Crouching Tiger Hidden in Drag (see below)

Rating: 8/10 (6 July 2001)

(Sorry, the name was too long for the local theater marquee, so the title was truncated to fit and became a little of a local joke amongst my friends and I.) ;)
Anyways, I gave this film an 8, I saw it with subtitles on the big screen and left the theater speechless. To tell you the truth, I wasn't entirely sure what I thought of it, but it is technically astounding.
I came into it realizing that it was a martial arts fantasy movie about some big time heroes and heroines that were larger than life and as such would be able to do things that ordinary folk couldn't. My biggest complaint is about the 'flying' on wires. Assisted jumps would have been spectacular, but the lengthy roof-skimming flights were a little too far out there. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I thought I saw one of the 'fliers' trip, hang suspended in mid-air for a moment, then put his/her feet back down. The actors/actresses really needed more training or practice with the wire harnesses.
I often describe this movie to those who ask as 'One part thinking, one part fighting, and one part love story'. I think that's apt and not all that bad as some say. Most of the negative talk I hear locally comes from the dubbed version, so I guess my advice is: If you can read well and quickly, see the subtitled version on as large a screen as you can get.