Jon Monsarrat review: Chinese saga, accessible and powerful

Rating: 9/10 (8 May 2002)

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is too first appearances, a little silly. Martial artists are flying around and doing stunts that bear no resemblance to what a real human could do, even exaggerated. One of my buddies even said the film should be renamed "Flying People, Hidden Wires".
But it's clear in the story that what we're viewing is a Chinese myth, heroic and saga-like. So all of that power and bombast fits well without becoming comic or cheesy. In fact, the movie is surprisingly accessible and powerful, and not at all to be categorized with pure action films -- although you could watch it as a pure action film if you didn't feel particularly deep that day.
It was more than an engaging film with plenty of action. I felt like I learned something about Chinese culture. While the film doesn't exactly have "something to say that might change your life", it is certainly moving.
Who should see this film:
-- everyone, safe for both drama types and action film types,
if you are ever going to see a film like this, this is the one!
I'll give "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" an 8 out of 10.