Kung fu movies are generally difficult to get a feel for. They tend to be different from other genres in terms of acting, shooting and especially action. When it comes to the pedigree of these movies, first “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is about as good as it gets. But sequel,”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny” has little in common with the original except for its name, and only has a few relatively entertaining fight scenes.
In terms of acting and script, almost every character speaks in monotone no matter the situation, and facial expressions rarely change from vaguely bored. Some of the dialogue might be lost in translation, but some of it just seems stilted.
Michelle Yeoh (“Strike Back”) reprises her role as Yu Shu-Lien, but all the magic of the original film has been lost. The cast, save for a relatively good performance from Snow Vase (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), does not seem like they want to be there.
Generally, sound design in the film is also hard to handle. This film uses the sound of a sword to accompany the swinging of a stick as well as some questionable sound effects in other situations.
The cinematography, while shining in a few of the fight scenes, is riddled with shot/reverse shots adding nothing to the film. These fight scenes are the saving grace of this movie, providing some interesting, fun and somewhat inventive choreography to a movie that needs it desperately. These scenes are really all that kept this movie from feeling ten hours long, but they just cannot hide the glaring flaws of the rest of the film.
This film, to put it simply, is uninspired. The original was beautiful, subtle and all around a wonderful watch, but the association of that film with this one makes it obvious why this was made — it could make money. The actors seemed bored, the filmmaking was mostly competent but unremarkable and the script was sometimes just plain awful.
When looking for a kung fu movie that’s engaging, watch the original “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “The Raid,” or even “Supercop.” But this film’s few and far between fight scenes that barely hold one’s interest do not make this film worth a watch. Skip this one — some dragons are meant to stay hidden.
