Excellently shot but a very disappointing ending ...

Rating: 7/10 (14 January 2005)

WARNING: Major spoilers
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, until the last 10 or so minutes, which left me just as deeply disappointed. Believe me, I don't necessarily hate films with tragic ending, but there has to be a purpose for it. I saw no justification in the movie for the ending that it has, and in *this* aspect, the movie is indeed similar to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (where I believe there was absolutely no reason for Chow Yun-Fat's Li Mu Bai character to die).
*** Spoiler-free zone (well, almost) ***
The movie is vivid and stylish, with emphasis on images to convey the story. The dialog is minimal. There are excellently and surreally choreographed and photographed martial arts sequences.
The story is this: The King of Qin dynasty in China wants to unite all the warring kingdoms in China under one rule for the sake of lasting peace in the land. For this sake, he wages war on all other kingdoms and these wars cause great deal of destruction. Four great warriors, who are great masters of amazing martial arts (and therefore in essence, the masters of the great arts and knowledge in the country) are pained by the bloodshed and want to assassinate the king, even though the fourth one is not a known assassin. (Each of them is shown to have a personal motive to assassinate the king, even though at least two of them talk at a level much higher than mere vendetta - about philosophy, sacrifice, greater good et al.) The king himself is no slouch even if he's not as great a warrior as them. He builds almost impregnable barriers to protect himself. So the fourth warrior, called Nameless (played by Jet Li), kills the other three, and as a reward gets an audience with the king and therefore a chance to assassinate him. The biggest plot twist is the argument of one of the other three warriors, Broken Sword, who is farsighted enough to see the merit in the king's wars. The question then is this: has he managed to convince Nameless to stop his assassination plans?
*** MAJOR SPOILERS *** (I'm revealing the end.)
Nameless finally sees the wisdom behind the king's wars and does not assassinate the king when he gets a chance. But what was the reason for Nameless, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword to kill themselves in the denouement? What happened to Sky? Did he die too? I was not quite clear on that. In any case, these four warriors are shown to be above and beyond all the others. If they live, they will at least be able to transmit the priceless knowledge to others. If it is not their personal right to openly support the king's endeavor, let them 'retire' and disappear. What is the reason for them to "sacrifice" themselves? I can only think of one: contrivance. It makes the movie tragic. But it also makes the movie contrived.
For 80-85 minutes, the director Yimou Zhang gives us a wonderfully meditative and artistically breathtaking movie. But in the last 10-15 minutes, he seriously missteps. The movie, as a whole, is good but falls short of the greatness it could have achieved.