HERO

[] (Three stars)

Better late than never. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. Running time: 99 minutes. Rated PG-13 (stylized violence). At the Lincoln Square, the Battery Park, the Chelsea, others.

LONG available on DVD, the 2002 Chinese martial-arts thriller “Hero” makes its belated big-screen debut today.

It has an all-star cast, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Zhang Ziyi and Jet Li; a world-class director, Zhang Yimou (who made Gong Li an international star in a series of costume tearjerkers); and the finest lenser working today, Aussie ex-pat Christopher Doyle.

With that pedigree, how could “Hero” be anything but the spectacle (best viewed on the big screen) that it is?

Set in the third century B.C., “Hero” revolves around a series of tales told to an emperor by a nameless warrior (Li).

He claims to have killed three hot-shot assassins who had been targeting the tyrannical warlord.

The stories may or may not be true, but that doesn’t much matter.

Their purpose is to allow Zhang Yimou and Doyle to put on a grand show.

It’s full of passionate performances (except for the wooden Li), sizzling swordplay, bold and dazzling hues, and breathtaking landscapes.

Just one question: Why did it take so long for “Hero” to reach movie houses in the United States?