Excellent fights, Brilliant visuals ....and thats it.

Rating: Null/10 (15 August 2003)

Despite what a lot of ignorant people might tell you , CTHD isnt the greatest martial arts film of all time.In fact to call it so would not only be a silly statement but an incorect one. For you see , the film is actually a drama that focuses on the least interesting of its own set of characters. And its this that prevents the film from being great- It offers up an interesting dilema in the drama between the 2 most interesting characters shui lin and li mui bai as they struggle with their feelings for one another , but screws everyting up by making this situation take second place to the mushy love story involving zhang ziyi`s EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY annoying princess and all the other dilemas that she is responsible for.
Since this messes up the films story quite a bit , your best option is to just sit back and enjoy the films highpoints, one of which are the INCREDIBLE fight sequences which are balletic , exciting and graceful- all masterfully coreagraphed by the king of movie fighting, mr yune woo ping.
The other high point is the mesmerisingly beautiful cinematography thats looks so nice that its almost theraputic !
Visualy stunning but narratively frustrating, the film is fantastic in parts but would have been fantastic throughout if it devoted its story entirely to the relationship and all mighty kung fu of li mui bai and shu lin.