Zhang Yimou's "Hero" has a cast of leading stars, with hundreds of extras; great scenic locations; beautiful cinematography; dazzling choreography; detailed costumes; and talented art direction. So what went wrong? Zhang takes elements from the Kurosawa school of filmmaking by using the differing takes on the same story motif from "Rashomon" and the rain of arrows from "Throne of Blood." Some viewers will get caught up in the parable of using the King of Qin to represent modern China or make accusations as to its propaganda value, but as a film, "Hero" falls flat. The movie is artifice in search of a soul, with even higher pretensions than "Ashes of Time," but not as entertaining as the Wong Kar Wai effort.

The denouement in "Hero" is its strength as Chan Diy Ming, playing the King of Qin, steals the show. Chan has Jet Li tell the story of his encounter with the assassins he was charged to dispose. The action scenes are rather dull with the overuse of slow motion photography that made the fights feel ponderous. The wire work flying was well executed but lifeless, too. The film's highlight is in its stunning camera work and cinematography. Everything looked great. Chris Doyle's visual achievement cannot be overstated. The work of the actors, on the other hand was left wanting as the performances felt forced and wooden. This is surprising given Zhang's excellent past work with the actors in "Red Sorghum," "Raise the Red Lantern," and "To Live."

Zhang tried to make an action movie but his art film sensibilities got the best of him. He apparently couldn't make up his mind as to which way to proceed and the resulting film straddled the fence between entertainment and conceit. We are left to recite the mantra: "woulda, coulda, shoulda" over and over again.