How Long Is “A Man Called Hero”?

In 1998, Andrew Lau's groundbreaking smash hit The Storm Riders came out of nowhere and resurrected the ailing Hong Kong film industry. Lau's follow-up, using much of the same cast and crew, is another martial arts epic set largely in New York's Chinatown. The film opens in the early 20th century with a young Hero Wah (Ekin Cheng) going to study under Master Pride (Anthony Wong). When he returns to his parents, he learns that they have been murdered by a band of evil Westerners. After impregnating his wife Jade (Kristy Yang), Hero Wah ventures to New York in search of his parents' killers. Sixteen years later, Hero's son Sword Wah (Nicholas Tse) along with family friend Sang (Jerry Lamb), arrive at Ellis Island in search of Hero's dad. Once the tearful reunion finally takes place, much of the rest of the story is related through flashbacks involving a fearsome fight with Japanese ninjas and the death of Jade at the hands of the ninja ring leader. The film climaxes a la Alfred Hitchcock or Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) with a battle to the death against the ninja grand master at the Statue of Liberty.