Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Rating:
Summary: A wire-work extravaganza!
Review: A great and entertaining film about a china that never lived.The movie is based on the five-part novel by Wang Du Lu.Contains stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping.A must-see!

Rating:
Summary: You've got to be kidding
Review: I rented this DVD because of all the hype. This movie was a joke, the acting is terrible and the story line was typical of a kung-fu flick. This movie wasn't even mildly entertaining. Of course I only was able to stand an hour of it. Don't waste your money, it doesn't deserve any stars.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: I thought the movie sucked. In fact, it was so bad I walked on it about 3/4ths of the way through it. As far as I am concerned it won an academy award for Worst Picture. It just goes to show how poorly the academy awards are at choosing movies. There must have been some Bejing connection there, kind of like giving Bill Clinton an award for honesty and integrity. No story line, if there was it was so poor it was barely noticable. Impossible to believe flying fighters? Reality is what separates movies from cartoons. I suppose the flying was the biggest giveaway, people just don't do that and even if these people had wings on them it wouldn't have made it any more believeable. Overall, an insult to the intelligence. Of course in China it doesn't take much to entertain. They watch American movies even though they don't understand anything about them. Can you imagine the Chinese trying to understand one of the inner city black movies they make today? I'll watch it again just to make sure my assessment is correct though, but throughout the movie I kept waiting for the story line to unfold. It never did.

Rating:
Summary: Quintessential
Review: The cinematography alone is reason to watch this beautiful piece of filmaking over and over. Ang Lee executes a fairy tale that brings the ancient Chinese in touch with the modern and Western. It's cumbersome to follow in English - which is why you should see it more than once. It's difficult to believe that Gladiator defeated this original and elegant picture for the Oscar.

Rating:
Summary: A Surprise
Review: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is the kind of film I usually wouldn't bother to see since I'm not a fan of action blockbusters. However, everyone I know was trying to get me to see it; I thought I'd give it a try(Even though I normally don't go by hype, I still haven't seen "The Gladiator".) "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is more than an action film but can still be enjoyed that way. It has special effects which aren't just amazing to excite the audience but very beautiful to look at. It has a good script and story line. It has a somewhat spiritual connection. It has many aspects that can work with the average film goer to people like me who go more for Arty films. I wouldn't say it was the best film of 2000 or anything but it is worth renting.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie of 2000
Review: I love this movie. Chow Yun Fat is wonderful in this movie. It has an excellent story plot with lots of action. I'm kind of disappointed cuase they didn't make most of the martial arts when they are flying look real. In a lot of chinese movies, they are more believable. Also the martial arts moves weren't that great. But all together it was a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: Like a dream
Review: I loved this movie when I saw it in the theater. I knew in the first five minutes that I would want to see it again. It's very complex for a so-called martial arts movie. The love story was emotionally compelling, there were all kinds of subtle complexities going on beneath the surface. I love the scene when they're floating through the trees. It feels like a dream. What I like about the DVD is the commentary by the director. It's very interesting to follow his thought processes throughout the making of the movie.

Rating:
Summary: This is BETTER than Star Wars!
Review: Sacrilegous? Maybe, but true all the same. Star Wars takes 3 movies to have as many scenes of incredibly duelling action and intense emotion. That's not to belittle the story or the movies, but it is stretched out. If, like me, you consider the Darth Vader vs. Luke Skywalker storyline to be the key to those films, you realize how well the story is developed but also how slowly. Well this film VERY quickly, and with great subtlety builds up the same sort of drama and presents some of the most mystical and wonderful scenes in just 2 hours. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh are fantastic and hopefully cement their ability to be in major Hollywood releases. Meanwhile Zhang Ziyi makes a stunning appearance as well. It's been a long time since such a film came out and captured so many imaginations. I think while many films will not stand the test of time, this is right up there with the Star Wars trilogy, Vertigo, and true classics. I'm glad to say I was around when this came out. It's been too long since WONDERFUL movies hit it big. Something you'll treasure for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome movie, but dubbing could use work.
Review: I felt sorta bad about giving this movie only four stars, because they movie itself is so awesome. The fighting is lightning quick, the weapons and costume detail amazing, and the actors do very well. The story line is pretty cool too, this girl(a governors daughter) wants to become a warrior, and she steals this special sword, The Green Destiny, and with it she is an almost unbeatable fighter. These two other people, one of whom the Green Destiny really belongs to, go after the girl, in hopes of getting the sword back and possibly even taking the renegade girl as a student. There is also romance, though it is rather unlikely in the case of the governors daughter.. a bandit in the desert takes her comb, so she runs off to try and get it, and while fighting for her comb they, out of nowhere, just start kissing eachother and then they fall in love. Its really just a pretty much basic story. The movie was done very well, though with some rather cheesy parts in it. I got the dubbed version just due to the fact that I didnt feel like reading the subtitles, but that was a mistake. The dubbing is moderately well done, but in some parts it doesn't work well at all. For example, the resturant scene, where the girl is talking the whole time while fighting. It worked very well in Mandarin, but with the dubbed voices it didnt look at all like she was speaking it, and that really sorta ruined the scene. But, like i said, other than the disappointment with the voice-over this was a really cool action/lovestory movie, and I would reccomend it to most everyone.

Rating:
Summary: The Eyes Have It
Review: This movie rules. I keep watching it again and again to see my three favorite parts: The two fight scenes between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, and the part where Zhang Ziyi is drifting through the trees and the camera moves in for the "money shot"--she has the most powerful eyes I've ever seen! The story's OK, too.