In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

HoFD excites because it has Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro acting side by side, but repeated viewings reveal a film that’s less than it seems. When it ceases trying to seduce your eyes with colour, splendour and physics bending CGI weaponry it remembers that your heart also needs to be moved, and it’s there that it comes up short. It’s primarily a love story, but the romance that’s supposed to tie the threads together lacks spark and is only really believable in a short scene near the end. It's still an enjoyable film, but it could have been so much more.
Zhang Ziyi is convincing as a blind girl; it’s not often I get to praise her.

3 bamboo ninjas out of 5

2 comments:

cuckoo said...

I was really disappointed with this film. Don't remember much at all with the exception of some very striking images. I recall thinking it was pretty average and predictable with far too many cliches.

Zhang is always worth watching though. I'll give it that.

2 funky weather changes out of 5

Dr Faustus said...

The story is definitely lacking; judged on that alone I’d totally agree with your 2 out of 5.
The visual flair, the use of colour and especially the music made me bump it up to 3, but only just.