Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one good-looking movie if we ever did see one. Talk about breathtaking! The spectacular scenery is an appropriate backdrop to the movie's mythical tale. It's about a renowned warrior, Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat), who's dedicated his life to avenging the murder of his Wudan master, slain by a notorious fighter named Jade Fox   (Cheng Pei-pei). But just like everyone else, Li Mu Bai feels retirement coming on  (translation: He's wary of all the fighting,  killing, and bloodshed) and so, supported by the you-can-look-but-you-can't touch love of his life, Yu (Michelle Yeoh), he surrenders his famous sword, the Green Destiny, to a trusted friend, Sir Te (Sihung Lung). Just when Li Mu Bai thought he could trek over to Club Med, ancient Beijing-style, a mystery thief steals the 300+ year-old sword, forcing him to embrace the life of a warrior again. And so the epic begins.

And that's exactly what Crouching Tiger is. An epic filled with action, adventure, romance, conflict, drama, and mystique that sucks you in from beginning till end. There are several subplots that come together to tell one, big, unforgettable tale. There's the matter of this character, Jade Fox, who's just making everybody's life hell. Then there's the romance hat just can't be between Li Mu Bai and Yu. And then there's Jen (Zhang Ziyi). Ah, Jen. Nothing but a long string of adjectives can describe this governor's daughter: She's a young, beautiful, intelligent, intriguing, sexy,

naughty, strong, and downright complex woman struggling with the burden of an arranged marriage and loving a desert bandit named Lo (Chang Chen), and of living a double life as a good governor's daughter and a deadly martial artist. She's one busy chick. And Zhang Ziyi does a remarkable job portraying this character. We bet our perky booties we're going to be seeing more of her. There are also solid deliveries from Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen, and Cheng Pei-pei. Overall, a strong cast.

 
All this good stuff is marvelously complemented by truly impressive martial arts sequences, thanks to the awesome choreography of Yuen Wo-Ping. And interestingly enough, most of the fighting is  performed by the female characters. What do Michelle Yeoh, Pei-pei Cheng, and Zhang Ziyi all have in common? Then can all kick some major ass. But man, do they ever kick ass gracefully! It's like watching fairies doing an intricate dance! They kick. They jump. They float. They fly.
 

And it's this floating and flying bit that people in the theatre laughed at. Which we totally didn't appreciate. Ah, the ignorance. The poor, unfortunate souls who were laughing completely and utterly missed the entire essence of the movie! It's a legend, a myth, a piece of folklore, folks! Get with the program! Laughing at the mythical sequences is like laughing at Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader go at it with their light sabers! Sheesh! As you can tell, we're bothered.

Good thing the movie had such beautiful scenery that put us in a tranquil state, in a peaceful place. Otherwise, inspired by the wowing fighting we were watching, we would have been tempted to give those laughsters a quick lesson. Aaaaaaah. We're talking about lush depictions of China's landscape, from tall mountains to the spanning desert, from clear waters to vibrant greenery. Now that's what we call natural beauty. 100% good-for-you eye candy.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon pulls all stops in showing why it's worthy of being nominated for the Oscars. This movie has a sacred quality to it that you bring with you when you exit the theatre. Awed and inspired, you almost feel like you could float out of the building. Almost. Not quite. But hey, it sure was fun watching the actors do it on screen!