A catch 22 ...

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 2001)

This one is a catch 22. To truly appreciate ancient martial arts
movies, one has to have grown up reading Wuxia novels and
watching martial arts movies. However, such an individual (myself
included) may find CTHD to be mediocre at best, exactly because
of the Wuxia novel experience. Top that with someone who had
seen Ang Lee's other films, this one was, to say the least, a bit of a
disappointment. Casting Chow and Yeoh was, to me, unfortunate.
I was cringing in my seat when I saw them struggle with their
Mandarin dialogues (they are both Cantonese speaking). It really
took a big chunk out of their ability to act. Yeoh was not acting -
she was just reciting the script. The same thing happened to
Chow in Anna and the King when he was trying to speak Siamese
and English. There is a stark contrast between Chow and Yeoh
and the Mandarin speaking cast (eg. Sir Te - the actor who was in
almost all of Ang Lee's earlier films; Jen - played by Zhang from
Beijing); the latter is simply a lot more relaxed and comfortable
and are really acting.
The story follows a pervasive theme in Wuxia novels - once
becoming part of Guang Hu (the martial art world, somewhat akin
to cops and gangsters in today's world), one has no control over
ones destiny. Again, the script and Ang Lee failed to develop
more complex characters that accentuate the internal conflict and
helplessness experienced by members of 'Guang Hu'.
No doubt the scenery is beautiful. It's actually the least of Ang
Lee's challenges to come up with such breathtaking locations in
China, a land abound with geographic beauty.
Overall, not a bad movie, but definitely (shamefully) over-hyped. I
might have enjoyed it more if I could watch it without my experience
with Wuxia novels and movies.