Yet another martial arts film

Rating: 4/10 (23 November 2002)

There are a million movies from Asia that look just like this one. People run, they jump, occasionally kick, and are generally aggressive towards one another. This movie is no different save for the fact that people fly while kicking their legs helplessly. It's an overuse of an effect that only detracts from the story rather than enhances it.
Taking a cue from Hollywood, there is also an unimportant love story in the middle of the movie. It stretches out for over ten minutes only to set up a scene at the last minute of the movie, something that could have been handled by another character's dialogue. It also suffers from "Romeo and Juliet syndrome," showing that two people can meet, fall in love, and be separated within 24 hours time, then obsess about each other forever after. It's disappointing that so many feet of film were wasted on this unnecessary diversion rather than extending the character development of Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien. Save your money for a better film.