Perfect in so many ways

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2001)

There is a multitude of ways in which this film is everything that one could want in a movie: Great action, moving love stories, great heroes (that are realistic and have flaws), empowered women that aren't merely sidekicks or "ornaments," AMAZING music (this soundtrack is right up there with Alexander Nevsky as far as I'm concerned), fantastic cinematography, great costumes, effects, and it even has a good bit of humor thrown in the mix as well.
I've heard many people describe this as "Sense & Sensibility" with martial arts...while that is obviously an oversimplification, it is kind of a fun unofficial tagline to entice people with. For those that have classified the movie as "unrealistic" my only answer is: YES, it is unrealistic...its a movie, and a fantasy movie at that...so its okay that some of the characters can fly.
I don't want to get into some huge plot dissection, so I won't...I'll just say that I've never seen a film take on some many dimensions (comedy, romance, action, etc) and have it work so well...sure others have tried this, but usually with disastrous results!