"Master Li" (Chow Yun-Fat) asks his lifelong friend "Yu Shu Lien" (Michelle Yeoh) to take his legendary sword "Green Destiny" and deliver it to "Sir Te" (Sihung Lung) at the Imperial court. Turns out, though, that security there isn't so hot and the sword is stolen by a very able and nimble thief who only just escapes the pursuit of "Shu Lien" - who reckons she really knows whom the thief is. A visit to "Jen" (Ziyi Zhang) and the swift return of the sword seem to confirm her suspicions but then the sword is stolen again and aside from narking "Sir Te" this sets up a series of adventures for "Li", "Shu Lien" and "Jen" as we discover there may be a connection to the former man's nemesis "Jade Fox" (Pei-Pei Cheng). There is room, gradually, for a little romance but for the most part this is a quickly paced adventure that builds well on some beautiful cinematography with a solid story underpinned by some magical mythology and plenty of swordplay. Unlike many of the genre, the combat scenes are naturally choreographed and do not drag on interminably and repetitively. This has a more characterful narrative that involves us in the mystery, the vendetta - even the slowly simmering love story. For my money, this is easily the best film as yet made by Ang Lee and is well worth seeing on a big screen if you can find one.
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