Last night, Paul and I committed a grave error: We spent our valuable time, not to mention a few bucks, viewing Hero. At the time, it seemed like a good choice, as we knew that it was a Jet Li martial arts film which received rave reviews on IMDB. In fact, it was worse than a waste of time.

The pure visual aesthetics of the movie were often astonishingly lovely — but that was the only redeeming quality of the movie. The basic plot, including the fight scenes, was repetitive, boring, and meaningless. The characters were wholly unmotivated, particularly in the “true” version of events. The pernicious mysticism, collectivism, and altruism advocated were not even granted the dignity of a clear or coherent presentation.

Honestly, I would have spent a more delightful 90 minutes if I had stayed home to read next week’s assignment from Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason or Tom Regan’s The Case for Animal Rights.

The evening was not a total waste, however, I did read Noumenal Self’s four-part commentary on why he’s inclined to vote for Kerry. Although I have minor concerns about his analysis at various points, I find myself far more persuaded by his arguments than I ever would have expected. Still, the thought of voting for Kerry just turns my stomach. Oy. I suppose that I’m one of those “swing voters” now.