Review of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016) by Richard Y — 22 Feb 2016

This instalment is the fifth & last book originally titled "Iron Knight, Silver Vase (????)" of the Pantalogy series Crane-Iron Series (????), the previous one being the fourth book. Not as fantastical or drama ridden as the first possily due to different budgets and director but still intense enough and action filled to keep you interested.

The choreography of the sword fights are as usual immaculately staged and dynamically captured thanks to Yuen Wo Ping and his team. Donnie Yen looks tired and withdrawn possibly because the part demands it and Michele Yeoh sports constant red eyes throughout the film as if tears would spurt out any second! It's nowhere near as sad as the previous film nor is it as beautifully shot in a multitude of magnificent locations and spectacular sets but it still manages to keep me thrilled for the entire time, especially this being in Cantonese, although the dubbing leaves much to be desired, I can enjoy the image a whole lot more not having to read the subtitles! One complaint I have is the post processing of the print which gives it an overly blue tint which makes everything looking insipid or is that intentional?! One last thing, this being the first Netflix Original Film, it will be available on Netflix on Feb.

26 in your home, thus it's hard pressed to find a cinema showing it in HK or any other country where Netflix is available on a subscription basis.