Review by Dan Taylor
I
grew up on a steady diet of Dr. Shock's
Creature Double Feature (no surprise there)
and the much-maligned, but just as beloved
'Kung-Fu Theater.' Most weeks the story
was pretty much the same as the week before:
somebody trying to be Bruce Lee (and usually
named Li or Le) was out to avenge the murder
of their master, and lots of lines like
"Your kung-fu is very good, but not
as good AS MINE" got thrown around.
So much so that they became laughable cliches
through the years. Of course, there were
also those weeks when "Bruce"
had to fight a guy in a gorilla suit, but
that's a different story altogether.
So it came as a great shock
when Ang Lee, a director best known for
making touchy-feely family dramas unveiled
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, an epic
period piece martial arts fantasy that recalled
those revenge-driven "wuxia" stories.
Plus, it was garnering great buzz, starred
Chow Yun-Fat (last seen on these shores
doing the action thing in THE
CORRUPTOR), Michelle Yeoh (SUPER
COP), and 60s action star Cheng Pei
Pei (BIG DRUNK HERO, THUNDERING SWORD and
many more). So, how could it go wrong?
Now, if you've been reading
ER with any regularity through the years
this is where I start bitchin' and acting
like some elitist film snob, telling these
martial arts johnny-come-latelies that "I've
seen better" and "they shoulda
been there when we saw" fill in the
blank. Well, I'm not gonna do that. 'Cause
I finally got around to catching CTHD, and
it's a doozy.
Based on a novel by Wang Du
Lu, the flick stars Fat as a legendary swordsman
who has given his sword to a trusted friend.
When the sword is stolen by a masked thief,
it's up to Fat and his unrequited love (Yeoh)
to get the sword back, avenge the death
of his master at the hands of Jade Fox (Pei
Pei), and reunite two lovers whose story
in itself would've made a great movie!
While the story is a fabulous
blend of action, romance, and comedy not
seen on these shores in many a moon, it's
the ballet-like fight sequences (staged
by MATRIX choreographer Yuen Wo Ping) that
have left most audiences speechless. The
exquisite wire work features these superstars
leaping across rooftops, running up walls,
conducting swordfights in treetops (in one
of the most amazing scenes), and defying
gravity all in the name of your $7.50. And
god bless each and every one of 'em.
I can't recall another recent
film that successfully blended so many seemingly
disparate elements into a tale that's a
rousing adventure at one moment, and a heartwrenching
love story in the next. It easily deserves
the buzz that it has garnered and certainly
should receive an Oscar nod when the nominations
are announced less than 12 hours from now.
And I can't wait to see what
Lee does with his next project – an
adaptation of Marvel's 'Incredible Hulk.'
