House of Flying Daggers
House of Flying Daggers: That was a lot of fun. If you’ve seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you’ve more or less seen this, except that the focus (in terms of action) was less on jumping and flying and more on doing amazing things with weapons. If you didn’t like Crouching Tiger, for one thing you’re crazy, and for another thing you won’t engage with this probably. The plot revolves around the police unveiling an underground subversive group (the Flying Daggers of the title) and a girl playing with the affections of those around her, and there are several twists and turns, changes of allegiance and unexpected reveals, so I can’t say much more without ruining it. But all that is a backdrop serving to highlight some beautiful fighting. And it really is visually and aurally beautiful - the sound was one of the main things we noticed. The only let-down was that several plot-lines and mysteries were left hanging in the air at the end, which was somewhat frustrating. There is a certain amount of blood-letting towards the end, and one (non-graphic) sex scene, so if those things get in the way of full enjoyment, be aware.
Very good film (especially the fight in the bamboo forest), but let down my an overly melodramatic ending. I suggest watching the director’s vastly superior Hero instead, which is the most impossibly beautiful film in recent memory.
Comment by Simon Dillon — 19 August, 2005 @ 11:08 am
We saw it last night. Soooooo boring! Great scenery. Promising plot to begin with and then completely lost pace. Nikki and I ended up just talking whilst the film finished. Stunning visuals - love the use of nature and the snow at the end was very dramatic. Rather go for a walk.
Comment by Robin — 14 November, 2005 @ 10:39 am