Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Rating:
Summary: Simply Beautiful
Review: Now that wire work is pretty standard in American film, it is hard to remember how impressive the effects were in the Matrix. Though the Matrix was hardly the first to use that type of effect, Asian cinema had been doing it for awhile, it was the first time I had seen anything like it. I remember being completely awed by the look and movement of the film. Though much of the style and effects quickly became vamped by many films, shows, and commercials, it remained perfect in its visual effects. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon came out a few months later and pushed the Matrix visual envelope even farther. For my dollar, Ang Lee created a smarter, more beautiful use for the effects than the Wachowski brothers ever dreamed of creating.

The story is a bit tricky. A master martial artists, Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat), decides to give up his heroism and settle down. Proving his seriousness in this new direction he gives up his famed sword, the Green Destiny, to a friend. The sword is quickly stolen throwing Li Mu Bai and another friend, Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) into detective work to reclaim it. Added to the plot is a noble woman, Jen Yu (Ziyi Zhang), about to be married against her wishes and Li's old nemesis Jade Fox (Pei-Pei Chang). To add a little more to the plot (I told you it was tricky) Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien are lovers destined to never have their loved fulfilled.

Ang Lee manages to sort out this complicated plot rather smoothly. The film is sumptuously shot on location in China. The renowned action sequences are poetic and beautiful. It feels more like watching ballet than a sword-fighting action movie. The more skilled fighters can climb up walls, jump great heights and seemingly fly through the sky. Though the film never explains how they are able to manage such incredible feats, they do it with such agility and grace, that you never think to question it. There is a scene fought out amongst tall whisp trees that is pure poetry. Yet they action sequences never stand in the way of the story. This is not a film designed to wow the audience with nothing but visual tricks, the action serves the story alone and is not there to give cheap thrills.

As the film unfolds a theme develops. Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lin never express their love for each other out of honor and loyalty. They hold to strict codes that must be obeyed over all of their own desires. Jen Yu is also bound by codes of conduct, but she chooses to disobey them and strives to live her own life. This serves as the central conflict between the characters. I will not give too much of the plot away, but will say that film concludes this conflict in manner not seen often in cinema.

It is difficult for me to judge the acting of a foreign film. I choose only to watch the original language, with subtitles. This allows me to hear the nuances of the actors voices, but since I must rely on the subtitles to tell me what they are saying it is difficult to really judge a performance. That being said all of the actors do a fine job. Chow Yun Fat does a remarkable job as a master fighter. Each action scene he is in he fill the screen with a knowing presence. He fights with great poise as if he knows he will be the victor, but does not want to show his true ability. Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang are also stand outs.

My only complaint has to do with one of the sub-plots. In the middle of the picture, we get a long back story on part of Jen Yu's life. After watching the film again I can see that the back story is essential to the overall theme of the film, but it is still too long in the telling. It also serves to slow the film down just as the plot was finally moving along. I believe the essentials of the back story could have been told at a quicker pace allowing us to understand what is needed without slowing the pace of the film down, or lengthening it too much.

This is a small complaint with a truly wonderful film. I have been a fan of Ang Lee for many years, and this film stands as his finest achievement. He is known for his smaller, character driven family films. Here he manages to achieve something on a more grander scale, yet maintains a beautifully portrayed character drama.

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Rating:
Summary: The Most Overrated movie I have ever seen!
Review: How could this movie make your top 10 list? The plot was ridiculous. The fight scenes were no big deal (generally any low budget Chinese Kung Fu movie has similar scenes. What was with all the flying? And the 70 year old woman who reads a manual and becomes an awesome Kung Fu master?

The beginning of the movie introduces a sword that is very old (I think about 400 years) that gets stolen. It then turns out that nobody really cares about the sword.

It then turns out that an aristocratic young woman (who also read a manual and became and awesome Kung Fu master) stole the sword. Why? It is never really explained. She also had an affair with a guy in the desert who leads a band of rebels. The scene where they meet involves him attacking her caravan and stealing her fan. She chases after him on horseback. There are some horse riding tricks performed as the two battle on their horses (something like Indiana Jones did in Raiders of the Lost Ark).

