Instant classic

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2000)

Ang Lee outdoes himself with this movie -- he manages to combine legend and myth, with an epic grandeur, compelling love stories, ample humor and wit and some of the best action sequences ever committed to film. Lee's confidence as a film maker is apparent, as the movie builds slowly to its first daring action sequence -- yet as dazzling as it is, you ain't seen nothing yet. The tale takes place in vastly different setting, all beautifully photographed. The story isn't exactly complex, but it is has different moods and tones -- best exemplified by a lengthy, charming, flashback sequence. The acting is superb -- Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat have that essential commanding screen presence (their really living archetypes) that immediately gives their characters weight. Zhang Ziyi more than holds her own with these legends. Awesome is an understatement.
Mike Bennett