Peter Pan meets Bruce Lee meets Akira kurosawa = disappointment

Rating: 7/10 (29 December 2001)

This could have been one the best films of all time, but Ang Lee didn't know what kind of film he wanted to make. Is it an epic, a fantasy, or an action film? The result is a film with a great story, that gets bogged down with an overabundance of fight scenes that are completely too long and unbelievable. I was told by friends that the effects used to create the movement of the characters was revolutionary. Upon viewing, I felt I was watching an oriental version of Peter Pan. It looked as if they were riding invisible stationary bicycles. Their legs would move furiously, yet they would not be touching a wall, and they would climb to the roof of the buildings. The only redeeming quality of this movie was the cinematography.
Cut down on the overindulgent fight scenes and the hokey motion effects, and this would have been a film that Kurosawa would have made, if he were alive today. Thus, for the base story and the cinematography, I could only give this movie a 5/10.