A beautiful, captivating movie

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2001)

A simple but beautifully told story of love and regret...set against the gorgeous backdrop of China, full of mind-numbing action sequences and the quietly powerful performances of its cast...Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon raises the bar from a mere action movie to a dreamlike fairy tale with characters all too human...despite their superhuman physical abilities.

A mighty warrior (Yun-Fat) grows weary of his violent life and entrusts his legendary sword to his longtime partner (Yeoh) to safekeep. The sword is stolen, leading the two warriors on a chase to recover it and rescue a rebellious nobleman's daughter from the manipulations of their ancient enemy, Jade Fox. The story strongly illustrates the clash of desire against traditional duty in a culture (in the film) very much different than our own. It shows the destructive potential and loneliness in a life without structure, and at the same time...the emptiness that can come by ignoring your dreams. The movie is gorgeously shot and put together. The choreography in the fight scenes is fantastic...almost dance-like in its beauty. From an action standpoint, it will take your breath away...moving from locale to locale with the rapidness of Star Wars. The cast is talented and performs their parts with all the dignity and wit the story demands.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon may be the best film I have seen this year. It's a hard call...but one thing is for certain. If you haven't seen this movie, try to find it. It's well worth the time.