Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is a Predictable, Artificial Sequel
By Christopher Ortiz · February 29, 2016
“There is no room for story here," says Silent Wolf (Donnie Yen) says to Snow Vase, the young vengeful student under the reluctant, head-scratching tutorage of Michelle Yeoh’s Yu Shue-Lien. By speaking these words 45 minutes into the film, sparing us from more over-used flashbacks, one can't help but wonder if that's the approach that was taken to the script in general. The sequel to the mature, brilliantly-choreographed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, whose influence can be seen in any network cartoon show with a martial arts themed episode, has a lamentably razor-thin plot and yet stretches for 100 minutes like gum across a city block.
Sword of Destiny continues an interesting subplot of its predecessor, but with hammier screenwriting, an abundant use of CGI and green screens that are painfully apparent, those few interesting ideas don’t make an impact. Yu Shue-Lien has since retired from violence altogether after the death of her former love interest, Chow Yun-Fat’s Li Mu Bai ( a character she refers to here as “a man that was like a father” to her), but a warlord’s sudden interest in the magical sword that once belonged to Li Mu Bai has compelled her to return and protect it with her life, summoning other warriors for help.
Sorry, but the name of the warlord doesn’t matter. The character is barely in the movie apart from a handful cheap bad-guy lines and a predictable final confrontation. He has four short scenes and in none of them is he formidable or compelling because writer John Fusco, creator of the critically-panned Marco Polo series, refuses to use him as more than a plot device that brings the good guys together to talk about other things. As far as the dialogue goes, it's painful to see our heroes speak using every clichéd line in the book when the actors clearly want their characters to explore deeper things.
The potential was there, with Yu Lien’s husband-to-be returning to give her a second chance at love, a supernatural henchman, and the mythology of the green destiny all begging to be explored along with the many new, younger characters introduced. Instead, they are stuck in something more like a Hollywood martial arts movie like 47 Ronin. That was a $125 million Hollywood adaptation of a major piece of Hollywood mythology that suffered for its misguided depiction of Asian culture and its obvious crash grabbing mentality. Shooting on digital for the wrong reasons and leaving little room for craftsmanship through lighting, camera movement and, of course, screenwriting, leads to a dull picture indeed.
But it’s clear it is not entirely John Fusco’s fault. The Weinstein Company, who produced the film, clearly wants justification for the next season of Marco Polo, a series that has been dubbed one of the most expensive ever made. It’s clear from the landscapes to the glaring white brightness of the sun on the camera. This also seems to have led to Hundred Eyes actor Tom Wu garnering a small role, not to mention the similar production design of the cities, temple interiors and lighting. The end credits sequence uses Marco Polo's exact same silhouette style as well.
Unfortunately, most scenes lack the natural authenticity of practical set design and the character blocking is overly-staged and awkward during dialogue scenes. When characters are forced to stride back and forth uttering stilted dialogue that over-expands on an otherwise hair-thin plot, you'll find yourself pining for the original film’s simplicity, wisdom and thematic weight. Character introduction scenes are as rushed as the editing with too many camera setups used for even the simplest talking scenes. It's no wonder many actors appear fatigued and repressed throughout the experience.
The first 50 minutes is completely unoriginal in every way, with every martial arts cliché utilized to create a plot for the one-dimensional characters. Abundant dissolves into montages with hammy narration? Check. Asian actors directed into being extra disciplined, emotionless beings, even during emotional moments? Check. The special reinforcement squad hired by the best of the best to defend the greater good? Characters as plot devices rob the action sequences of meaningful context. Half the action sequences do not feel earned nor do they progress the plot because Fusco and company absolutely refuse to thicken it. Thus, until the last half hour or so, the action scenes lack the emotional connection to the characters that they desperately need. The camera does not shake much and the motion capturing of fists and swords often feels out of tempo – we see swords flying, but often hitting nobody.
Director Yuen Woo-Ping’s fight choreography on The Matrix and the original Crouching Tiger led to a deep cultural impact on American audiences. More and more Americans wanted to learn karate and Action films had strong references to learn from. The legendary choreographer also worked with Michelle Yeoh for the forgotten comedy Wing Chun, which maintained Yeoh’s status as the best Action Heroine of the ‘90s. Unfortunately, he lacks that same talent and passion behind the camera. His Sword of Destiny allows the laziness of the script to bleed into the other departments as well resulting in one of the most misguided, unnecessary sequels in years.