Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Viewer Comments

Viewer Comments Viewer Comments:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
All Content Used With Permission.


TIP: Log In to enable enhanced Interact features.NEED HELP?

    by XslaveX




I don't get art films and I never will or want to. This film is completely overrated and stupid. Just because this was the first, quote unquote, kung fu film that hit the mainstream portion of American society (or so I heard) does not make it authentic or original.

The story went nowhere as we delve deep into the bowels of a chick called Zhang Ziyi, whose rebellious nature gets her in trouble with a crappy sword. Then she screws some bandit and starts fights. Meanwhile, Chow Yun-Fat is on a never-ending quest to find the Jade Fox and kill her to avenge his master. Yes this is the story and moronic art film lovers cry over this crap.

I've heard there was a saying pertaining to the floating scene with Zhang and Chow: "their bodies are doing what their hearts cannot." What does this mean, exactly? This is exactly why I hate art films. Nothing makes sense. Oh sure, one must figure out the complexity in order to justify its meaning, but the question remains, does one even care? I can only get psychological stuff when come to perplexities. Art is just nonsensical to me and I am an artist. An oxymoron I am and proud of it.

The action is good with Yuen Wo Ping's brilliant choreography, plus the music implemented with each fight scene with drum banging mayhem, but it doesn't save the movie because of its extremely tedious pacing.

COMPLETELY INCOHERENT AND OVERRATED!!!!!! How a film like this can be loved is beyond my comprehension. 2 stars is too kind coming from me because I can't stand art films, but regardless, the film deserves credit for the action and music. The story goes nowhere and the pacing is like turtles having sex.

AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
NThis is a 4.25 story and 5.00 cinematography.Jeffrey Frawley
YA pretentious pile, for sure...!JAY LEE
NBig huge thumbs down to your review. Sorry. If you think this story is stupid then I don't know how you tolerate the "stories" of most kung fu films. Someone has to try something different once in awhile.Choco
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by Jorok


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by Mantis Style
    www.ropeofsilicon.com/


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by purfectcom


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by DB45098


"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is my favorite movie of all-time!

Before I saw it in theatres, I had no idea what the movie was about, nor did I see any trailers. It does start off a bit slow, but as soon as we see the first evening fight scene between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi the movie kicks into high gear. I still recall the theatre roaring with applause and cheers at the end of the fight.

"Crouching Tiger" is a great example of a character-driven kung-fu movie. Ang Lee masterfully weaves the stories of the movie's main characters, and the actors deliver spectacular performances. While there are some awesome fight scenes, the focus of the movie is in its characters and their predicaments.

I cannot recommend this movie enough! It definitely has all the elements of an Oscar worthy movie: spectacular cinematography, a haunting score, and incredible direction.

AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
YSuperb, even with the fantastical wire-heavy action.TheDenizen
YNot my favorite movie, but I really did love it. Many serious kung fu film fans dismiss this film for its fantastical wire-heavy action, but if you can go with the flow and experience the film as a whole, there's plenty there to love.Choco
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by 100pr00f
    Wutang-corp.com


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by DeathShrike


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by MA12204


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by ML1342


LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by Jeffrey Frawley




I'd like to give this 5 stars for the acting and cinematography, but the martial arts are most impressive to viewers who haven't seen the best of real Wuxia action. This is a wonderful, relatively painless introduction of the heroic Chinese errant swordsman genre, but most of what Western critics praised as originality is a careful duplication of the genre norms - which were established and perfected more than 40 years previously. As far as the fighting goes, Michelle Yeoh fills her role extremely well, with a grace far beyond the other stars. Chow Yun Fat is a very fine actor who was wise enough to stay out of Wuxia action before this film. Zhang Ziyi may be an acquired taste: I found her lovely and charming, although my Western sensibilities find her character's behavior unforgivable. Although she is quite graceful, Michelle Yeoh eclipses her in all aspects of fighting. It was very pleasing to see the wonderful Cheng Pei Pei in the genre that made her a star.
AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
NThere is nothing special about this film. Just a long, boring self-indulged piece of garbage with flowy art to stimulate the mind. Whoopee-doodles. Cry me a river. :pXslaveX
YWhile I agree that it is rather humorous to see Western critics call it original, I would still give the film 5 stars as I feel its a distillation of many of the best elements of the Wuxia pian. Including the wirework.Iron Mantis
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by TheDenizen


Modern wuxia pian awesomeness. Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh are both beautiful and deadly, and Chow Yun Fat is appropriately zen. Bonus points for the inclusion of wuxia queen Cheng Pei Pei as the Jade Fox.
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by Garvinstomp




Now, I know a lot of people don't love this movie. But hear me out before you disagree.

