Watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

It's hard to believe that's it's been over a decade since the release of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I remember seeing a little bit of it on TV. I bought the DVD years ago, but never felt the need to watch it until now. 

I do like how the movie is set back in the olden days of China. Chinese culture is deeply rooted in the film, and it's a pleasant theme. 

I just didn't dig the characters too badly though. The film's plot is rather weak, and the characters aren't that well developed. Jen Yu for example probably has the richest back-story of all, but her character seems rather impulsive and almost inhuman. It's more philosophical metaphors than sensible story-telling. 

The fighting scenes seemed to be the main draw of the film from the ads I remember, however they're rather pathetic. Wire Fu is about as stupid as it sounds, and the scenes aren't very exciting. Very little blood, and it's more dancing than combat.

The movie is easily one of the most over-rated films I've ever had the chance to watch. It's not bad, but it's certainly not the masterpiece of a film that American critics made it out to be. Maybe we were starving for a good story from the East, but I think we've been fed many better ones over the years.