Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the most solid martial arts film ever.

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2009)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon may be the best martial arts film ever. That's not necessarily because it features the best fight scenes or a lot of them, but because if features a good story and outstanding acting from the leads. It's been a long time since I've seen an action film as good as this one. Ang Lee, the director, managed to assemble a cast of some of the most famous actors from Hong Kong and China.
The fictional story is set in the historic Qing Dynasty in China, in the 43rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1778). Chow Yun-Fat, who's one of my favorite actors, plays Li Mu-bai who's a Wudang master of martial arts and sword fighting. He meets with his long-time friend and partner Yu Shu-lien (Michelle Yeoh), and tells her that he wants to hand over his famous sword the Green Destiny to his friend Sir Te because he wants to leave his warrior life behind but Sir Te decides to keep it for safekeeping in Beijing. In the meantime, Mu-bai intends to commemorate the death of his master, who was murdered long ago by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang. In Beijing, Shu-lien delivers the sword and meets Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu, a Manchu aristocrat. Jen is destined for an arranged marriage, yet yearns for adventure; she becomes fascinated with the warrior Shu-lien. One night, a masked thief sneaks onto Sir Te's estate and steals the Green Destiny. Things go from there.
The fight scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are spectacular. They were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, well known for his work in The Matrix and other films. I kid you not, at one time in the film there's a sword fight on top of bamboo trees. It's both exciting and mystical. The fight scenes are also important in the progress of the story, which is rare in martial arts films. The photography too, is beautiful. The film features a large range of places. Most of the credit should go to director Ang Lee. He said that he set out to make the best martial arts film ever, and I think that he succeeded. Made on a mere US$15 million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success. It grossed US$128 million in the United States alone, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for six other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.