Fluid Medium, Stagnant Particles

Rating: 1/10 (27 February 2004)

This is your only spoiler warning...
This was my second Lee film (after 'Sensibility'), but I still didn't give him any credit until a few years ago. I see 'Crouching Tiger' as his method of gaining pop status, not pushing limits. Compare the content here to prior junk in 'Matrix'.
The story is a farce, too simple. How many Bruce Lee, John Woo, or even Peckinpah films have been loaded with the same filler? Even the acting is just flat. Four years later and no performance rings in my mind. I'm wondering if Lee ever examined Kurosawa's work because so much could have been applied.
I guess Lee wanted to be Raimi and Woo but didn't want to prove that he was better. Raimi's films are always stupid in the basic qualities because they rely on his visual intuitiveness. Woo has been making the same movie since 'Heroes Shed No Tears', never deviating from formula.
It's in that respect where I hold Lee in high regard: always trying to do something new. Woo, Cameron, and Burton all found their niches, but I doubt Lee ever will. He'll keep experimenting and I will admire him for that.
So here is an uncomplicated look at an old genre. Performed by a master, but clumsily so. 'Hulk' showed Lee really experimenting with the comic book medium, but there isn't any new blood in this project. It moves fast, but we've seen it all before so simplicity quickly rots it.
Final Analysis = = Cinematic Dud