Reader Feedback - by Mike E
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
Hey, Rose
Your review left out two major factoids: Chow Yun Fat is the king
of cool, so cool that he looked like a complete sword master despite
his never handling one before, and the fact that this is one of the
few Chinese language movies out there that sound like the people are
really speaking, that is thinking of something and saying it, rather
than racing through lines they had already memorized.
I always try to grade swordplay on a "Robin Hood" scale, with Errol
Flynn and Basil Rathbone on one end and Kevin Costner on the other.
Rathbone was an expert fencer who taught Flynn to sword fight properly,
to help the movie look right and to keep Flynn from accidentally hurting
him. Chow in "CTHD" definitely looks more like Flynn.
The speech speed thing in Chinese movies has bothered my for awhile.
At first I thought I just couldn't read the subtitles fast enough, but
then I noticed that people were responding too quickly. Maybe it is
a matter of trying to keep the film moving, or maybe they think the
dialog in action films is superfluous. But realistically, people usually
pause before responding, especially if it is a life-or-death situation
as in most action films. I liked that you could see Michelle Yeoh measuring
everything she said before she said it. She definitely should get more
English language roles.
Reader Feedback - by Dave Jennings
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
First, your review was pretty good, and once I'd seen the movie I
really agree with you.
What prompted this message was your 'Black Factor' section. You mentioned
Lo as a criminal. What you apparently missed were Lo's references to
'the Han'. He used this term until Jen pointedly said, "I'm Manchu".
The Children of Han are China's dominant culture/race. They're who we
usually think of as Chinese. Apparently Lo isn't Han, he's a member
of a minority group. So its even worse - Jen didn't just fall for a
criminal, he's a different race. The Manchu, who Jen was one of (another
minority), ruled China at this time. ( the Ching dynasty). So a daughter
of the highest social class fell for a son of one of the lower. There
is definitely a minority angle to this movie, one that Chinese audiences
wouldn't miss.
Reader Feedback - by Brooks Davis
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
Awful. Superb cinematography, but awful screenplay. We certainly saw
this movie differently, Bams.
I saw it tonight with a friend. If he hadn't liked it, I would have
left the theatre. I was looking at my watch - it felt like three hours.
I was concentrating on finishing my popcorn. I was saying to myself,
"Stop the pain." I was picturing myself banging my head on the seat
in front of me.
I actually liked the first 40 minutes. I liked Yun-Fat and Yeoh, and
I found Zhang Ziyi attractive. I liked the first fight between the two
women. I liked the gentle establishment of the relationship between
the two older lead actors, their interest in settling down, and tying
together the plot with the sword. Nothing original, but still solid
storytelling. Afterwards, the narrative started to fragment with that
ridiculous showdown with the old woman and the revenge angle.
I thought that the only groundbreaking thing about it was the cinematography.
Otherwise, what I saw is what I've seen with other action/adventure
movies that try to rise above their station. It tried to make profound,
universal meditations on the human condition, tell too many stories,
and pile on too many developments. It could have been a simple, entertaining,
comic-book tale of either a pair of adventurers with a love interest
trying to solve the mystery of a theft, or the story of a juvenile delinquent
with super-powers trying to discover herself - but it got pretentious
and tried to be both.
It certainly wasn't groundbreaking with regard to the strong-super-heroine
theme. Xena: Warrior Princess has been doing that for years on
TV far more effectively with the same demand to suspend disbelief of
the ridiculous flying. I've been exposed to so much of this sort of
feminist agenda in my lifetime that I don't understand why people still
make a big deal out of it. And I still don't buy it! Old women and little
girls taking out whole gangs. Please! Give me a break!
Those old Bruce Lee movies, in which guys actually got hard-core,
despite their inferior film quality, were ten times what this over-rated,
pretentious, nearly-throw-away, semi-entertainment was.
I'm not shocked that it has an Oscar Best Picture nomination, though.
People who think American Beauty was great are capable of awarding
the next Lethal Weapon sequel. Gladiator deserves to win
more than Hidden Panda because, using similar plot elements,
it actually shows how to film a professional screenplay.
Cheers,
Brooks Davis
Victoria, BC, Canada
