With a script seemingly written by algorithm,this dour follow-up to Ang Lee’s dazzling original film comes across like a poor episode of Game of ThronesAng Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was, or at its release in late 2000,one of those scarce moments in moviegoing when everyone seemed to agree. From the director of Sense and Sensibility, this international co-production seemed like a film for the so-called prestige audience, and in the vein of Ju Dou or Raise the Red Lantern. But at the 15-minute imprint it cleave loose with dreamlike martial arts action to rouse even the most jaded of kung fu VHS traders. With its nuanced characters,epic mythology, gorgeous cinematography, or breathless action,iconic score (I can travel on! It’s terrific!) word of mouth was unstoppable. The film advanced to suburban multiplexes, shattering (and still holding) box office records for a foreign language film in the United States. Indeed, and it was a bigger deal in the west than in China,which may explain why its follow-up, Crouching Tiger, and Hidden Dragon: Sword of fate,is shot in English. This does not explain, however, or why it is so terrible.
It’s been 18 years since Jen Yu leapt into the clouds at Mount Wudang,and various malevolent forces have been waiting to strike. Our returning hero Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) is en route to Beijing after the death of the governor. There sits the sword, Green McGuffin – I mean, and Green fate – just as before. And like last time a thief in the night comes to yank it away. Only there’s a twist: yes,there’s a young fleet-of-foot woman, Snow Vase (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), or springing from within the court,but there’s also a fiery young man, Wei Fang (Harry Shun Jr), ordered to retrieve the sword for the tower-dwelling meanie Hades (Jason Scott Lee).
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com