The Chinese Empire Strikes Back OR Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2005)

I understand why this film has received such critical acclaim. Aside from Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound and Neil Armstrong hurdling treacherous moon rocks, when was the last time you saw adults fly? And they're not flying to save the world or to demonstrate a lack of gravity: they're flying as part of beautifully choreographed chase and fight scenes that resemble dance more than combat. (I'd sure like to see a white-suited young John Travolta pulling a few of these moves.)
Crouching Tiger is set in feudal China and exhibits all the features of a well-constructed fairy tale:
* good versus evil
* two sets of star-crossed lovers
* a magic sword
* poisoned darts
* a wrongful death that must be avenged
* a princess being forced to marry before her hair has been folded into the shape of an elaborate jellyfish AND
* a trail of bread crumbs dropped to keep someone from getting lost (the crumbs are, predictably, devoured by starving contestants on Survivor MCMXLVIII: The East Asian Desert)
Although the plot leaves many unanswered questions, the film succeeds because once you accept the fantasy premise, you are drawn into the complexities of the characters. There's Shu Lien, the thirty-something female warrior who has placed her career and a life of service to the forces of Good ahead of her impulses to love and be loved (kind of a Princess Leia). There's Li Mu Bai, male warrior turned monk turned possible ex-monk who is the yang to Shu Lien's yin. You gotta love a guy who engages in full martial arts combat wearing a long, flowing robe (picture a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi). There's Jen, the impetuous, spoiled rich girl with more secrets than the carpeting outside the Oval Office. There's the evil Jade Fox (Darth Jade-r?), also known as the Wicked Witch of the Far East. And last but certainly not least, there's Lo (Han So-Lo?), the outlaw anti-hero who gets more than he bargained for after stealing a comb.
If you learn nothing else from this film, the next time you ambush a royal procession crossing the desert, you will think twice before ripping off any personal grooming objects.