I acknowledge that this film was made with a western audience in mind. That means that as a typical wuxia film it is watered-down by comparison. It was also apparent that they tried to do a lot with the script, probably too much, so as to please the arthouse crowd.

Because of those things I can't review it as a traditional HK film. Also, this movie was the final part in a three-part process that was absolutely critical to American cinema.

Part 1: The introduction of Jet, Jackie, Michelle, John, Chow, Tsui and Ringo to American audiences. It got them used to seeing the kung fu, the wires, and stylistic, kinetic bullet ballet.

Part 2: "The Matrix". "The Matrix" took HK choreography, wires and all, and made it mainstream acceptable. Sure, a lot of our directors tried it and failed, but at least the audience was ready for it (and even now anticipating it).

Part 3: "Crouching Tiger". A full Asian film, starring Asian actors, loaded with HK choreography and stylish wirework. A film that 5 years prior would have been an arthouse flick, at best, was now a mainstream, widely accepted, critically acclaimed, award winning film. This film finally made it acceptable to import more and more of HK to our shores.

Look at what has happened since this film came out. Look how many more Asian action films find their way to our theaters...and not just the little theaters. We've been given Dragon Dynasty so we can get great picture quality, no editing to our movies, subtitles that actually mean something, and extras that have translation to them. Asian re-makes are all the rage in the US. And on and on. . .

As an up and coming filmmaker who grew up watching all the great classic asian action films, it is now acceptable for me to incorporate a true HK style into my work. When I tell the studio I want to hang 2 of my actors from wires and have them fly around fighting one another, there's no fights or strange looks. Hellboy 2 was loaded with wire work. And we owe it all to CTHD.

Besides that I do enjoy the film immensely. I got a little choked-up during the first fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi when people in the theater were cheering, watching something I'd known existed for decades. Better late than never.

Wo Ping is a true artist, and CTHD gave him the talent and the leeway to create- talent and leeway that the Matrix was lacking. The visuals are spectacular. The performances are incredible. I always liken Chow to Morgan Freeman. No matter what role they play, they always bring a certain degree of respect and sophistication, with just a hint of the regal, to it.

It is a fantastic movie. And more than that, it is an important movie. No, it is not pure HK. It is watered-down and it does have its flaws. But I love it and I will always be grateful to it for the doors it opened.

AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
YThe flying swordsman, a conceit so often derided by modern western audiences, is not really a new corruption, but an integral part of wuxia pian. No, it isn't realistic: It isn't even meant to be. Not the greatest wuxia pian, this is a respectable one.Jeffrey Frawley
NThis movie falls prey to the "arthouse syndrome" ie the notion that being dense and boring at times is somehow a virtue. And "thanks" to this movie, most people associate the genre with a ridiculous amount of over-the-top, unnecessary and silly wirework.MS10197
YI do agree with all the points stated here and it was an excellent film to open the doors to Asian cinema marketing but I will always have a chip on my shoulder for how this film bastardizes classic Asian cinema and martial arts in general. Valid points.Bastard Ronin
YJV47842
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by Movie Freak


The film is great but overrated due to the fact that westerners have never really seen wuxia films. The acting is excellent and the film is gorgeous, but the story felt a little bit corny. The film is like many wuxia films seen before, but the new technology allows Ang Lee to show wuxia like never before. You have to give it props too since it opened up more oppurtunities for foreign films to enter the U.S., just as Bruce Lee's "Enter The Dragon" did. It's a classic in its own right as a film, and for giving oppurtunites for more overseas films to be viewed.
AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
YYou are reading this correctly. A very good film is seen by westerners as something new, which it is not.Jeffrey Frawley
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by KanYozakura


