Review of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) by Forrest P — 26 Apr 2010

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a film that I've heard a lot about and has received a lot of hype. In times like this, I have to tune out the hype before going into the film. After seeing it and having mulled over it awhile, do I think it lives up to the hype? Well, that's a question I refuse to answer.

This a great-looking film and a mesmerizing achievement in choreography. Sometimes a little too much so. There are some action scenes that are beautifully choreographed, but it's done to the point that it's very obviously choreographed. And then there are all the wire stunts... Good gawd, did these filmmakers ever overdo it. Now, to be fair, I think it would be just about impossible to make these super-jumps look realistic, but the obviousness to these wired jumps was a little distracting.

That being said, nearly every sword fight was done with such precision and grace that I have rarely seen in movies. The strength in this movie relies much in the fight sequences, and they do, fortunately, deliver.

The acting is terrific, especially from Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi. These two actors have some incredible moments on screen, and any scene featuring both of them really is extraordinarily well done.

The art direction, acting, and fighting are all great in this movie, but director Ang Lee is the true star behind this endeavor. His direction is done extremely well. I can tell that hardly any of this film would have risen to much had it not been for his meticulous direction.

All in all, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a great film. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but definitely a must-see.

8/10.