Review of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016) by Quincytheodore — 26 Feb 2016

A smaller approach to the epic saga, a fine dance of blades nevertheless.

Bearing a legendary name can be either a blessing or a curse, "Sword of Destiny" is bound to be compared with its Oscar level predecessor. To be fair, the lack of Ang Lee's visual vision is truly apparent and the movie operates on smaller production as well, however that doesn't take away from its identifiable stylish choreography. This is a solid action martial art movie that is burdened by the legacy and expectation of its name.

Story resonates with the first movie in more ways than one. It has a couple of estranged romance plots in the backdrop of martial art world, which feels like an attempt to replicate the already proven formula. It's admittedly difficult not to be haunted by the ghost of the original, specifically since it doesn't have the same caliber of chemistry, for example the mentor-student relationship is clearly inferior to those of Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi had.

Still, "Sword of Destiny" has a couple of surprises. It works better when it’s trying to develop something of its own, although it's a difficult endeavor since the movie utilizes so many nostalgia angles. The subplot with younger couple is decent, it's one of the flashbacks which doesn't feel encumbering.

The antagonist side is actually interesting, with more sinister villain and henchmen. The female assassin is intriguingly strong, perhaps more than the ragtag army from opposite side. It also has strange witch character who gives prophecy. In a way the movie has archaic oriental touch like that of Dragon Tiger Gate. Unfortunately, they are not given more spotlight beyond typical bad guys.

Without Ang Lee, the visual is certainly different. The original had such gripping vistas, even more enchanted by the characters leaping through the air. That sense of liberation is now more constrained in plain or dark spaces. However, "Sword of Destiny" will not disappoint in the fighting department, in fact this is a more than decent showing for Wu Xia.

The action choreography is appropriately done. There's a benefit in having Woo Yuen Ping as director as he knows how to implement the scenes with fluidity. Fight scenes are gripping and intense, using the mix of blinding fast as well as technique strikes. It's one of the better displays of martial art genre, even compared to higher budget titles.

"Sword of Destiny" deals with the same predicament as the characters, it's haunted by the legend of Li Mu Bai, which is an inherited risk of donning the name "Crunching Tiger Hidden Dragon". It's quite unfortunate since it might distract audience from what is a good stylish action movie on its own.

PS: It seems Netflix version is in English, but the one shown in IMAX has Chinese dub with English subtitle.