Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Sword of Destiny - Shadow of a Classic

[Marter]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Sword of Destiny - Shadow of a Classic

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is the latest Netflix movie, and while it can't live up to the original - and suffers from any comparison - it's actually okay.

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[Hartland]

Some text disappeared in to the link right around here:

He initially sends just a single thief, Wei-Fang (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Wei-Fang gets captured, while Snow Vase becomes Shu Lien's apprentice.

It should probably read as:

He initially sends just a single thief, Wei-Fang (Harry Shum, Jr.), but he fails to acquire it after being thwarted by another thief, Snow Vase (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Wei-Fang gets captured, while Snow Vase becomes Shu Lien's apprentice.

OT: Did not have the original fresh in mind when I watched it and the most connections me and my friend could make was like: "That previous lover guy they are talking about was Chow Yun Fat, right?" and "Was that the chick who stole the sword the first time? Maybe?" With low expectations an amiable time was had. The fighting was wuxia goodness. Some of the humour fun. The plot was predictable with a few long flashbacks that explained what was not obvious.

The score of 3 is probably right, but I do not entirely agree that it is inseparable from its predecessor. 16 years are a long time for some of us you know. =)

 

[Marter]

Some text disappeared in to the link right around here

Thanks. That was odd. But it should be fixed now!

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Yeeaaaahno. I adored the original, so I'm just going to merrily pretend this film doesn't exist and never watch it. Bizarre that they went with English language, too. That alone's almost enough to put me off for good.

Also, no Tan Dun score (which was practically its own character in Ang Lee's film), but they do have Drive's DP (Newton Thomas Sigel)? The trailer really doesn't make it look worthy of that guy's talent - it looks cheap as chips compared to the original.

 

[Albino Boo]

It was Ang Lee's direction, Chow Yun Fat's and Michelle Yeoh's acting that lifted an above average genre script into something more. It was the arthouse sensibility of Lee's direction that allowed the depth of characterisation to come from the the two actors. I watched the new one and it's wasn't lifted because of by the numbers direction and an average script. There was no attempt to reach beyond the audience of the average martial arts film.

 

[Baresark]

Honestly, the thing about the original was... it wasn't THAT good. It was a kung fu flick for people who hate kung fu flicks. I wouldn't expect a sequel this late to do anything besides emulate what the first did, not actually seek to improve on the original at all. As always, if you like it, it was clearly for you. The original was not for me, and after reading this review, I know the sequel is not either.

 

[Albino Boo]

Honestly, the thing about the original was... it wasn't THAT good. It was a kung fu flick for people who hate kung fu flicks. I wouldn't expect a sequel this late to do anything besides emulate what the first did, not actually seek to improve on the original at all. As always, if you like it, it was clearly for you. The original was not for me, and after reading this review, I know the sequel is not either.

If you want to watch a a kung fu flick, this is for you. Its bog standard Kung Fu flick. I will disagree about the original, it wasn't for people that hated Kung Fu flicks but for people who like character and plot as things in their own right. not just links between action sequences. Its like saying the Godfather is for people who hate gangster flicks.

 

[hermes]

I have the same feeling about Crouching Tiger that I have about movies like Gravity. Yes, it is decent, but it is not the best in the genre. It is just the first movie in the genre a lot of people experienced and it has established actors and directors attached to them. It is not the best Wuxia out there, only the best we got (due to distribution conflicts, mostly)

 

[tzimize]

The original was, and is EXCELLENT. It is beautiful, with some fantastic performances, both in the acting and martial arts department. The chemistry between the leads is nothing short of explosive. There are many good themes, even the villain is great, and particularly impressive considering her limited screentime.

The absolute standout moment for me is the fight between stick and sword. Absolutely excellent. Michelles fight is also all kinds of great. The real winner though is the subtle and denied romance between the leads, which is also why the ending is so extremely impactful.

I absolutely adore it.

I'll probably watch this too, but my expectations are very, very low.

 

[Souplex]

I actually didn't care much for the original.
I love kung-fu movies, but I find wire-fu to be dull. Everything feels weightless, nothing has crunch.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

I totally agree with the post above. I mean, insofar as I can without having watched the original. But what little wire-fu I have seen gives me no desire to see any more of it. It feels meaningless. It doesn't even look cool, compared to a more impactful fight like Jackie Chan made a living with. That is something the actors and stunt specialists actually, physically did. Even in The Matrix the wire stunts didn't cheapen the action like it does in Crouching Tiger.