I watched "House of Flying Daggers" last night and, I must admit, I found it totally disappointing. Let me first proclaim my cinemaphile street cred by stating that I saw two of Zhang Yimou's earlier films -- "The Story of Qiu Ju" and "Shanghai Triad" -- in the theater. I loved both of these movies, but "Shanghai Triad" in particular is notable for being one of the coolest gangster movies ever. Earlier this year I watched "Hero" on DVD and loved it (one cannot go to the cinema much when one has a young child). So, needless to say, I had very high hopes for "House of Flying Daggers" -- especially after all the glowing reviews it received. Sure, it was a movie better than most, but when you compare it to the films mentioned above, it was a downer. The movie starts out great, especially the "blind drum" scene in the brothel. But the questionable allegiances of the characters gets confusing, and the constant revelations and switcheroos grow tiresome. My biggest gripe is the introduction of the love triangle late in the game, which feels forced and unearned. And for the first time, Zhang Yimou's beautiful color palette choices seem gimmicky instead of clever. A pooper.
But the fight scene in the bamboo forest is pretty darn cool.
1 comment:
Agreed with everything you said - the blind drum scene and the bamboo forest fight were awesome. The rest was a real snooze.
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