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Thread: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

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    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

    So today, Netflix revealed their trailer to the sequel to Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"(2000), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny", seen below:



    The original "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is an adaptation of the fourth book of the classic wuxia series, "Crane-Iron Series" by Chinese writer Wang Dulu, and this sequel, likewise, adapts the final book in the pentalogy, "Iron Knight, Silver Vase". Michelle Yeoh reprises her role of Yu Shu Lien from the original movie, and Donnie Yen will portray the protagonist, "Silent Wolf". The sequel, "Sword of Destiny" will be directed by legendary martial arts choreographer, Yuen Woo-ping. Yuen has also directed some of the most famous martial arts movies from the 70s, launching Jackie Chan into the spotlight with "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" and the first "Drunken Master" film. He is most well known in the west for choreographing the Matrix trilogy and the two Kill Bill volumes, as well as choreographing the cult classic, Kung Fu Hustle.

    The movie will premiere on Netflix and at select IMAX theaters on February 8th, 2016.


    Thoughts?


    ----------------

    Personally, I am wary of the film. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is one of my favorite wuxia films, after the "Drunken Master" series and the "Once Upon a Time in China" series, and its return under the direction of the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping could only mean good things for the choreography. However, the story was more personal, featuring the conflict between two sworn "sisters", Yu Shu Lien and Yu Jiaolong (The last character here is "dragon"), the latter who steals the sword (The Green Destiny) of the legendary swordsman (and Shu Lien's friend) Li Mu Bai, who offers to train Jiaolong. During this struggle, Jiaolong is revealed to have had an affair with a desert bandit by the name of Luo Xiaohu (The last character here is "tiger") and trained under the thief "Jade Fox", who killed the master of Mu Bai. I haven't read "Iron Knight, Silver Vase", so I can't comment on the events of the story, but the grander, larger feel of the trailer may mean less time is spent building interpersonal relationships and more time just watching people fight. The latter isn't necessarily bad, especially under the direction of Yuen Woo-Ping, but it could mean that we miss out on a lot of what made the original "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" special. Also, the fact that they changed the props for the Green Destiny is a little disorienting (The new sword uses a crescent-shaped Jade guard, while the original prop used a more ornate trapezoidal metal guard), but I think I'll get over it. Also, the remix of "Bad Moon Rising" in the trailer is an interesting choice, and not necessarily one that I agree with. It personally doesn't fit with the aesthetic of the time period (early-mid Qing Dynasty), as well as with Chinese Wuxia in general. I'm not saying that all wuxia films need to feature traditional Chinese music, but at the same time, electronic house-type music doesn't exactly work for a action-oriented period drama. If this is just simply an attempt to have music that would catch a casual viewer's ears for this particular trailer, but it's not exactly the music choice I would use for the first trailer of an action-packed period drama. There are plenty of orchestrated pieces, Traditional Chinese or otherwise that could be used in place of the remix. Might I suggest "Two Steps from Hell"?
    Last edited by Xerodragon12; 12-07-2015 at 09:38 PM.

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