moroboshi-3

Ang Lee is without question a talented director. He directed one of my favorite films, Eat Drink Man Woman, and went on to shift from heartwarming romantic comedy to... a martial arts film? This will tip you off that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is not your usual kung-fu slap fest. Whether or not this is a good thing depends on what you are looking for. If you are judging Crouching Tiger in comparison to the cinema as a whole, it's great. But if you're comparing it to other martial arts films on their own terms, I've seen better.

Some of the fight scenes are amazing, most notably the duel between the two female leads wherein they use pretty much every weapon known to man. But some of them are a little on the silly side, with more of a floaty, matrixy feel to them than I would have liked. One of the most disappointing scenes is where the younger female takes on a variety of silly combatants in a restaurant. This scene, ignoring it's similarity to countless others in martial arts farces past, is just too stupid to be funny, and is completely out of place in a movie of this variety.

As you have no doubt heard, Crouching Tiger is pitched as the movie to entertain both sides of the audience ("Mom will like the romance and drama, while Dad and the kids will cheer for the fastpaced fight scenes!") If you ask me, those looking for Chinese atmosphere and sweeping romantic drama will enjoy this far more than martial arts fanatics, and that is not putting down martial arts fanatics. The best thing about CTHD is the sweepingly beautiful cinematography, and the peerless direction by Ang Lee. In fact, the scene that stands out most, looking back on the film, is not a fight scene, but a graceful scene of Chow Yun-Fat practising with the green destiny in an empty courtyard.

In short, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is either a good martial arts flick or a great film. It's just that some are labelling it among other things "The most beautiful movie ever made" and "The best martial arts movie EVER", both of which are untrue. It's a shame that this mindless hyperbole has had to stain my memory of the film.

Considering that this film had the screenwriting and acting talent of Albert Brooks, one of the funnier writers in the industry, and the acting of Brendan Fraser (don't laugh, I actually think he's a pretty good actor), it was very disappointing to see it fizzle the way it did. It starts off great, with Brooks being banished to Mexico, and the Fraser character is amusing for a little while. Unfortunately, we get bogged down in the emotional trauma of Fraser's eccentric ballplayer, when we should be enjoying the silly antics we all came to see. Let's face it, the Fraser character should have been a wacky, yet lovable idiot, but instead is a whining, depressed, troubled person. This really doesn't work, since the story would easily have lent itself to a comedy, and Brooks still seems to think he's acting in one. I don't really know where this went wrong, I have a feeling that there were some conflicting ideas on the writing end, but this movie is best left on the shelf. If you want a great Albert Brooks film, see Defending Your Life.