A kind of a throwback with characters that may remind you of Shaw Brothers movies. So it tries to combine the old with some new stuff. Especially the fact that this was filmed in English may alienate some people. But overall I do believe it works. It does have a returning Michelle Yeoh (ageless) who is great in this too. In addition we get Donnie Yen and his craftsmanship.

The action choreography is good and there is flying again (so if you didn't like the first one or thought it was ridiculous and "unreal", don't watch this either). The story is simple and while Yeoh's character admits that at one point, she almost redacts her point entirely at the end. Some may say she changed her mind. Whatever it is, the movie is more than decent enough, while never reaching the heights of the original (no pun intended).

This belated sequel to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON retains chief actress Michelle Yeoh and the wuxia look and feel to the thing, but jettisons everything else. The overrated Ang Lee has gone to be replaced by the reliable Yuen Woo-Ping as director, and Donnie Yen has been brought in to replace Chow Yun-Fat in the lead hero stakes. Plus, with this being a Chinese/American co-production, the decision was made to shoot the thing in English with mainly western-speaking actors.

It's a bit of a mixed bag of a film, with a very basic storyline which barely deserves mention (lots of different characters are in pursuit of a mystical sword). What it does offer, as a film, is plenty of action, with lots of fight scenes that surpass the ones in the original (I didn't think much of the first film at all, looking back on it). Yen and Yeoh are as reliable as ever, and the towering Jason Scott Lee looks virtually unrecognisable as the bad guy. The only issue is that, as with lots of modern Chinese films, the insistence on including lots of cheesy CGI scenes of flying people and the like looks ridiculous. It's about time that filmmakers realise that less is more when it comes to CGI (are you listening, Peter Jackson?) and that movies would be a lot better if they stuck to being more practical in approach.

This is a story about the Iron Way protecting the "Green Sword of Destiny" from the evil Hades Dai who has the Dragon Sword. In order to protect the sword the owners hire five fighters or so who have Uma Thurman skills so they can defeat a small army. Some have "light body skill" which I guess is the technical term for wearing a wire that pulls you up into the air. There is a story of an old renewed love and of a young love. There is plenty of fighting, minimal blood, and American style humor.

The film is in English, no dubbing. The plot was Chinese, American style. If you are a martial arts purist, this isn't your film as gravity is a law easily broken. The drama is so-so. The cinematography was good. The main characters were a bit bland, while the minor ones took on personality. Themes of honor and redemption.

No swearing, sex, or nudity. Woman is nude from back in low light with some minor side breast shadows.