The fight scenes are an insult to anyone that has studied martial arts. One person can take on hundreds and never get tired. (the director needs to see any Jean Claude Van Damme film to see what exciting fighting looks like) And then they fly and float in the air like Mary Martin in Peter Pan. There is also a scene where the old woman shoots poisonous needles through a Gatling gun type device and the needles are blocked by the heroes swinging their swords.

This movie is two hours long and the plot just didn't ever make sense. The ending was ridiculous too (I don't want to give it a way but it is an artsy type that makes you shake your head).

Rating:
Summary: It's Up To You
Review: In the special features, Michelle Yeoh explains that this kind of story is what the Chinese were raised on. All the flying about is because hello?...it's a fairytale. Well, to each his own. I think this movie is brilliant and beautiful and stunningly well-acted. As someone said, it's a Chinese action film for people who don't like Chinese action films. The fight scenes are exciting and beautiful. I agree that Jen and her lover detract from the story, because Jen is so selfish and tiresome. But every scene between the older characters played by Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat are wonderful. The longing looks and understanding that pass between them is heartbreaking. To read so much in someone's expression is why I love the movies. If all you look for in a film is action, don't watch this movie. If you like a story where real people make difficult choices for important reasons, then maybe you will enjoy it. I'm glad I'm married to a man who can appreciate a film like this.

Rating:
Summary: What the f...?
Review: What is this? Why is Hollywood so enamored with special effects and in this case having people fly through the air. It all started with Matrix and now it's everywhere. In this movie people are flying from tree to tree and jumping over buildings. I mean if you can fly, you've pretty much mastered one of the things that has always limited man. I would think there wouldn't be much to worry about after that. I known the martial arts movies of the 70's were also unbelievable, but those were usually the bad ones and were described as such. This one got rave reviews from the critics and it was annoying to watch. Unless you like fairies flying through the air skip this peace of garbage and buy a true martial arts movie like Enter the Dragon or The Chinese Connection.

Rating:
Summary: Legend of the Zu is better than this trash
Review: Legend of the Zu is the name of another Asian martial arts movie, which has a lot of special effects. It is one-thousand times better than this movie.

This movie is silly and boring. At the end of the movie, the younger girl (pictured on the poster) does something to herself which is totally ridiculus!!! Let me just say, she won't be in any sequels.

Rating:
Summary: HIGH FLYING SPINNING LEAPING ACTION
Review: THIS BREATH STEALING MODERN MADE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY / MARTIAL ART FANTASY WITH ASIAN ACTION STAR CHOW YUN FAT . THE ANCIENT GREEN DESTINY BLADE OWNED BY A WARRIOR MONK (CHOW YUN FAT) IS PASSED ON TO AN AGING HISTORIAN. THERE IS AN EXTREMLY DEADLY AND ARMED ASASSIN /CRIMINAL JADE FOX WHO ORDERS HER STUDENT/APRENICE TO STEAL THE FAMOUS GREEN DESTINY WITH MURDER , SWORD CLASHING, AND MARTIAL ART FIST FIGHTS CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON IS A WONDERFUL ACTION EXTRAVAGANZA WITH A GORGEOUS
ASIAN 18TH CENTURY SOUNDTRACK I READ A REVIEW ON THIS FILM AND THEY SAID CROUCHING TIGER HAD LAME SPECIAL EFFECTS AND WAS LOW BUDGET MANY PEOPLE DONT AGREE WITH THIS INCLUDING ME





Rating:
Summary: The Academy cheered, the martial arts film purists HOWLED
Review: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" may be the most galvanizing film in the history of martial arts cinema. It is, claims the "old skool" core of fans that make up the base of support for the industry, a complete sell-out, relying on large-scale production values and special effects rather than legitimate fighting skills of the actors (with the notable exception of veteran martial arts female lead Michelle Yeoh) in order to sell itself; it is an act of sound and fury , signifying nothing.

