"A sword by itself rules nothing."

Rating: 9/10 (25 September 2006)

A wonderfully lyrical film, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" literally flows from beginning to end. From my perspective, I see the story not as a martial arts movie, but one with martial arts in it, done in a way to move the story along. The tone and intensity of each fight scene conveys a different emotion; Shu Lien's recovery of the Destiny Sword inspires loyalty, Jen's battles with Lo in the desert call to mind youthful innocence and aggression, Li Mu Bai's fatal battle with Jade Fox tempers revenge with justice. Each in it's own fashion has a way of confirming - "When it comes to emotions, even great heroes can be idiots".
CTHD is one of those defining films that takes it's particular genre to new levels, much like "Star Wars" did for sci-fi, and "The Exorcist" did for horror. It's choreography and wire work blend perfectly with gorgeous natural beauty and crisp cinematography. It can be enjoyed and understood on many levels, and if your mood simply calls for a well styled action film, it works that way too. Today's viewing was my third, and it allowed for a better understanding of the story with the special effects a complement to it and not a distracting 'wow'.