Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny Does Not Live Up To The Original But Is Still A Worthy View

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny Does Not Live Up To The Original But Is Still A Worthy View

Levi Baxter

Considered one of best foreign films from the year 2000, Crouching Tiger ,Hidden Dragonthrilled audiences with it’s breathtaking sets, visuals and action sequences. 16 years later Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny came to Netflix as a part of their line up of Netflix original movies. Originally based off the Crane-Iron series of novels the 2000 film was based on the fourth book in the series Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Conversely, Sword of Destiny is based on the fifth book: Iron Knight, Silver Vase. In the film we follow Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) as she protects the legendary sword the Green Destiny from the malicious warlord Hades Dai (Jason Scott Lee) who tries to take over China with the sword.

While watching this film I witnessed some beautiful sets and visuals, The action sequences are beautifully choreographed with high flying action (literally), and the actors/actresses were great. They make you feel attached to the character. The same could go be said about the writers as well. The character development has the audience feel for the characters; a trait some films can’t seem to get right.

In my opinion, the film is good but not as good as the original. The action doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it is very good nonetheless. However, while the story it will make you feel for the characters, there are some problems. It seems  the writers of Sword of Destiny focused on too much on developing the characters’ and not on pacing and how it all adds up in the end.

Overall, I think it is a very good film. It isn’t as good as the original, but it is hard for any film to match up to a previous installment that is viewed with such high regard. If you put that aside, it is a very enjoyable film. With the action and romance, you can watch it by yourself or with the whole family. It is rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and brief partial nudity. So if you want to make it a movie night or watch it on the couch in by yourself, it is a great choice.

The Madisonian grade: B+