# Ma wing jing (1997)

### reviewed by
R.L. Strong

    HERO (1997)
    Staring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Yuen Biao, Valerie Chow Kar-Ling, Jessica
    Hester, Yuen Wah, Yuen Tak
    Directed by Corey Yuen Kwai
    Produced by Mona Fong
    A Shaw Bothers Pictures Production

    Review by R. L. Strong

Corey Yuen's latest film, "HERO" is notable on two fronts. First this is the film to bring back the Shaw Brothers Studio back to the forefront of film production. Secondly, the film is the re-discovery of Yuen Biao.

The film opens around the end of the Qin dynasty, when many immigrants were making their way to Shanghai. Poverty and crime rule most of China. A young man, Ma Wing Jing and his brother enter the fabled city and become laborers at the pier. Tam See is the most powerful gangster in town, having control of the center of the city and having an alliance with the British Army. Wing Jing and See become friends during a confrontation. Their friendship grows as both men start to realize their dreams, Wing Jing's to be a powerful and wealthy man, and See to settle down with a woman he can truly love.

Wing Jing meets the singer at the club (Jessica Hester) and falls in love with her, not realizing that she is the star attraction. After stealing her picture from a display, Wing Jing and his brother plot to impress her. First they rob two foreigner's of their money and cloths, and set up a midnight rendezvous. Unfortunately, Wing Jing has run afoul of a rival gangster, Yeung Seung who has bribed the police in an effort to gain control of See's night club. The two bothers are arrested and held until they manage to escape just before dawn. Jessica, having waited outside in the cold with her manager all night, gives up and returns home.

See decides to retire, he gives the night club to Wing Jing, as repayment for saving his life during an attempted murder. See arranges the trade and ask his lover (Valerie Chow) to take care of Wing Jing. Unfortunately, she has sided with Yeung Seung.

The performances in the film are all top notch, with fine turns by Takeshi Kaneshiro as Ma Wing Jing and Jessica Hester and Valerie Chow. The comic turn by Yuen Wah, previously known as the mad Vietnamese in Samo Hung's "EASTERN CONDORS", is a marvelous surprise. His gift for comedy is marvelously understated and hilarious. The stand-out is by Yuen Biao who returns to the screen after a string of disappointments, with a stellar performance. His Tam See is a Triad boss who knows that his time is coming to an end but still has the cunning and craft to uphold his pride. His gangster is almost non-violent, in that he only retaliates, never instigates violence. But when the time comes to fight, Yuen Biao has never looked better.

Corey Yuen directs the film with a maturity and a sense of pacing that has been lacking in Hong Kong movies as of late. The lighting, cinematography and staging of the film are beautiful to watch. The action scenes do not disappoint either. This is the most aggressive and inventive martial art choreography I've seen in some time, actually surpassing Jackie Chan's work in both 'Rumble in the Bronx' and 'First Strike'. The special effects team deserves praise for a fantastic job of making the impossible look possible. An early fight between Takeshi Kaneshiro and Yuen Biao on the back of a horse is to be seen to be believed. Also noteworthy is the score for the film, done in a marvelously lush orchestral style, not representative of most Hong Kong fare. I would dare to say it ranks as high as the scores for both "Titanic" and "Rosewood" as best of the year.

All in all, "HERO" marks a grand return to filmmaking for Shaw Brothers. This is the film that gives us faith that Hong Kong cinema is alive and flourishing.

    Rating: ***1/2 out of *****

    Copyright 1997 R. L. Strong

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