THANK God I only paid $4 bucks to see this!
To put it simply, House of Flying Daggers is one huge, overwrought, disappointing mess of celluloid. Tiresome fight scenes, so much CGi it gives Finding Nemo a run for its money, stupidly unbelievable action sequences and some weak paper-thin story with the mangled remnants of a love story buried under there somewhere.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am! I had read so much good stuff about this flick and the trailers really set it up to be something great (which what a trailer is supposed to..true enough). With so much hype and promising glimpses, I had very high expectations. They fell faster than a lead balloon about 30 minutes into this thing.
Yes, here come the comparisons to Ang Lee. I loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the beauty of that film is that it makes it so easy for the viewer to suspend all belief and immerse themselves in its world and thoroughly enjoy it. I knew when I was watching the "Echo Game" scene early on in House of Flying Daggers that it wouldn't quite be so easy here. It just kept getting more ridiculous as our "heroes" were faced with one seemingly impossible predicament after another, only to find either some miraculous solution or a mysterious savior bailing them out.
This movie's Achille's heel is it's uber weak story. The whole film seems to be merely a vehicle for Zhang Yimou to showcase an endless array of contrived fight sequences with some flashy camera work and a little bit of CGI thrown in for good measure. Only an hour and a half later the audience is filled in on what's been happening when Yimou finally seems to realize he hasn't really been dropping any clues for the audience to try and construct an idea of the plot. By that time you're so restless and bored that you really don't care anymore and want it to end already.
The love story here? I didn't buy one iota of it, nor did I care half as much. The ending could have been somewhat moving if I wasn't rolling my eyes and groaning at the incredulity of it all.
The only positives this film had for me were the truly gorgeous landscapes, sets and costuming and the way Yimou works with color. It really was amazing and very nice to watch - which would have been all well and good if I had paid to come to watch pretty pictures and nothing else.
I'm going to leave it there and not waste anymore time on this film. Do yourself a favor and don't bother, don't waste a cent. Catch it on free-to-air one day if you still have any curiosity.
To put it simply, House of Flying Daggers is one huge, overwrought, disappointing mess of celluloid. Tiresome fight scenes, so much CGi it gives Finding Nemo a run for its money, stupidly unbelievable action sequences and some weak paper-thin story with the mangled remnants of a love story buried under there somewhere.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am! I had read so much good stuff about this flick and the trailers really set it up to be something great (which what a trailer is supposed to..true enough). With so much hype and promising glimpses, I had very high expectations. They fell faster than a lead balloon about 30 minutes into this thing.
Yes, here come the comparisons to Ang Lee. I loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the beauty of that film is that it makes it so easy for the viewer to suspend all belief and immerse themselves in its world and thoroughly enjoy it. I knew when I was watching the "Echo Game" scene early on in House of Flying Daggers that it wouldn't quite be so easy here. It just kept getting more ridiculous as our "heroes" were faced with one seemingly impossible predicament after another, only to find either some miraculous solution or a mysterious savior bailing them out.
This movie's Achille's heel is it's uber weak story. The whole film seems to be merely a vehicle for Zhang Yimou to showcase an endless array of contrived fight sequences with some flashy camera work and a little bit of CGI thrown in for good measure. Only an hour and a half later the audience is filled in on what's been happening when Yimou finally seems to realize he hasn't really been dropping any clues for the audience to try and construct an idea of the plot. By that time you're so restless and bored that you really don't care anymore and want it to end already.
The love story here? I didn't buy one iota of it, nor did I care half as much. The ending could have been somewhat moving if I wasn't rolling my eyes and groaning at the incredulity of it all.
The only positives this film had for me were the truly gorgeous landscapes, sets and costuming and the way Yimou works with color. It really was amazing and very nice to watch - which would have been all well and good if I had paid to come to watch pretty pictures and nothing else.
I'm going to leave it there and not waste anymore time on this film. Do yourself a favor and don't bother, don't waste a cent. Catch it on free-to-air one day if you still have any curiosity.