More than martial-arts

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2001)

I usually do not watch martial-arts movies and I would not have gone to see this one if id had not been for all the tremendous critical acclaim it has been getting since its release. I was not disappointed. Crouching Tiger is a drama, a romance and an action movie rolled up into one very fascinating package.
Of course the fight sequences are the heart of the movie. They are what gains the most attention and they deserve all the praise they are getting. I must admit though, that I found it a little irritating at first, that the fighters are obviously dangling from wires during large parts of those fights. But after a short while I came to simply accept, that for those fighters gravity is not a factor. And even when they are on the ground those people perform a few of the most amazing moves I have seen so far.
However this movie would not be so special if it was all about action and nothing else. There is more. The physical action is complemented by two very different love-stories. One is mature and sensible - and essentially unhappy. The other one is young and wild, passionate, socially inappropriate - and just as unhappy. Director Ang Lee found four excellent actors to impersonate the four people involved in those love-stories.

The only complaint (if you want to call it that) I have about Crouching Tiger... really is, that it is too short. I would have loved to know more about these people. Unfortunately Ang Lee is not known to be a big maker of sequels. So since there probably will not be another - go see this one!