Come For Kicking, Stay For The Story

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2000)

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has to be the finest film of the year!	I had been hearing about this movie for some time now, and I loved the trailer. As a lover of martial arts action flicks there was no way I was going to miss this one. Amazingly still, I had no idea what I was in for! CTHD is the most satisfying movie I have seen in years (supplanting the Matrix).	A common complaint about most asian martial art flicks is that in spite of the excellent fight scenes the plot and production values tend to suffer.
So I came to this movie for its state of the art fight scenes, and was absolutely blown away. But wait, there is a story here and boy, it is well told! Action, romance, intrigue, betrayal, redemption, fantasy, and even effective comic relief! It's got it all folks!	In his other films Ang Lee has shown great mastery of balance and tone. And here he has created a whole new bag.	The fantastical flying elements do not detract, nor overwhelm the story. Everything fits. Even the flashback segment, usually the death rattle of many a poorly concieved plot introduces a romantic thread which elevates an already passionate tale to unexpected richness, it is gorgeously funny and sexy! Very sexy!	The fight scene on the bamboo tops is at once thrilling and sensuous. Much of the action in the hand to hand department involves the female characters, and these are among the best shot martial art scenes on film. Chow Yun Fat is so cool.	The dialog is in chinese with subtitles, but don't let that keep you away. The plot develops at a pace akin to a flowing stream, rolling with eddies over stones but always moving, always refreshing itself.	This is a movie of excellent quality and beauty, and it is a great date movie!