Does "Crouching Tiger" live up to its hype?

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2001)

The phrase "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" refers to an age-old Chinese idiom that says society is full of dangerous people, like hidden tigers and dragons ready to pounce on the unsuspecting victim. The story of the movie revolves around lovers Li Mu-bai (Chow) and Yu Shu-lien (Yeoh), two Chinese warriors who have strong feelings for each other but have not had the opportunity to express them. The theft of Li's prized sword leads them to Jen Yu (Zhang), a nobleman's daughter who is about to be betrothed in a pre-arranged marriage but whose young mind is rebellious and dreams of being a warrior. The quest to recover the lost sword precipitates numerous extremely well-choreographed fight scenes (by Woo-ping Yuen) true to the Chinese martial arts or "Wu-xia" genre. Most notable are the two scenes where Yu chases the masked Jen up walls (literally) and over rooftops, and where Li fights with Jen amidst treetops, respectively. The two female leads, Yeoh and Zhang, steal the spotlight most of the time. Yeoh is effective in conveying her suppressed emotions with subtlety and nuance, while Zhang gives a strong performance as the untamed "hidden dragon" who ultimately seeks escape from her conflicting emotions through death. While some believe this film to be overhyped, North American audiences seem to love it. For some of us familiar with the "Wu-xia" genre, however, this film may fall short of our (fairly high) expectations.