Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 107 minutes
Release Date: December 19th, 2002 (China) / August 27th, 2004 (USA)
Studio: Xin Huamian Film / Miramax
Director(s): Zhang Yimou
Writer(s): Feng Li, Zhang Yimou & Bin Wang

Our Land.

This film should be the universal answer to the meme prompt “post a film still that goes hard.” I’m not sure there’s a single frame that wouldn’t fit the bill.

Just a visually gorgeous work of art. What a move to recolor every iteration of every story to set their respective moods apart. And you must love the timeless message at its heart about uniting through peace rather than blood.

Sadly, mankind rarely (if ever) allows that utopian vision to come true. Tyrants be tyrants and rebels be justifiably vengeful. It’s one thing to appreciate the sentiment, but another to put it into action knowing you’ll probably be dead courtesy of a coup tomorrow. Hence why Jet Li’s Nameless endures to earn the title Hero.

Best ensemble cast of 2002? I wouldn’t discount it. Although Gosford Park and Fellowship are each a bit too sprawlingly insane to leapfrog over.

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Jet Li in HERO.