huh...

Rating: 4/10 (12 March 2001)

i must admit, i was very interested in seeing this movie when it started getting press here in the united states. i was expecting a good foreign film with great scenery, fine acting and some top-notch fight scenes. well, here's what i got. i got a movie that did most certainly have great scenery. that's really about it. it was a ridiculously simple film. the acting was without any depth or emotion. we know basically nothing about any of the characters except for jen, and therefore in the end they mean nothing to the viewer. and for the fight scenes, only the fight between jen and shu lien is remotely believable. i know this is supposed to be a "fantasy" film, but when it is set in a certain time period when the laws of physics are the same as now, people can't fly and hover in trees. these characters are human, not gods. and i know that there is a whole other discussion about secret warriors (wuxia-i think) that supposedly could "fly". nope. sorry. it was just laugh out loud over-the-top bad. if this movie wins more than 1 academy award we will once again prove that the academy has no right to decide what is good or bad in the realm of film.