If both video halls and pirated movies can be included in the box office, it is estimated that the "hit rate" of "True colors of heroes" in the 1990s far exceeds that of many movies today. Countless viewers have seen this movie in train stations, billiard rooms and video halls next to schools, or occasionally caught a glimpse of it in friends' homes, long-distance buses and hotel baths, or downloaded and enjoyed it completely online by renting videos and VCDs.
The True Color of Heroes is a commercial film with great vitality, which is worth watching again.
Today, it seems that the main plot setting of Hero is too old-fashioned. No crossing, no undercover, no gay feelings. Being a thief's eldest brother and a policeman's younger brother is doomed to bring family and morality together in this game of police and robbers, and it is also doomed that the family will eventually overcome morality and reach a balance in line with China's traditional ethics. John Woo studied under Zhang Che, and his masculinity runs through the film. The theme of the film is still a martial arts feud.
Perhaps beyond the theme, it is a brand-new visual way that makes the film unique. Although director John Woo hadn't invented the violent aesthetics of "shooting at the dove candle in the church" at that time, it was novel enough for Mark to assassinate and revenge and use various slow mirrors to make the characters look as light as dancing. In a cheerful and festive Taiwanese song, Mark hugged Xu Niang's middle-aged hostess and leaned forward to enter her enemy's room. On the surface, it was a rural and gaudy scene, but Mark hid the gun in the flowerpot, suggesting that the audience would be in danger. Unexpectedly, in such a tense scene, Mark was killed but safe and sound, which was superb and cool. However, in the end, I was shot in the dark, dragging a long blood trail, which made people feel terrible. The whole paragraph was completed in one go, and several reversals were thrilling. The most memorable assassination in China's film history was done in a corridor and a private room of the hotel.