Disappointed...

[deleted]

All action movies that happen to use martial arts. Now we see the distinction as to why you didn't care for CTHD as much.

I agree that jase-prasad is coming across way too strong, and in a condescending way. Probably not the best way to further a conversation. Would you agree though that most of the movies you named, are closer to the realm of possibility than fantasy or myth? The way I reviewed the movie upon my first viewing many years ago was similar to your opinion. I appreciated the action adventure kung-fu movies with Jacie Chan very much at that time (I still do), and that was the expectation I had from this movie. Jackie Chan's characters are usually regular people (not always), who by training and devotion achieve the peak of human performance (maybe pushing realism ever so slightly into the impossible) Jackie Chan performs all of his stunts, and his martial arts are for the most part heavily grounded in reality, his performance on screen is a rehearsed dance which is meant to astound you, surprise you, push boundaries of possibility, provide comic relief etc. The characters are often semi-two-dimensional, having simple goals and little internal conflict. Get stronger, improve your skills, defeat evil, save your friends etc. Action is at the forefront here. The focus is not on the characters or the story as much. (again I'm generalizing as not all Jackie Chan movies or the action movies you listed fall under this category).

I know that upon my initial viewing of CTHD that is the expectation I had, and I have projected it onto the movie, instead of letting the movie dictate to me what kind of story it is trying to tell. Upon second, third, fourth viewing my opinion has drastically changed. So what story is CTHD conveying to me now? What is the focus? I think CTHD is mostly about internal conflict and struggle of each of the main characters. It is much less about the action and much more about the interaction and motivations of each character. The fighting is a way of externalizing these internal conflicts. The fights disconnect further and further away from reality, we are not witnessing a Jackie Chan style of fighting here, where everything is still close to reality, we are pushing the boundaries, and have to accept, that the main characters, especially Master Li Mu Bai and Jen are essentially superheroes, capable of impossible feats. Unlike western superhero movie though, these heroes gain their ability by training, studying of ancient scrolls etc. (as opposed to relying on natural gifts, technology or accidental power, as it is common in western superhero stories). The mystical superhero abilities are further established when clashed against regular human characters. There's almost a set of three or four distinct tiers of abilities in this story. First, skills of a regular person such as the guard, and police officer's daughter. Secondly highly trained person such as the police officer. Thirdly we have Jade Fox and Yu Shu Lien who are pushing and somewhat surpass the limits of human abilities. Finally, there's Li Mu Bai who is a fully fletched legendary hero (or a superhero equivalent) who's abilities are far beyond regular human being, and far surpass the skills of any other character. Jen is an exception to this skill ladder, as she is the only character whose skills improve throughout the movie. Not in a small part due to her talents, the ability to read the ancient scrolls, as well as by using the Green Destiny. For these reasons, she is able to keep up with all the challengers who oppose her, until of course the final defeat from the hands of Li Mu Bai, and betrayal from Jade Fox. This schism in skills between various characters is especially apparent in scenes where the police officer is fighting Jade Fox, or even more when Jade fox is fighting Li Mu Bai. When I started paying more attention to this concept I appreciated how much detail and planning went into the fight scenes. Now I was able to enjoy how gorgeous and sophisticated the choreography and cinematography in CTHD relly is.

Without diving deep into the main focus of this movie, which I believe is the internal conflicts of the characters, their often misguided decisions, and their interactions, fueled by the social pressures and expectations (because I think it would take several pages as my writing tends to be long winded), I will say, that the fighting scenes in CTHD are beautiful, and amazingly choreographed, but serve a vastly different purpose and carry a different message, that those shown in other types of action movies. I would be interested to know how your opinion of CTHD changes upon subsequent viewing, as I admit my opinion of it has changed drastically over the years.