To all those opposed....

Rating: 10/10 (10 June 2002)

Long after humankind has signed its name in the book of extinctions, our earthly-successors will truly marvel at some of the cinematic landmarks we've produced. In my opinion, "Crouching Tiger..." will definitely be one of the titles uttered upon the vocal orifices of these post-homo-sapiens.
The story, set in feudal China, tells of a legendary green blade called the "Green Destiny". After the sword's master Li(Chow Yuen Fat) intends to return the sword to its rightful owner, it is stolen by a mysterious assassin. Into this enchanting tale are woven threads of love, passion and pride as Li and his partner Shu Lien attempt to find the assassin.
Perhaps the only rotten tomato that some self-appointed critics have thrown at this cinematic beauty is the non-realism of the characters jumping about, and climbing up walls. Yet to this I pose the following: Since when does a film have to rely on the laws of physics or realism? At the time of writing, the biggest film in the US is about a teenager who can climb up walls, shoot webs and has amazing super-strength after being bitten by a genetically engineered spider. I rest my case.
The character and story depth of "Crouching Tiger... " is more than enough to bury any of its Hollywood rivals and its cinematography alone is enough to send Pearl Harbour whimpering away like a canine who just hind-legged an electric fence. This is truly the kind of epic that the mainstream audience have been crying for... one that doesn't feed its audience a pathetic diet of tokenism, patronisation and misplaced patriotism.
10 out of 10