A lot of reviews have been rating this movie quite low. It seems most people are disappointed that it is not the first movie. There are a lot of differences with this sequel, mainly being the overall tone and look of the film.
The original is always heralded as a classic, and a lot of people from the West go on about its originality. Martial Arts movie fans will know that these types of films were a common genre in the past. None of them were as well produced as Crouching Tiger, other than possibly Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time (1994).
Although filmed in English, this feels much more like a traditional Hong Kong martial arts film from the 70's or 80's. Some of the dialogue is slightly stilted in it's delivery but doesn't sound ridiculous as others have commented on. The romantic aspects of the original have been toned down, and the pulpy adventure aspects have been pushed to the front. This is not a bad thing, as the film has a number of excellent fight scenes throughout. The film site Joblo said that the fight scenes were poor. Personally they must have watched a different movie, as all the action was well done. The action may not compare to the original, but is still excellent.
On the performance side, Yeoh and Yen are definitely the stars here. Yeoh reprising her role from the original is excellent as always, although does get a bit short changed in the finale. Yen is the main focus with the action, and as always works well with director Yuen Wo Ping. The best fight is his fight with Harry Shum Jr, Roger Yuan and himself on a frozen lake.
The two younger leads in the film don't make as much of an impact, especially when compared to Chang Chen and Zhang Ziyi in the original. Jason Scott Lee is a pantomime villain in the best sense, and does well in his fight scenes, although is carrying a considerable bit of weight since his Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story days.
On the direction front, Yuen Wo Ping is no Ang Lee, but that isn't really a problem due to the type of film that this version of Crouching Tiger is, being a pulpy action adventure. The locations have also been commented on, as the movie has been shot in New Zealand and not China. I actually liked this aspect as it gave the movie a different look than usual.
The original is always heralded as a classic, and a lot of people from the West go on about its originality. Martial Arts movie fans will know that these types of films were a common genre in the past. None of them were as well produced as Crouching Tiger, other than possibly Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time (1994).
Although filmed in English, this feels much more like a traditional Hong Kong martial arts film from the 70's or 80's. Some of the dialogue is slightly stilted in it's delivery but doesn't sound ridiculous as others have commented on. The romantic aspects of the original have been toned down, and the pulpy adventure aspects have been pushed to the front. This is not a bad thing, as the film has a number of excellent fight scenes throughout. The film site Joblo said that the fight scenes were poor. Personally they must have watched a different movie, as all the action was well done. The action may not compare to the original, but is still excellent.
On the performance side, Yeoh and Yen are definitely the stars here. Yeoh reprising her role from the original is excellent as always, although does get a bit short changed in the finale. Yen is the main focus with the action, and as always works well with director Yuen Wo Ping. The best fight is his fight with Harry Shum Jr, Roger Yuan and himself on a frozen lake.
The two younger leads in the film don't make as much of an impact, especially when compared to Chang Chen and Zhang Ziyi in the original. Jason Scott Lee is a pantomime villain in the best sense, and does well in his fight scenes, although is carrying a considerable bit of weight since his Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story days.
On the direction front, Yuen Wo Ping is no Ang Lee, but that isn't really a problem due to the type of film that this version of Crouching Tiger is, being a pulpy action adventure. The locations have also been commented on, as the movie has been shot in New Zealand and not China. I actually liked this aspect as it gave the movie a different look than usual.