Worth Watching, yet...

Rating: 6/10 (30 October 2000)

Since so many people from Greece are commending about this film, I feel like there is room for one more 'unbiased' (?) opinion of a film that was heralded by some as 'the best martial arts movie ever'. First of all I have to say I'm a big fan of Chinese culture and civilization which to me comes second best only to the ancient Greek one ( lets be realistic ). Modern-day China continues to amaze me with the likes of Zhang Yimou in film-making or Faye Wong in music. So imagine my anticipation when I was about to watch 'Chouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger', especially after having read some of the reviews on this website. Nevertheless, I have to admit I'm not a great fan of martial arts films though I watch the occassional Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan film on TV. To set the record straight this film is definitely NOT one of the best films ever made, neither in martial arts nor in any other genre- nevertheless, it's a film worth watching.
The assumed strong aspects of the film ( plot, actors, direction, cinematography, choreography ) are all open to personal tastes. By that I mean that every person I asked who has seen the film gave me a diferent opinion of it, some liked aspects of it that I consider weak( such as the plot ) and others scorned aspects of the film which I liked ( such as, surprisingly enough,the 'flying'effects! ) All things considered, the strong points of this film in my opinion are definitely the choreography and fighting scenes ( almost like an arcade game ) - I nearly came close to believing the hype, that such people could exist- thus the fantasy aspect of it, in all. The leading actors are top-class too, especially Zhang Zi Yi, and, last but not least, the drama. Now the weak points unfortunately have to do with the story itself ( nice but too superfluous, and it can be summed up to the description 'a sword is stolen, retrieved, stolen and retrieved again' - not much for my liking ) and somehow I felt that the naivity of the whole thing does let down the movie ( it gravitated incessantly between realism and exaggeration, the latter maybe because they tried to mimic the occasional American blockbuster, action adventure- hey! snap out of it, China doesn't need that ) Overall, I grieve at how much better this film could be. If you like drama and romance don't miss out Zhang Yimou's 'The Road Home'. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' is a worth-watching film, nonetheless, and features great performances overall and an exciting new talent in the person of Zhang Zi Yi. No matter if it shows sometimes the icomprehensible tendency of Chinese art to poise between excellency and absurdity.