I liked
Crouching Tiger for its romance, its beautiful choreography... and of course Zhang Ziyi
. I didn't like it as a movie with martial arts as its selling point, which unfortunately was what it was portrayed as by film critics in the Western media. It was a good wuxia film, and stood apart from others because of its big budget, and highly focused narrative.
The movie had an indifferent reception in Asia, because to those who had grown up on such films, it wasn't anything above average. In fact I watched it twice, with differerent friends, all of Asian background, and everyone walked away disappointed. Everyone felt it wasn't very different from what they had grown up on. Interestingly, all my North American friends were left delighted by the movie.
My point is that to appreciate that movie, you have to take the maritals arts as the salad dressing. If you've watched a lot of wuxia film, you will note that at some point the story twists can get too ridiculous, and the narrative can resort to too many cliches. That's where
Crouching Tiger was different; where suspension of disbelief came easily.
But yes, the action sequences weren't terribly exciting. It was the sort of film that appealed especially -- not solely -- to those who wouldn't be caught dead watching a martial arts movie. In the end, the hype coming from those who suddenly felt "cultured" by liking
Crouching Tiger, may have ruined the experience for everyone else.
edit:
Must add that
Hero was pretty awesome.
