Transcendental--Young Actress Kicks Ass

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2001)

A deep, unrequited love between two old friends; an impetuous, sexy romance between two young lovers; the most beautifully choreographed martial arts scenes ever; broad, sweeping landscapes shot all across an exotic land (China). This movie has everything you'd ever want spun in a plot that continually pulls you in deeper and deeper.
What really did it for me, though, was the acting of Zhang Zi-Yi, who made the Charlie's Angels look like a bunch of bloated, spoiled Hollywood actresses who spent a month training to look like kick-ass women, but ended up congratulating themselves for a feeble half-kick in the air. Zhang lit up the screen with an authenticity, ferocity, and an air of un-self-consciousness that you just don't get in Hollywood or on American TV. She stole every scene that she was in, even from the formidable talents of Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh.