Kicking ass with grace and humanity

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2000)

Lots of movies have been magnificent mainly for their backdrops--the production design, location, cinematography; or for the lyric movements of their cameras; or for the charisma of their stars; or for the power and poetry-in-motion of brilliant action. CTHD meets each of those challenges on the grounds of the greats, and joys in them all.
It's incredibly accomplished on all levels: strange, breathtaking, deeply imaginative, wonderful film, largely dwelling on the modesty of gifted people. In this case the gifted characters can stand in too for the filmmaking crew--down to the excellent subtitle work.
With a surprising ease, it marks the end of the Hollywood action blockbuster. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, whichever Bond--never mind Seagal or Van Damme or Schumacher's Batman--you won't go back. It makes the Hollywoods look that much cruder, that much leakier at the seams. Or if you want, Li Mu Bai and Yu Jen would kick their asses. And since it weaves romance in with its great battles (the two are pretty closely tied in this movie), this a pretty good bet no matter which gender demographic you've found yourself in. Date action movie? Could be. And more.
Glad this is bringing a great tradition more widely to the US and busting a lot of new ground with it. See it a few times...