Shot to the top of my list of awesome movie experiences immediately!

Rating: 10/10 (8 June 2001)

As for my movie preferences background (so you'd get a picture of my taste), here's a sampling of my most recent awesome movie experiences (inducing shivers, tears and being dazed for a long time after the movie) - Fight Club, Cast Away, Matrix, Cruel Intentions, Three to Tango, Unbreakable. And these are older movies I can never get enough of - Die Hard (original), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare), Robocop, Terminator 2. As you can see - heavy action and paper-towel romance.
Then came along a movie that blended action like we've never seen it before (think Jet Li/Bruce Lee on steroids) and romance like we seldom see it (think Shakespeare & Jane Austen co-authoring) - and I WAS COMPLETELY MESMERIZED. The calmness of daily interactions (& secret romance) and the fury of the fight sequences were an absolutely breath-taking contrast. The excellence of the main cast, the scenery, the plot, the dialogue, the choreography, everything about this movie kept me on the verge of tears for the sheer beauty of it all almost 2 hours straight. Thank you Ang Lee (director) and Yen Woo-ping (fight choreographer) - 10 out of 10, no questions asked.
If you don't like action and romance, you'll be bored. If you like only one of the two, you'll be half-bored. But for any fan of both breathtaking action/fight sequences and deep touching passionate romance - this could really revitalize your belief in the existence of good movie-making.