Romantic Kung-Fu: Who knew?

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2001)

It's hard to imagine magical kung-fu fighters who run up buildings, fly across rooftops, and skip across lakes as being the ideal characters for a romance movie. Perhaps that is what makes this movie so absolutely stunning - it is both a delight both because of the visually amazing fight scenes and engaging story line. It's got something for everyone. Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi deliver top-quality performances as the mystical fighters whose major concerns are the state of their personal lives. These are not the stale, undeveloped action characters one might be used to in other martial arts films. And although the plot may be confusing in some parts (there are quite a few hard-to-follow twists and turns) the viewer never gets lost and is never bored. The movie somehow reaches that perfect balance where the action stays constant enough where the movie never lulls, yet finds a way to fully investigate and explain the characters in between. Much has to be said for the movie's setting and special effects. The storyline is set in ancient times, against a beautifully captured oriental landscape - the lush forests and misty mountains that the warriors leap and fly through effectively transport the viewer back to the mystical ancient. And the fight scenes, coreographed by "Matrix" guru Yuen Wo-Ping, are slick, fast-paced, and imaginative - yet very subtle. Never does the movie go overboard and never do the battles get tiring. They are expertly woven into the plot. In conclusion, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a rare film. It reaches the precise point where all the crucial elements of drama, romance, action, and martial arts meet - and manages to stay on target for the full run of the film.