Review of House of Flying Daggers (2004) by Dave M — 21 Oct 2008
An interesting, if not totally refreshing, mixture of Robin Hood and Romeo and Juliet, done up in it's best Wire-Fu finery. House of Flying Daggers' connection to and inspiration by both Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon and Hero is quite obvious (and stems farther than Zhang Ziyi); suffice to say, if those films rocked your cinematic world, so too will this.
The plot was so beautifully executed that it's obtuse nature is easily forgivable. Zhang and Kaneshiro, especially, were excellent, and as with any story about star-crossed lovers, they had to be: the whole film was made the better for it. The over-the-top choreography and cinematography (aiding the mythological proportions of the film) are no less impressive than what we've seen before. Consequently, they are no more impressive, either.
The use of colour, I think, was done much better in Hero, and the wire-fu action more accomplished in Crouching Tiger. However, arguing which one is best is akin to comparing the original Star Wars trilogy, in a sense. All have great merit.
This review of House of Flying Daggers (2004) was written by Dave M on 21 Oct 2008.
House of Flying Daggers has generally received very positive reviews.
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