Better than a terrible kung-fu movie

Rating: 5/10 (16 June 2001)

I was astonished to see that nearly half the voters on this movie gave it 10/10. Or maybe I shouldn't be astonished. I never trust IMDB scores on recent movies, because there seem to be IMDB junkies out there who immediately declare whatever movie they just saw the greatest thing they've ever seen, 10 out of 10, or the worst thing they've ever seen, 1 out of 10.
I will grant that the fight scenes were nicely done, and the film _looked_ very nice. But it still had quite a bit in common with cheesy martial arts movies -- secret identities obvious from the start, disguises obvious to everyone except the characters in the movie, the outlaw who was coarse and manly but also kind and who didn't really want to be an outlaw anyway and he was in love with a rich girl, the clownish oafs you know are about to get creamed, and a nation where it seems every living breathing person is a martial arts expert to some degree.
I read one review that mentioned the convoluted plot twists. What twists?? The movie barely had any discernible plot. The ostensible bad guy (Jade Fox) seemed like a minor character -- no buildup, no establishment of why or how she was so bad, no demonstration or even explanation of how the antagonism developed between her and the heroes.
There was the extended flashback that was waaaay too long, and didn't contribute to the overall story. I suppose it was supposed to say something about the character Jen, but all it said was that she had a peculiar but unexplained obsession over an everyday object that had nothing to do with the rest of the movie.
There was the death scene in which the character involved (I'll avoid a spoiler here) proclaimed the "last breath" had arrived and flopped over. Dead? Naah, still alive. Then there seemed to be another final moment. Dead yet? Naah, still going. This time? Naah, still there.
There was the other death that looked frankly silly. Seeing that character with the blade mounted on his forehead seemed fake and comical, not tragic or horrifying.
I wasn't bothered like some over the lack of realism in the fights -- running on walls, flying, and all that. It was a fantasy, okay? That aspect didn't bother me.
Overall, this movie was indeed better than your basic cheesy martial arts flick, but that's not saying much.