To the vast bulk of the filmgoing public who wouldn't know "Drunken Master" from "The Master Of The Flying Guillotine" from "The Five Masters Of Death" from "The Five Deadly Venoms", that criticism meant...well, nothing at all. What is obvious from the first scene of this movie is that the director of this movie has fashioned a labor of love that has resulted in one of the most beautifully filmed movies in the history of cinema, regardless of genre.

Martial arts film purists seem to revel within the primative nature of the films that temd to define that genre. Poor acting, shallow scripts, ABYSSMAL overdubs, hack-and-slash editing...these are not the hallmarks of classically revered movies. Yet they seem to do more to define martial arts cinema than any other characteristic save that of the action itself. Yet "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" does not want for action. The combat scenes (particularly those involving Michelle Yeoh; Ang Lee definitely knew his most talented fighter and exploited her abilities to the max) are extraordinary, special-effects laden or not. The TRIUMPH of this movie is that is sees fit to actually present a story that draws the viewer in, that allows the viewer to form an opinion about the characters in between fight scenes...as opposed to just wishing that we could "fast-forward" to the next combat sequence.

What we have is a film more suited to the Classical Age, the Greek Tragedy with better fight choreography. The levity and sense of comic relief that could be expected with a number of Hong Kong cinema classics (and basically every Jackie Chan film ever made) is lacking here, but it is not missed as it has no place. Themes such as honor, social expectations, unrequited love (from unexpected sources), revenge (this is a kung fu movie, after all)...portrayed in an unconventional environment in an unusual setting (for Western audiences) make this an intriguing movie that has the bonus of some drop-dead action sequences that most people lacking a background in Hong Kong cinema are going to find quite amazing.

The acting is quite impressive. You will want to watch the Mandarin soundtrack with subtitles for the full appreciation of the effect (particularly taking into effect that the Hong Kong/Canton-based actors do not speak it normally); Chow Yun-Fat is best known for his "gun fu" movies made with John Woo, but the depth of his performance in this movie led to his casting opposite Jodie Foster in a non-musical remake of "The King And I". Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Zhi-yi (was she REALLY only a teenager when this movie was made???) are amazing and wonderfully strong female roles that aren't typically seen in Hong Kong cinema (clearly a male-dominated genre). Some people have called this movie the best chick flick since "Thelma and Louise", but anyone who would classify either movie in such strictly gender-limiting terms displays an ignorance which must prove to be quite burdensome and suffocatingly limiting. This is a terrific movie, transcending both genre and gender. It is the martial arts movie for people who don't like martial arts movies. It took home Oscars that neither Bruce Lee nor Jackie Chan will ever see. It is, simply speaking, what going to the movies is supposed to be all about. If you haven't seen it yet, you're absolutely cheating yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Better off without all the action and fighting
Review: STORY GOOD
A great romantic tragedy. The characters play a great role in the plot which was well crafted. There is a strong emphasis on female leads as heroines, which may turn away many audiences, however, as an Asian film, it's expected.

ACTION POOR
There are two types of action films, one's like The Matrix that marvel you with CGI effects and those like Iron Monkey, where actual martial artists dazzle you with choerography and blazing fight speed. Crouching tiger is somewhere in the middle. It incorporates a style where characters seem to do impossible stunts, flying through air w/o explanation, walking up walls, etc. This is all very cool, however, the movie's tone is so serious that it seems ridiculously out of place. The characters are never emphasized as THAT great as fighters. Instead, everything seems mundane, until the outrageous fight scenes begin. All in all, they were not intelligently put together.

Watch this movie for the drama and romance, not the action. In fact, a better movie all together is Jet Li's Hero, which is many times more artistic, the best fight choreography ever, a more complex storyline, and intended for all audiences, not just females.

Rating:
Summary: Classic. One of the best.
Review: This is a classic film to be loved by generations for years to come. The only movie to ever move me to tears (in a good way), this is one of my all-time favorite films. In a word; epic.