Great, but only as comedy

Rating: 1/10 (29 January 2001)

There aren't any spoilers here, because to have spoilers you must have a plot, and there wasn't one.
I sat laughing hysterically seemingly understanding why this is hailed as one of the great films of the year only to be told by my friend that it is not a comedy. That being the case, this is without a doubt the most overrated film of the last 30 years, passing "The Piano".
There is simply nothing about this film that is not awful except the scenery, and scenery does not a great film make (See "Toys" for a perfect example). From the technical side, the editing is very b-movie (eg the cup snatching scene), and just sloppy (you can practically see the wires). The desert scene could be cut in half - they chase, they stop, they chase some more. Why? That's a question you'll be asking yourself throughout this film. But don't expect answers. Characters move from pointless scene to pointless scene for the sake of having combat, and that isn't even very special. Ooooo, they sped up the film - its great if you want Keystone Cops China-style, but as drama - laughable.
And let's get something straight. People cannot fly, or "float" if you prefer, and they can't paralyze someone with one finger. I don't care how common this is in Chinese films, its absurd, and the film deserves to be slammed for it. And this is no slap against China per se - We Americans have our share of absurdities and if we put them in our films we deserve to be slammed for them too.
You'll laugh throughout this film when the filmmaker wanted you to cry. You don't care about the characters because the scenes are so ridiculous. By the time they start flying through the trees like squirrels your eyes are liable to roll right out of your head. It isn't magical, its ridiculous.
A 1/10, for pretty scenery and pretty people. The rest looks like an undergrad film project from a failing student.