A brilliant, must-see drama. The extensive wire-fu knocks it down a peg for me, but everything else is ace. See it!
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by Bastard Ronin




POSSIBLY CONTROVERSIAL BUT COMPLETELY HONEST REVIEW WARNING: You might not like it but somebody's got to say it. Holy overhyped bowl of piss on the classics, Batman! Many folks are calling this one of the greatest martial arts movies of all time but I can give you one reason that it will never make the all time top twenty. All the greats star REAL martial artists! Only one of the three main stars is a real martial artist--oh yeah and the villian, but Cheng Pei Pei is getting old, campers. She ain't what she used to be. I guess the biggest problem with the movie is that it was a Chinese kung fu/fantasy that was tailor made for the viewing sensibilities of western audiences. Mistake #1. In doing that and trying to expand to a wider crowd it winds up detracting from the offering for true Asian cinema fans by recycling so many themes that it just becomes insulting. Now, I never read the comic but I hope to god that it is better than the writing in the movie. The story of the film is basically a hodge podge collection of every single kung fu movie plot device and stereotype ever used such as: secret style, legendary hero, legendary weapon, young martial arts prodigy, forbidden romance, warrior student(who has become a master) seeks revenge of master's death by super villan, wise master must enlighten young upstart, etc. What brings the horrible generic plot together is the wonderful performances of the cast which are all quite noteworthy. I also think that something should be said of Zhang Ziyi. What is wrong with you folks making this bitch famous just because she's, what, cute? She does not look all that great or convincing doing martial arts. Apparently, now, everyone with some kind of dance background is all of a sudden a martial arts/action star. $#@*&^*!!!!! Michelle Yoeh and some phenomenal choreography from Yuen Wo Ping that is nothing short of brilliant kind of save this movie from becoming a complete Chinese/Hollywood bastardization of the classics. It is honestly a beautiful and entertaining movie and if you haven't had too much exposure to Asian cinema then I would say it's a four to four and a half star movie. However, if you have already seen most of the movies that this flick bites off then you will get where I'm coming from.

TWENTY MOVIES THAT KICK THE SHIT OUT OF "CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON" IN EITHER MARTIAL ARTS OR OVERALL GRANDEUR: (in no particular order)

  1. "Seven Samurai"
  2. "Once Upon A Time In China"
  3. "Fist Of Legend"
  4. "A Man Called Hero"
  5. "Seven Swords"
  6. "In The Line Of Duty 4"
  7. "Tom Yum Goong"
  8. "Ong Bak"
  9. "Iron Monkey" (the Tsui Hark one)
  10. "Prodigal Son"
  11. "Enter The Dragon"
  12. "Blade Of Fury"
  13. "Hero" (Jet Li)
  14. "Dragons Forever"
  15. "SPL"
  16. "Dragon Tiger Gate"
  17. "Lone Wolf And Cub" (all of them)
  18. "Versus"
  19. "Duel To The Death"
  20. "Star Wars" (again, all of them)
AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
YWhile I rate this higher than you do, each of your concerns is valid. Rather than a revolutionary departure, the film is a very competent retread of what had come before, with strong cinematography and art direction. Zhang Ziyi's character is a problem.Jeffrey Frawley
YThe story was completely incoherent. What the hell do people mean that when these people fly, their bodies are doing what their hearts aren't? THIS IS ART FILM RETARDATION AT IT'S PEAK!XslaveX
YI completely agree with you assessment. Personally, I give it 5 stars. But, my reasoning is very different. Someday I'll get that review up.Garvinstomp
NKungfuManiac
NYuen Wo ping choreograph this picture- with his abilities & talent he makes any actor look amazing. Did you see the Matrix? wires can be great, & with this picture it did. Just because it is hyped up to Westerners you don't like it tht does not make senseRhonda Bale
NAshley
YI think you may have rated this one a little too highly. But I am glad someone is willing to puncture the hype balloon that is Crouching Tiger. This movie seems to have been made to appeal to people who read the New Yorker. Too much wirework also.MS10197
YI agree with everything that has been stated - This will never be a classic in the same way non real fu fans will consider the Matrix and Kill Bill having legendary fu status - I would Have to say Hero was a far Superior movie on every levelkangkane
YYou said everything I would say! So now I don't have to write a review of this movie... just saved me some time buddy, thanks.JAY LEE
YIt's true, Zhang ZIyi, she's really not that great. I remember when this film came out in theaters I wasn't that impressed, I've been watching kung fu flix my whole life. But this movie open a lot of doors to people who never saw a martial arts pic.JV47842
YP.S. Zhang Ziyi = overrated and not that hot.Choco
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by DongFangSue


