| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
N/A |
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| Acting: |
N/A |
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| Direction: |
N/A |
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| Visuals: |
N/A |
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My response to the critics
by (movies profile)
Jan 30, 2008
823
of
868 people found this review helpful
The negative reviews for this movie are quite amazing to me. It seems like there are 4 main complaints:
1) The storyline is confusing or there's no story at all.
2) The fights are too unrealistic or borrows from "Matrix".
3) Not enough action.
4) Subtitled and you can't keep up with the reading.
Here are my response to the complaints:
1) The story is very rich and effective and reminds me of Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa, one of cinema's all time best movie. It's a story told 3 times. Once from Nameless, who's lying to get close to the king. Once from the king who think he has the real truth. And the last time it was told by Nameless, it was the truth. If you can't even follow a storyline this simple... go watch AVP or something...
2) If you complain about the unrealistic fights in the movie, you obviously don't know anything about Chinese culture. Martial artists in both modern or historical Chinese novels possess powers that makes them almost demi-gods. I don't see a problem with this premise, since our culture readily accepts talking dogs that catches criminals (Scooby-Doo if you can't figure it out) or a guy who got bit by a spider and becomes a superhero. Seems like our assumption of what's "normal" is pretty silly in itself.
The Wakowski brothers were big fans of eastern cinema and Japanese anime. The special effects in Matrix were borrowed mainly from Hong Kong martial arts movies. All the fights were designed by a Hong Kong fight cordinator. So Matrix is the movie that borrowed from eastern cinema, not the other way around.
3) Gotta blame this one on Miramax. This movie is not an action film. It's a drama with some action. Watch the trailer again after you've seen the movie... it has nothing to do with the plot of the movie. If you want mindless Hollywood action films, go watch AVP. You might lose a few brain cells in the process though.
4) I don't exactly read fast, but following the subtitles was easy. If you have trouble keeping up with the sub, maybe you need some reading classes... and quick! You'll fail your SATs if you don't get your reading speed up!
This is an excellent movie in every aspect. The cinematography is breathtaking. The story is interesting and full of philosophical ideas. Acting was top notch, well maybe not Jet Li, who was mainly expressionless throughout. The music is a welcome change from American pop music. It was also quite effective in setting the mood. Lastly, you get some awesome, albeit over the top, fight scenes. The entire package totally takes you away from your theater seat and place you in the middle of a fantasy world. Isn't this what movies are supposed to do? |
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