An excellent movie with great balance between box office success and artistic achievement.

Rating: 9/10 (30 January 2008)

It's a simple but excellently told and intertwined story with pretty shell. The choreography & artistic work is for the eyes of viewers looking for fun and enjoyment, so that it can be successful in box office.
however, Lee Ang showed great passion and power under this simple and somewhat cliché story. This is the real point of the movie which won the Oscar.
So Ang made a great balance between commercial success and artistic presentation, with, of course, some compromise. He tried hard to please everyone, which is very hard. If you are popcorn movie goer, then enjoy the fighting scenes. if you like art movies, enjoy the style and artistic storytelling.
Overall, this is a great movie. 9/10 for me.