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It's been billed through various channels as a martial arts movie--and it is--but it's unlike
anything you've ever seen. If you only like the campy kung fu of yesteryear, then this film won't
be for you. You don't get the drunken antics of Jackie Chan, monks from Shaolin dancing around with
buckets and blades, or 10,000 bullets sprayed in your face. It's fiction but not a total farce that
will insult your intelligence. It's some serious shit.
Ang Lee brings his expertise of drama (as seen in his past work like The Wedding Banquet
and Sense and Sensibility) along his appreciation for action, which is insane. You will see
some of the craziest wirework ever; walking on water and scaling trees and walls, it looks straight
out of a comic book. But maybe it's a little too over-the-top for a film that has such nice art
direction and budget. And at the same time, maybe there's not enough. You can go either way or right
down the middle, and be happy with what you get. Think of this as a Zhang Yimou film with martial
arts, and not a Jet Li flick.
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Not to slight the players in the film, though. The acting is topnotch. Unlike a lot of martial
arts films, you won't laugh when you're not supposed to, which says a lot. The casting is right
on and Chow Yun-Fat, cool as ice. You'll be lured, amazed, and satiated; this might be the first
kung fu movie that's over the top, but not out of control.
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