Hero is a lush, color-coded kung fu fable, an extraordinarily satisfying and almost decadent pleasure.

A lowly prefect called Nameless (Jet Li) is summoned by the king of Qin to tell the story of how he defeated three assassins long bent on murdering the king. What he tells is a larger-than-life story of epic kung fu battles and skies black with arrows, of betrayal and broken hearts and brutal duels in the autumn leaves. The fight between Nameless and the assassin Sky is worth the ticket alone, a sad and beautiful contest performed to the time of chess-music and raindrops dripping from ancient Chinese eves. Half of the fight, Nameless tells us, was actually performed motionless, in the minds of the warriors-but since it's a movie, we get to see it anyway, in black and white.

As fun as that is, though, the story Nameless tells is not wholly satisfying; that's OK, however, since the story doesn't wholly satisfy the king either. Aha, says the king-I knew these assassins, and they were not as you depict them; therefore, this is what I believe really happened...

And so we are treated to the king's version, and the true nature of our story is revealed, a story which is to be folded over and over again like a piece of steel in the hands of a master swordsmith. Themes rise and fall, characters diminish and swell, and heroes are revealed everywhere.

Director Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou, Shanghai Triad and Raise the Red Lantern, as well as the upcoming House of Flying Daggers) has made a wonderful movie, as sensual and romantic as any of his previous work, but with much more kung fu. There are even whole scenes devoted to lovely fabric, as in Raise the Red Lantern, but this time we get to see the silk rent by flying swordsmen.

Comparisons to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are inevitable and appropriate; although a very different story, the feel and especially the music are similar (Dun Tan did music for both movies). Hero's story is more abstract and idealistic than Crouching Tiger's, whose appeal owed a lot to the depth of the characters. Those broad strokes, though, make Hero rewarding in its own way.

Like Crouching Tiger, Hero becomes more melodramatic in its second half, but more heavy-handedly. Unfortunately, as the story is told and retold, the romantic plotlines are revealed to be less relevant or reliable, yet they continue to receive equal play. This undermines the effectiveness of the storytelling.

On the whole, though, Zhang Yimou's kung fu is strong. We are glad that he has added swordplay to his repertoire, and we look forward to further efforts along these lines.