a breakthrough film

Rating: 10/10 (18 February 2001)

You will say "ooh" and "aah" more at this movie than at any other you will see for a long time. This movie really sets a new standard for complete entertainment. One of the finest films of the past 40 years. And it is subtitled.
The one hang-up that many North American audiences still have - going to a non-English-language movie - may at last be seriously eroded by this film. At the time of this writing the highest grossing foreign film ever, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon should show many white-bread North Americans that movies made away from Hollywood and Britain are not all heavy, murky, existential, remote, artsy, and/or incomprehensible.
Rather, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon blends together everything you could like about movies: action, love story, epic, comedy, tragedy. The story, photography, score, acting, direction, editing, and special effects are second to none. Maybe you'll be amazed by the fight scenes; maybe you'll shed a tear or two over the love story instead (maybe both like I did).
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is simply great entertainment. Subtitles or not, isn't that the reason we go to movies?
Score it 10 out of 10!