Good story - bad rendering/ See Crouching Tiger...
| Overall Grade: | C+ |
| Story: | C |
| Acting: | D- |
| Direction: | B+ |
| Visuals: | B+ |
For a while now, I have enjoyed the gifted prowess and movie presentation of Jet Li. As a martial artist he is without equal, including the legendary Bruce Lee in his amazing abilities. To watch a movie with Li is to be assured that you will see something you thought was amazing. Having heard about the story before I saw the movie, I was excited about the prospect of this deeper plot with a great series of Jet Li combat events.
But when I saw this movie, I was mildly dissappointed. Li is, as per usual, beyond belief in his skills. But the engaging thoughts of a complex plot, in which the antagonist and hero are the same person, and where you must think the strategy of the movie as it unfolds-- all that dissappears with Hero. The plot is engaging, but it is poorly acted. Li remains a convincing character, but literally every other person is so maniacally empty and thoughtless, you feel like hitting your head against a wall as this thing drones on through the plot. And this is sad, because every other aspect of the film shines brilliantly.
The visuals, for example, are spectacular. Color, set, effects and motion are played so expertly together that you are transported to a surreal, but honest, place where things seem both heavenly and perfectly war-ridden. The symetry of design around the scenes, the flying arrows, the leaves, the colors of clothing- all of this is perfect.
The ability and execution of the martial arts scenes are amazing. The plot twists are believable and encouraging to the art. The direction seems like a chess master making his grand moves before declaring check-mate.
But the acting and the dialog decline into 60s Japanese martial arts dropouts. This saddened me because the idea of a man giving up his life for the peace of a nation was such a gracious and powerful thing to weave into a violent movie. It would have been wonderful if it was done well. But alas it was not.
The movie will still be good enough for martial arts fans to enjoy, and even a person new to the amazing Jet Li will like the film. But the failure of the supporting cast to make the dialog real delivers a death knell to any "epic" thoughts this director may have had.
I wanted to love this film, but in the end, I was only sad for it not making it to its hoped-for place of excellence.