Brilliant and Beautiful

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2004)

This is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. Excellent acting, storytelling, cinematography, and some of the best martial arts fights ever filmed.
The tone is very somber and humorless, but the beauty of the fights and settings brings unexpected lightness. And while the storytelling is a bit heavy-handed, it's appropriate. This is a piece about a cornerstone of Chinese history, told as a fantasy.
Jet Li is brilliant. His fight with Donnie Yen is awesome. But it's Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung who steal the show. Their chemistry is intensely believable and they give the film intimacy.
The story at first seems very shallow--a Kung Fu assassin plot. But it gets deeper and while it's not the most brilliant thing ever written, it serves as more than just a vehicle to move from one fight to the next.
Too bad the hype for this film is so huge. And it bothers me that every other critic feels compelled to compare it to "Crouching Tiger." This movie stands on its own as a true work of art that just happens to be entertaining.