A beautiful story of good v's evil and unrequited love

Rating: Null/10 (26 February 2002)

When a mystical sword is stolen it sparks a quest to find the thief, who may or may not be the mysterious Jade Fox. This not only causes the unrequited love between Master Bai and Yu Shu Lien to be further postponed by duty, but also signals the development of Jen Yu and her romantic discovery. As the identify of the thief is gradually revealed a showdown looms with both Bai and Lien representing the good and the thief representing evil.
A wonderful film in that it managed to make a whole generation of multiplex-only movie watchers that not all good things only come out of America. However there is much to enjoy in this film that still will have been lost on such an audience. The film mixes a raft of subplots around the main focus of the theft of the sword. However we also have the development, romance and envious greed of Jen Yu, the conflict between Yu and Yu Shu Lien and of course the love between Master Li Mu Bai and Lien that has been put off due to duty.
The stories all work well - the mystery surrounding the stolen sword and the search for Jade Fox make for a compelling mystery while the romance between Master Bai and Lien is beautifully observed throughout. The story surrounding Jen Yu is very good as it follows her development throughout however her desert romance is perhaps a little too slow for a martial arts movie. The only complaint about the stories is that they are a little heavy for a martial arts film - or maybe there is too much fighting for a well plotted movie? Actually it's probably a brave mix that has some of the best of both worlds.
The martial arts action is sensational - Yuen Wo Ping excels himself with one stunning visual treat after another. The wire work is great even by Hong Kong standards - imagine the impact this had on an audience who thought that wire-work had been invented by the Matrix! The standout scenes are the battle between Lien and Jen Yu and the Jen Yu's battle in a crowded barroom. The only complaint I did have is that the treetop fight near the end was not as exciting as other scenes and was also the least realistic and came across as silly at times. In terms of visuals, the film is beautifully shot and picks up the gorgeous Chinese landscape well - the only problem being that this seems to distract from the main story.
Michelle Yeoh is as impressive and as beautiful as she is in everything else I've seen her in - you can keep your Julia Roberts rom-coms, I want more of Yeoh's acting talents rather than pure star power. Chow Yun-Fat is excellent as Master Bai and he works well in his scenes with Yeoh. He even manages the martial arts really well despite not having made one before but I would have liked to see first choice Jet Li in the role. The standout is Zhang Ziyi in only her second film. She shines in the most difficult character and manages to convey so much and still be excellent in complex fight scenes. And how does Hollywood reward her? By sticking her in Rush Hour 2! That's like taking a beautiful flower and trying to plant it in the middle of a concrete slab!
Overall it's a little slow for the martial arts crowd but it is a wonderful mix of Lee's art house films and the martial arts genre. At times the mysticism gets a bit too heavy to be truly meaningful but it's an exquisitely beautiful piece of filmmaking.