A Very Strange Movie

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2001)

Not strange in a bad way, mind you - strange in that it defies classification. I went into the movie expecting more of a standard over-the-top kung fu flick that legions of comic book dorks would go see and congratulate themselves for seeing a subtitled movie, much as they did for seeing something "deep" like "The Matrix" a couple years back.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a more complex story and richer characters than I was expecting. Not exactly a film that scholars will be discussing and writing about for years - but there's certainly more going on here than the simple good-vs.-evil clothesline of "The Matrix" or "Star Wars."
My only real problem - the action was difficult to follow during one key fight scene, and the much-discussed treetop fight simply looked ludicrous and unbelievable. That aside, an excellent film, very entertaining and very much worth seeing.