this movie was doing so well until the end

I’d already seen _Hero_, so going into this I knew I could expect mindblowing action and visuals. I wasn’t disappointed in that regard, it’s one amazing set piece after the other and they’re all filled with innovative stunts, precise editing, fantastic camerawork and lots of creative ideas. Sure, the cartoonish nature is sometimes pushed a little too far and some of the CGI isn’t great, but the action is overall excellent. The use of colour, especially green, really stands out. I love how you can tell they took some minor influence from _Lord of the Rings_ with some of the shots. The score is also beautiful. However, I’m not entirely om board with the romance and character work. The way the film treats rape and expects the audience to still stay on board with the character who commits it is very strange. This isn’t just a flawed character, he’s (in my eyes) impossible to root for. It also makes the Mei character seem weak by how she keeps falling for this person over and over again. It was all getting to a point where the film started to lose me in the third act, which is where it really zooms in on the love triangle and characters. It redeems itself with a pretty great final fight, even though I wasn’t emotionally engaged because I couldn’t care less who would end up on top. 6/10

I was completely sold until about halfway through the bamboo forest and end. Unreal visuals. Mei is stunning and Jin is charming.

What a beautiful-looking film this is. Resplendent with colour and culture both. This came as a suggestion after watching [[Hero (2002)]]. Xiaoding Zhao's cinematography made the countryside look fabulous. The colours just came alive in all the seasons. It is a martial art romance film. On those grounds also, the movie holds up. A rebellion is underway. The House of Flying Daggers poses a threat to the Tang Dynasty. A young blind woman is captured who is likely the daughter of the leader of the rebellion. So one of the general's men breaks her free in the hope that she will lead them to the hideout of the rebellion. They journey together for 3 days and slowly start to care for each other. It's worth watching how the story unfolds from there. There are several action sequences. It was welcoming to see that even the cannon fodder class of soldiers are shown as really good fighters. The sequences are choreographed well. There are a few physics-defying scenes, but they don't leave a store taste in your mouth. In the early part of the film, there is a curious game of echoes. That was a fresh concept which I loved. Western action movies usually follow a muted greyish colour palette. Even the beautiful ones like [[Nicolas Winding Refn]]'s [[Drive (2011)]] or [[Edgar Wright]]'s [[Baby Driver (2017)]] characteristically feel American. In such times, it is a pleasure to watch a vivid colour palette with a wide gamut. This was China's official entry to the Academy Awards and I think I see why. The execution is a bit slow. Especially during the emotional scenes, the actors have too long shots to continue emoting to a point where even a well-established actor would struggle. That could be why the movie never reached the finalists at the Oscars. I enjoyed Hero, and I enjoyed this one too.

A lengthy and slow paced movie which didn't touch me. Two stars for the good action sequence (there were much too few of those). Another two stars for the beautiful scenery in which the film was shot.