Review of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) by Heather M — 03 Jul 2012

Wow, Ang Lee sure knows how to make a good over-the-top action-drama when he's at home, certainly more than he does when he's over here in America. No, I don't mean that Lee doesn't know how to make a good drama here in the States, because most of his work in the drama department here has rocked; I mean that he has trouble specifically when it comes to the over-the-top action-drama hybrid, as we most certainly saw with "Hulk", the only film that he's done that's gayer than "Brokeback Mountain". Well, he did make "Hulk" only three years after this big, kind of cheesy wuxia film, so maybe he had a little bit more cheesiness left in him, something that you just can't have when you're dealing with "Hulk", because, come on, how do you make a superhero drama about a scientist who, when mad, transforms into a giant, green muscle monster, thus destroying all articles of clothing except pants, (Stupid censors) cheesy? ...Okay, well, the point is that Ang Lee's over-the-top action-drama sensibilities were a little bit too much for "Hulk", though at least they weren't as pathetically overly corny as Eric Bana's attempting to act. Lee's wuxia films may be among the handful that actually have good acting, but he was clearly stuck in that over-the-top industry a little bit too long to realize that, in America, whatever in the world Bana was doing wasn't passable acting, or at least that's whay I thought, until many of the critics lauded Bana for overacting when he wasn't being wooden, charismaless and totally unbuyable as, well, an actor. Either way, the point is that if he's cutting the action and just having a powerful drama, Ang Lee should probably keep his work back home, because home is where the heart is, and he clearly had that put into this film. Still, as good as this film is, it's not exactly clean of missteps either.

Immediate development is a tad lacking, and while progressive development and exposition locks you in eventually, out of the gate, the film knocks your investment out a bit, thus diluting a bit of consequence that takes a little while to return, and even when it does finally arrive, much of the action doesn't help it. Much of the wire fu is worked by Ang Lee in a way to where, more often than not, it transcends the silliness and suppplements some substance, yet make no mistake, this action does get to be silly, and still quite often, it doesn't transcend and simply sits as just a tad too over-the-top. Still, say what you will about how over-the-top the action, because lord knows, but at least it's exciting, which isn't to say that the more talkative moments are all that dull, yet there are points where things start to slow down a bit too much. Too make matters worse, the action isn't the only aspect that gets to be a tad too corny, as the melodrama of the story does get to be too much, to the point of further slowing down the oomph of the film. Finally, another blow to the overall punch of the film is the fact that the story, while generally unique for what it is, remains prone to collapsing into the occasional convention that brings many of the aforementioned storytelling faults more to the forefront. The film is by no means perfectly clean, so don't go thinking that this is Ang Lee's masterpiece (Call me overly American, but I've got to give it up to "Brokeback Mountain", so to speak), but instead, just your average wuxia film, or at least that would be the case were it not for the fact that what this film does do that's unique is done considerably well. The film gets to be much too much quite often, yet much more often, it uses both restraint and even over-the-top for commendable results, especially with style that's this, well, not quite as good people say, but still really good.

Tan Dun's score isn't quite a killer as many say, nor is it even all that inventive, yet it is still distinctive and nifty, really adding a lot of audible texture to go with the visual texture set by Peter Pau's cinematography. Pau's photography isn't necessarily phenomenal either, yet it is handsome, with broadness in scope that accentuates the fine locations and production designs in an eye-catching fashion that, at times, leaves you feeling as though you're planted right in the middle of it all. Still, the stylistic moves that are as stellar as the critics are the action sequences, which are, as I've said time and again, too much on occasions, yet never short of remarkable, with staging and choreography that really knows how to play with the physics-breakery for some slickly awesome, if not breathtaking combat that really wakes you up, occasionally even to the story. Ang Lee can only go so far with the over-the-topness of the action before it loses its substance, yet he does manage to absorb plenty of the weight from the action, so it should almost go without saying that, when he's not figuring out how to work around some of the more over-the-top moments, Lee especially pronounces the compellingness of the story when the action dies down and characters are brought more to the forefront, and for that, credit doesn't just go out to Lee, but the people behind the characters. Now, choose you language track wisely, because I've heard bits and pieces from the English voice-over, and let me tell you, no one seemed to tell those cheeseball voice performers that this is supposed to have more depth than some mediocre, exaggerated anime (Yeah, as opposed to the down-to-earth anime), yet when it comes to the actual performances, in all of their original glory, the cast sure seems to know how things are done. Don't get me wrong, the critics are overboard again when they say that the acting is "stellar", yet it is strong, with leading lady Michelle Yeoh particularly standing out with charisma and a degree of compelling depth that, when married with her sharp chemistry with most every major member of the colorful cast, breathes a lot of spirit into the film. Now, pretty much the bottom line is that this film isn't as good as people say, and in several regards, yet at the end of the day, it reamins a rewarding film, with sweep, style and fine performances to spare, thus making for an experience that is both generally satisfying on both an aesthetic and visceral level.

Overall, the film gets to be too much in its active exaggerations, whether it be in action or melodrama, yet between the overly over-the-top are slow spots and even the occasional convention, making for a film that could have fallen as nothing more than an average wuxia flick, yet makes many more good moves than false, boasting handsome cinematography and a fine score to really liven up fine art direction and top-notch action - over-the-top though, it may be -, while Ang Lee's inspired direction and a myriad of colorful performances draw mostly engaging spirit from the compelling story and help in ultimately making "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a rewarding marriage of style and substance that makes for quite the good watch.

3/5 - Good.