Monday, January 2, 2023

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

After Kill BillIp Man, and Enter the Dragon, I sought "an all-around convincing martial arts movie." I don't have it, but with Crouching Tiger the genre is beginning to feel real.

It joins some of the strongest elements of the others, washed in a rapturous fantasy they lacked. The fundamentals were solid -- combat, special effects, narrative -- but it was the romantic/historical sweep that elevated Crouching Tiger. I was immersed, even as my cliche alarms rang.

I didn't expect such empathy for the characters. Previously I sensed a trend of characters as idols, worth worshipping or condemning, not adoring or pitying. Crouching Tiger, for its foreign stylings and far-fetched physics, touched unexpectedly near.

Still we have shallow archetype, absurd fighting. I'd be interested in a martial arts movie with skilled fighting that was a little more realistic, surrounded by subtler drama.

I need a lot more before I can love a movie like this, but I like it.

  1. Kill Bill
  2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  3. Ip Man
  4. Enter the Dragon

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