One of the best wu xia/kung fu movies ever. And THE BEST ONE among those made in 2000 and after.
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by AP34227


Simply one of the greatest martial arts films ever.
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by WuxiaFan


This is one of the greatest martial art films of all time.
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by mike lee


Very good film, worth keeping, but the same problem with "Hero": not enough fights. The showdown is so weak, I wish they had a better showdown with good fights.
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by The 8th Sword
    sourceofthefist.freehostia.com/wordpress/


An intimate and stimulating introduction to China's inner beauty and depth as its theatrical US release signified the mark of a new era: the crossover of wuxia into American cinema. Stunning performances from the film's principle stars Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Cheng Pei Pei and Zhang Ziyi channel emotion from its viewers and tap into our humanity, deeming this movie as one of the world's most poetic and spiritual martial arts epics of our generation.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "House Of Flying Daggers", "Hero", and "The Promise"

LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by mark wright




Is there any way to [give this film a negative rating out of 5 stars]? The reason I ask is this movie has done more damage to hong kong cinema than good!!!

Who remembers what hk cinema was like before Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung? Tons of cheap kung fu movies that involved people flying in the air, just like this movie (see where I'm going with this?).

I went in to watch this movie expecting a lot, I thought 'finally hk cinema get the praise it deserves'. I came with a sick taste in my mouth, thinking about the likes of Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and the great Bruce Lee who are the real kung fu stars. They made the kung fu cinema and this film enjoyed the pleasure of destroying their hard work.

Not only that, what about the real kung fu stars that are trying to get in to the market they are going to be over looked because of the special effects used. why do people like this tribute to the crap of hk cinema? overall the movie has set back hk cinema 20 years and for what, trying to do things that aren't possible because Jackie Chan has done everthing possible.

Sorry for writing a bad review but I felt that this movie was that bad and with all the good reviews it won't hurt.

AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
Yperfect score.XslaveX
NI agree with somethings you say about the possibility of special effects laden clone movies, but for entertainment it deserves at least 2 stars for the acting.Sgt. T
LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



    by SD3545



I've been a fan of HK cinema for a while now, and CTHD is the best swordplay movie I've seen since Tai Chi Masters.

The disappearance of a magical jade sword spurs a breathtaking quest for the missing treasure. Li is embittered by the loss of his jade sword, and his unrequited pursuit of Yu is further complicated by the mysterious intrusion of an assassin.

The identity of the assassin is gradually unveiled as another poignant tale of love begins to ravel with that of Li and Yu against the backdrop of Western China's magnificent landscape.

It was odd seeing Chow Yun-Fat in this sort of movie. I'm used to him in straight forward action movies like The Killer or Hard Boiled but he pulls this one off pretty good. He looks just as cool with a sword as he does with a gun.

Probably my only beef with this movie is the over use of wire-fu. For those of you who don't know wire-fu has bee used in HK cinema as over exaggerating peoples movement; jumping really high and hitting multiple opponents with kicks. In CTHD, Ang Lee went a little overboard, and in close ups of the characters running on the rooftops you can see the wire. They were night shots and lights reflected off the wire ever so slightly.

This movie was well worth the price of admission, and you literally experience a sense of awe watching this movie, especially when the characters are flying through the bamboo.

LOG IN TO COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW!



CLOSE THIS WINDOW

This window is a "pop-up" from at HKFlix.com.
If you've arrived here from somewhere else,
please CLICK HERE for our home page!