A LITTLE 'HERO' WORSHIP IS IN ORDER.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

THERE ARE interesting questions about what constitutes true heroism in the aptly named ``Hero'' but it's the aesthetic splendor and weird kineticism that you remember.

The first martial-arts movie by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou includes an all-star pan-Chinese cast, locations to (literally) die for and exquisitely color-sensitive cinematography by the great Christopher Doyle (``In the Mood for Love''). ``Hero'' has been enchanting audiences throughout Asia and elsewhere for more than two years now, but its late arrival in America is most likely due to the fact that, among its many pleasures, narrative urgency is at the back of the list.

Set some 2,200 years ago, when China was divided into seven warring states that the King of Qin eventually unites through force, the story relies a bit too much on unreliable narrators, hidden identities and multiple points of view.

On the plus side, each different recounting of an incident results in a new, wildly beautiful visualization. Balletic drops of water, swirls of windblown autumn leaves and billowing sheets of lime-dyed fabric add dazzling new textures to wire-work sword-fights that not only defy gravity in the athletic Hong Kong manner but break many other laws of physics. On a wider scale, massive armies maneuver in breathtakingly choreographed symmetry.

Oh yeah, the story: A provincial prefect called Nameless (Jet Li) visits the heavily guarded citadel of the Qin King (Chen Daoming) to tell his ruler how he dispatched three super-assassins, Donnie Yen's Sky, and the jealous lovers Steel (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and Snow (Maggie Cheung Man Yuk). Nameless' tales of service to his land are stirring, but there are other reports that lead to questions about just where this fearless, selfless cop's loyalties really lie.

To add an extra layer of devotion/mixed motives/acrobatic elan, Steel has an adoring apprentice played by ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's'' breakout star Zhang Ziyi.

As for Zhang Yimou, whose international reputation was made with stylized, sexually charged cultural dramas such as ``Ju Dou'' and ``Raise the Red Lantern,'' ``Crouching Tiger''-size popularity may not have been as high on his agenda as redefining the martial-arts hero as a creative artist.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

HERO - Three and one half stars

(PG-13: violence, nudity)

Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Daoming, Donnie Yen.

Director: Zhang Yimou.

Running time: 1 hr. 39 min.

Playing: Citywide.

In a nutshell: Ravishing martial-arts epic about assassins during the ancient unification of China doesn't make a whole lot of narrative sense. But it's so gorgeous, it doesn't need to. In Mandarin with English subtitles.