Synopsis:

The disappearance of a magical jade sword spurs a breathtaking quest for the missing treasure. Li is embittered by the loss of his jade sword, and his unrequited pursuit of Yu is further complicated by the mysterious intrusion of an assassin. The identity of the assassin is gradually unveiled as another poignant tale of love begins to ravel with that of Li and Yu against the backdrop of Western China's magnificent landscape.

Brian's Rating: A : I find it hard to believe that the director who made the first Hulk movie is the same one who made this film.  Hulk was a terrible movie, while this movie rocks, and has the awards to prove it.  It employs the mystical martial arts fighting style that is also seen in "Hero" and sampled a bit in "The Matrix".  I have more commentary in my review of "Hero", but I like the juxtaposition of Kung Fu meets "The Force".

When compared with "Hero", this movie is similar, however I would say it is put together a little better.  Within the action of fighting is a tragic love story, along with a revenge story.  It is put together in a poetic way, and becomes a gripping tale.

Although this movie was made better than Hero, my criticism with it falls on what I consider to be a gaping plot hole.  The girl, Jen, from the story is told to have been learning the mystical Wudan fighting technique for the past 10 years, starting at age 8.  In a flashback scene where she meets and eventually falls in love with a nomadic bandit, Dark Cloud, she is captured by him and eventually comes to respect him.  The problem is, the fighting skills we see from her are more than enough to account for handling Dark Cloud and avoiding capture.  It is hard to believe that she had none of her skills a mere 2 years earlier (at the most).  I would give this movie an A+ if I could find a good way to rationalize this seeming plot hole.

Still, the move is amazing, and if you do not mind subtitles, watch it in the original Mandarin.

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