Good, but overrated

Rating: Null/10 (19 February 2001)

My friends and family and I don't understand the hoopla surrounding this movie, and all the Oscar nominations, and whatnot. It's a good film, but I think it's overrated. I'm a big fan of Asian films, especially Hong Kong action movies, and this movie didn't really strike me as that above-average, other than some beautiful visuals and settings. If I'd never seen a film like this, I guess I might indeed think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread -- perhaps the majority of the buzz on this film is being generated by people who've never seen a Jackie Chan movie.
One complaint I have with the film is the flying effect, which in most scenes looks like nothing so much as a person being pulled around on wires without any conscious intention on their part. This got lots of (deserved) unintentional laughter in the theater I saw this at.