A big letdown!

Rating: Null/10 (14 February 2001)

While this isn't a bad movie, it certainly is not the GREAT movie like what everyone says. Calling this the "best movie ever made" is a mega hyperbole.
Let me start off with the story; (no spoilers) Yun Fat and Yeoh must retrieve a stolen sword from this female fighter gone awry; the co-protagonist is a young woman who is trapped between two sides and doesn't seem to identify with anyone. (The finale, which I won't give away, shows her personal decision as a result of this identity crisis.) Mr. Lee could have been a little more complex with the story, which has been done better in countless other films. Maybe I'm not a stickler for love stories, but the interpersonal relationships here just didn't interest me.
The editing wasn't very good. (For example, you see someone at one place, and then it abrubtly cuts to another location. Where are we?) The sound FX editing could have used some work (During the rooftop "traffic scenes" you can't hear even the slightest sounds on the pavement. If this was on purpose, it wasn't realistic.)
There's validity in the claim that the chop-sockey sequences were excellent. (They used wires and then digitally erased them to give the effect of some airborne martial arts moves.) But I don't think any of the sparring scenes redeem the movie as a whole.
I'm not surprised that this and Gladiator (A gladiator named Maximus never actually existed!) got several Oscar Nominations, including for best picture, and I won't be surprised if either one of them wins.
Just remember, the Academy chooses the winner for Best Picture of the year, just as the courts choose which politician won an election. That's just the way things go!