Characters and Plot

Rating: 10/10 (24 May 2017)

I don't know why it took me this long to watch this movie. WOW! I don't know where to begin. I suppose with the characters and their archetypes. In my assessment: Master Li Mu Bai would be the sage. The reason why, is because he was, at any time, able to kill Jen Yu. Instead, he wanted to teach and show her the way. Which, in the end, he did. Yu Shu Lien would be the caregiver and the hero. Caregiver, because she looked after the well-being of Jen Yu. The Hero because in the end, she sacrificed the love of her life (Li Mu Bai) in a way to teach Jen Yu a lesson. The lesson being, because Jen Yu wanted to be just like Yu Shu Lien, was: Don't waste your life or the opportunity to love for the sake of duty. Breaking tradition is necessary to stay true to yourself. Jen Yu would be the shapeshifter simply because you don't know what side she's going to wind up on. Not too far into the movie does it reveal her alliance with Jade Fox. However, at the same time she wants Yu Shun Lien to be close to her like a sister would be. It's not until the very end, we see that she finally listens to Yu Shun Lien "sisterly" advise and tells her to live her life and to follow her heart. Basically, Yu Shun Lien was telling Jen Yu not to make the same mistake she did in not expressing her true feelings to the person she loves. Lo 'Dark Cloud' would be both the Outlaw and the Lover. The outlaw because he does not come from the same life style as Jen Yu. He is called/known as the Dark Cloud because of the ruthless, barbarian ways to stay alive in the desert. However, being an orphan, he longs for the "one bright star" which turns out to be Jen Yu. Lo and Jen Yu were truly in love with each other. Jade Fox was, in a general sense the, the villain. However, if we take a deeper look in her different archetypes, she would be known as the Sage, Caregiver, and Outlaw. The Sage because she was very wise and tried to teach Jen Yu her ways (even though Jen Yu would eventually surpass her in power and ability). The Caregiver because she looked after Jen Yu in ways as a mother, teacher, or guardian would. The Outlaw because she is wanted by highly respected people. This movie was one big lesson filled with excitement and regular beats all the way up the act structure and down the resolution slide. The main lesson I took away from it is to not waste your opportunity in life to love in the name of duty. What I loved about this movie was the regular beats up the act structure. While it was difficult to watch the scenes with dialog, because of having the distraction of having to read subtitles, they usually didn't have much action in them. So, you weren't missing much, visually. Note: the scenes with dialog weren't too long. So, the audience would not get bored with having to listen for too long. While the dialog wasn't too long, they were still able to accomplish a lot of expression without over using words or extended explanations. The choreography of the fight scenes was incredible. The best fight scenes I think I've ever seen. It was difficult to see the same move performed twice. It seemed every scene, location, and scenario of a fight was fascinating. I mean, the fight in the trees? Beautiful! This movie is clearly obvious as to why it would be known as an artistic film. The message is creatively deep, as well as visually. By. Malcolm Krause