Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Now, I know a lot of people don't love this movie. But hear me out before you disagree.
I acknowledge that this film was made with a western audience in mind. That means that as a typical wuxia film it is watered-down by comparison. It was also apparent that they tried to do a lot with the script, probably too much, so as to please the arthouse crowd.

Because of those things I can't review it as a traditional HK film. Also, this movie was the final part in a three-part process that was absolutely critical to American cinema.

Part 1: The introduction of Jet, Jackie, Michelle, John, Chow, Tsui and Ringo to American audiences. It got them used to seeing the kung fu, the wires, and stylistic, kinetic bullet ballet.

Part 2: "The Matrix". "The Matrix" took HK choreography, wires and all, and made it mainstream acceptable. Sure, a lot of our directors tried it and failed, but at least the audience was ready for it (and even now anticipating it).

Part 3: "Crouching Tiger". A full Asian film, starring Asian actors, loaded with HK choreography and stylish wirework. A film that 5 years prior would have been an arthouse flick, at best, was now a mainstream, widely accepted, critically acclaimed, award winning film. This film finally made it acceptable to import more and more of HK to our shores.

Look at what has happened since this film came out. Look how many more Asian action films find their way to our theaters...and not just the little theaters. We've been given Dragon Dynasty so we can get great picture quality, no editing to our movies, subtitles that actually mean something, and extras that have translation to them. Asian re-makes are all the rage in the US. And on and on. . .

As an up and coming filmmaker who grew up watching all the great classic asian action films, it is now acceptable for me to incorporate a true HK style into my work. When I tell the studio I want to hang 2 of my actors from wires and have them fly around fighting one another, there's no fights or strange looks. Hellboy 2 was loaded with wire work. And we owe it all to CTHD.

Besides that I do enjoy the film immensely. I got a little choked-up during the first fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi when people in the theater were cheering, watching something I'd known existed for decades. Better late than never.

Wo Ping is a true artist, and CTHD gave him the talent and the leeway to create- talent and leeway that the Matrix was lacking. The visuals are spectacular. The performances are incredible. I always liken Chow to Morgan Freeman. No matter what role they play, they always bring a certain degree of respect and sophistication, with just a hint of the regal, to it.

It is a fantastic movie. And more than that, it is an important movie. No, it is not pure HK. It is watered-down and it does have its flaws. But I love it and I will always be grateful to it for the doors it opened.

I was expecting so much out of this movie because of all the hype following it. I am an avid reader and do not normally mind subtitled movies (ie.. Pan's Labyrinth and Kung-Fu Hustle.. BTW, Kung-Fu Hustle is LOTS OF FUN!) but there were PARAGRAPH AFTER PARAGRAPH, NOT SENTENCES, OF DIALOG.. FAR TOO MANY SUBTITLES GOING ON AND ON FOREVER, AND GOING BY QUICKLY, that I could not figure out who was who or what was what in this movie. I lost the plot in the first half hour. I was so busy trying to read that my contacts kept drying out and I could not enjoy anything else going on in the film. If you're a martial arts purist, maybe you would enjoy it more than myself. Also, maybe I could have enjoyed it more dubbed in English.

This movie was good until the ending which made no sense and sucked. Also all the people just "flying" around seemed kinda silly... And I like kung fun movies, but this one was a little over the top unbelievable...

How do you sum up Crouching?
Brilliant, touching, amazing!!!
Incredible acrobatics, incredible scenery, an awesome script and great actors and martial artists.
What's not to like about this movie?
Not my favorite, I liked Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower better but for different reasons.
Still, a must see if your new to the recent wave of martial arts flicks.
A word of advice, watch it with the subtitles on and not the English voiceovers as they are terribly done.

Crouching Tiger is not really a Kung Fu movie. The fight sequences are stylized and interjected with gravity-defying feats, flying, fantastical jumping, and flips. The fight scenes become almost a 3D ballet. I liked it, but don't come into this movie expecting Bruce Lee action sequences. The fight scenes are more of a dance. The fights are mainly sword fights, although there are a few hand-to-hand battles as well. The acting is superb. The story line is more of a fairy tale than straight fiction, but the movie works superbly well. Michelle Yeoh's physical acting are displayed as well as her emotional range. Chow is great as the swordsman and Zhang Ziyi is very good as well.

The movie tells the story of several stories of love, of revenge, of loyalties, and of duty. It concerns duty to one's family, to society and to one's self. A fairy tale is used to tie the plot lines together. The movie has a great medieval setting. The scenery switches from deserts, to Peking, to bamboo forests, and to mountains. In every case, the views are breathtaking. The bamboo forest fight is very strange, but it works.

My wife didn't like the movie because if its fantastical elements, but it is one of the best movies I have seen for a long time. I don't know much about the superbit technology, but my DVD looks great and the sound is good too.