A Marvelous Epic

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2004)

I can't believe that I'm reading so many negative reviews for this film. I can only imagine that these viewers are expecting to see a different type of a movie. Yes, there are some martial arts in this movie, but this movie is not a martial arts movie. To me the movie is primarily a story of unfulfilled passions and of the immense sadness of the love to two truly good souls who, rightly or wrongly, can never bring their love to fruition until it is too late.
Imagine going to see a Bruce Lee type Kung Fu movie and getting something like this in return (and please don't get me wrong, I love some of the old Bruce Lee movies as well, but that's a totally different genre of movies). I bet that's the cause of a lot of disappointed reviews here - this is NOT an action, martial arts movie, even though a lot of people are expecting to get that when they see this movie.
What may make it worse for those expecting a fast paced, traditional martial arts movie is that this is a very deliberately paced movie and takes it's time developing both the mood, relationships and the story.
The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed - almost like a ballet dance. Ang Lee also eschewed computer generated special effects for traditional ones with actors and stunt doubles (though it is my understanding that most of the actors did many of the stunts themselves). Again, this has led to complaints that the effects don't look as 'good' as in other modern movies. Again, I beg to differ. This was again a very deliberate decision, and IMHO a really good one. It gives the movie a totally different, almost 'classic' feel.
If you want to see a fast paced, martial arts action movie, I would suggest you choose something else. However, if you want to see something truly special, check this great movie out.