A Man Called Hero
A Man Called Hero (Chinese: 中华英雄) is a 1999 Hong Kong martial arts fantasy film directed and photographed by Andrew Lau, adapted from Ma Wing-shing's comic series Chinese Hero (中华英雄). It stars Ekin Cheng as Hero Hua, with Shu Qi, Kristy Yang, Nicholas Tse, Jerry Lamb, and Francis Ng as the antagonist Invincible.1 The film runs 116 minutes in Cantonese with color photography.1
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / cinematographer | Andrew Lau1 |
| Source | Ma Wing-shing's comic Chinese Hero, first serialized in Golden Pao Daily and later published as its own comic book1 |
| Screenwriter / producer | Manfred Wong1 |
| Principal cast | Ekin Cheng (Hero), Shu Qi, Kristy Yang, Nicholas Tse (Sword), Jerry Lamb, Francis Ng (Invincible)1 |
| Release | 1999, Hong Kong; 116 minutes, Cantonese1 |
| Awards | Golden Horse Award for Best Visual Effects (1999); three Hong Kong Film Award nominations in 20002 |
| Comic's sales record | 200,000 copies per issue, the highest at the time3 |
Spoilers
Story
Set in the early Republican era, the story follows Hero Hua, whose family is killed after his father exposes foreigners trafficking opium.3 After avenging his parents' death, Hero flees China for the United States, where he works as an indentured servant and rebels against cruel labor conditions. His wife Jade joins him in New York, where they build a family.6 Years later, their son Sword travels to New York looking for his father and learns of his experiences through the recollections of Hero's companions Sheng, Shadow, and Monk.1 • 6
The Hong Kong Film Archive's program notes describe the film as focusing boldly on love between father and son, husband and wife, and among brothers, and as expressing a belief in challenging one's destiny and fighting for love. In the final confrontation, Hero and Invincible fight atop the Statue of Liberty, framed as a battle of love and righteousness against hatred and cold-bloodedness.1
The source comic
Chinese Hero is the series that made Ma Wing-shing a household name in Hong Kong comics. It began as a serial in Golden Pao Daily before becoming a standalone comic book, and as the story developed it traced the maturing of Ma's drawing technique and thinking. The series defined his personal style of detailed drawing, film-like shot sequencing, and close character work, changing readers' impressions of what Hong Kong comics could be.1
The protagonist Hero was written as born under the curse of the Star of Loneliness (天煞孤星), a device that created a layered tragic hero and opened the theme of destiny that runs through Ma's work.1 During the 1980s, the golden age of Hong Kong comics, the series set a sales record of 200,000 copies per issue.3
Production background
After the box-office success of The Stormriders (1998), Lau's earlier adaptation of another Ma Wing-shing comic that became the year's box-office champion, BoB & Partners Company Limited adapted Chinese Hero to film, with Centro Digital Pictures again as co-presenter.1 • 4 Manfred Wong wrote the script, simplifying the story to emphasize the protagonist's destiny and the hardship of Chinese laborers in America.1
Lau said the hardest part of adapting such a well-known comic was casting actors who carried the qualities of the comic's characters, combining star recognition, availability, and on-screen chemistry.3 According to film historian Frank Djeng, the film covers the comic's first two story arcs, issues 1 to 83, ending with the Statue of Liberty fight.5
Visual effects
The production added computer equipment, including software described as the newest in Hollywood at the time. Ekin Cheng's face was sketched and his body simulated by computer, producing what the 1905.com account calls the first digital human in Hong Kong film history, with the character's movements fully computer-controlled; the results were said to surpass those of The Storm Riders.3 The film won the Golden Horse Award for Best Visual Effects in 1999, and received Hong Kong Film Award nominations in 2000 for Best Action Choreography, Best Costume & Make Up Design, and Best Original Film Score.2
Reception
Critical responses have divided over pacing and structure. Time Out noted that the film minimized the sword-and-sorcery elements of its source, a 150-part comic described as among the most influential ever published in Hong Kong, apparently in an effort to go beyond the earlier film.7 A Far East Films review found the story confusing, with no clear focal point or distinct hero to follow and underdeveloped characters.8 A DVD Review assessment called it a solid, well-crafted film that uses kung fu sparingly, warning that fans of high-tempo martial arts spectacles might struggle with the slowly developing story.9 On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 49% Tomatometer from two reviews, with audience ratings above 5,000 submissions.10
The film's Hong Kong theatrical release is dated 17 July 1999 by 1905.com3 and 16 July 1999 by Rotten Tomatoes.10
References
- A Man Called Hero, Hong Kong Film Archive programme notes
- A Man Called Hero, TV Guide (awards list)
- 中华英雄 Chinese Hero (1999), 1905电影网
- 香港影人小傳檢索：劉偉強, Hong Kong Film Archive
- Why Andrew Lau's A Man Called Hero didn't live up to The Storm Riders, ChroniclesLive
- A Man Called Hero, JustWatch synopsis
- A Man Called Hero film review, Time Out
- A Man Called Hero (1999) Review, Far East Films
- A Man Called Hero, DVD Review
- A Man Called Hero, Rotten Tomatoes
Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Martial arts films › Released 1986 to 2026
Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026
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