Certain to appeal to the elitists

Rating: 3/10 (4 January 2001)

The movie did have gorgeous scenery. That is all I liked about it. But the movie is sure to appeal to the elitists among us, who are more refined and cultured than the common herd. They will like the fact that the characters have unrealistic, but nobler and "finer" motivations than the rest of us. Most of us would not spend a lifetime apart from someone who loves us, simply because they were once betrothed to a friend who died, but that's because we're crass and human, not god-like as 2 of the main characters were. (Li does admit in the end that he wasted his life - my favourite scene in the movie.)
Most of us would not go around attacking everything around us simply because we want to be free, but Jen exists on a higher plane than us mere mortals. Taking this a little further, Lien likes Jen instantly, even though the girl is constantly attacking her, has stolen a very valuable sword, is associated with a mortal enemy, and constantly puts down the man she loves. Once again, most of us would probably dislike her, but we don't operate in the clouds like Lien.
The fight scenes are utterly ridiculous and probably admired because they come from the east. If a Hollywood movie had people running up walls, etc., I have little doubt that it would be roundly panned. Personally, I found them really boring, like watching 2 perfectly matched buzz-saws.

All in all, as far as the overall movie was concerned, I couldn't help thinking that I was watching the cinematic version of Dungeons and Dragons. But that's probably because I'm a mundane human with no aesthetic sensibilities.

Jack