An unforgettable martial arts movie!

Rating: 10/10 (2 November 2005)

Like most Asian born Canadian, I have grown up watching many martial arts film. To be very honest with you, most of them, if not all, never met my expectations, but "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was the first excellent martial arts movie, because watching the movie was like seeing a dream that was finally coming true.
Unlike so many martial arts movie, the emphasis is put on the plot, the mood and the feelings, so that's why the story is so well written. However, James Schamus, the script writer, followed too much the "rules" for creating a martial arts movie, so that's why some people might say that the movie is full of clichés. For instance, how many times have you seen a martial arts master who wants to avenge his master's death? Everyone must have seen it a lot of time. After all, unlike what I have previously seen, James Schamus finds a very brilliant way to present, at the same time, both the love story between Li Mu-Bai and Shu Lien, and the story of vengeance without creating any long periods. In short, one the main strength of this movie is its emphasis on the story line, the feelings and the mood, because unfortunately, so many martial arts movies that were produced before "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" only focus on the fight scenes.
Obviously, one wouldn't expect to see so much depth in a martial arts movie. Speaking about the cast's performance, Chow Yun-Fat (Anna and the King), Michelle Yeoh (Tomorrow Never Dies) and Zhang Ziyi (The Road Home) all have an undeniable ability to bring their respective character's feelings to the surface and the chemistry between them is so impeccable. Well, at least, we can admire such a great acting without cringing. Personally, I found this movie better than all the Jackie Chan's and Bruce Lee's movies, because for once, the movie director has worked very hard on the story line and the acting. Although the fight scenes are unrealistic, I was stunned by them, because I found them visually poetic, in a manner of speaking.
Finally, I am sure that in at least 20 years, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will certainly be remembered not only as a greatly entertaining movie, but also a very smart, deep and an intellectually challenging movie. Moreover, let it be said that Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee will certainly have a very low profile because of this movie and also other martial arts movies, such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers".