Magically brilliant. Dazzling scenes, intertwined with a sweet lovestory.

Rating: Null/10 (7 February 2001)

On those very rare occasions, I'm left speechless after seeing a movie. Usually I'm ready to tackle the movie's weak point the minute I walk out. I'm not saying this movie doesn't have any weak points. It's superficial character positioning and fairly weak story line are some points I could point out if I wanted to have a critical look at this movie. But why bother? The main aim of the movie is to dazzle us with it's magical fantasy story, and trust me, this is exactly what it does.
Amazing choreographed martial arts scenes are surpassed by an even better scene setting. Just wait until you see a shot of Peking, or the rugged mountain side where the final scene takes place. Just mind-blowing. Who cares if you can see that these actors are flying by means of lines? Who cares if the fighting is all, but effective? The beauty of Martial Arts is exactly that; the beauty. It's more like a dance, than the numb western style of shooting and bare-nuckle fighting.
Mad Props to the director Ang Lee, who after such sweet (but oh so slow) movies such as Sense & Sensibility has thankfully come back to his roots. His amazing feeling for constructing a movie that is both feel good and adrenaline pumping has made him one of my fav. directors of this decade. Hopefully he will stick to this genre, which will hopefully will result in such another diamond which 'Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon' undoubtedly is.