Overrated!

Rating: 5/10 (9 April 2001)

How this movie could be nominated for Best Picture is astounding. I guess it shows how weak the field really was. First, the good parts. The direction was very good, as was the cinematography. It was a beautiful film to look at, and the martial arts scenes were well edited and choreographed. The Bad Parts: plot, acting, story, martial arts. The plot has huge holes in it. Perhaps it loses something in the translation. Without giving anything away, why does Jen walk up the long stairs near the end when she can fly? Why doesn't Li just kill the bad guy when they first meet? The ending: I walked out of the theatre scratching my head going "huh?" There is no exploration of the character of Jen. She is simply a spoiled rich brat. And any transformation that she may or may not have had is not built up over time. It just happens. Or maybe she's just a spoiled brat who didn't get her way. The acting is difficult to judge fairly, since the dialogue was in mandarin and I don't understand it. But it was typically wooden, which artists might want to call stoic. The martial arts were ridiculous. While it was well choreographed and well performed, flying through the air? I kept waiting for Obi Wan to say, "use the force Li". Some people have equated it with "The Matrix". In the Matrix you could suspend belief because it wasn't real, it was virtual reality. Well here on terra firma the laws of physics still apply. If I were a producer, I would just make sure I filmed a movie in China with elaborate costumes and sets, and I would know I would have several invitations on Oscar night.