Still, enjoyable but overall it did not live up to expectations.

Like most of the people I expected a wild action packed special effects loaded movie, well it isn't. But I'm not disappointed like all the others who wrote a comment here. It has more story than the average Hong Kong movie and the acting is also of a high standard. I agree that it could use some more action scenes, but the few action scenes look totally great! I don't know if it is historically correct (I don't think so) but what movies are?

If you want to see a good Hong Kong movie without the cheesy humor most of them have but with great acting and a nice story then give this one a try. It's not for all you kung fu action freaks although I think I'm one myself:)