To the average movie-goer, Yimou Zhang is that action-director of HERO (that is, if they even recognize his name). What most people don’t know is HERO is his first official action film. While heavy on wuxia action, HERO still packed an emotional punch. While the reviews and reception were mixed, Yimou decided to enter the wuxia arena again; this time with the mesmerizing but somewhat shallow THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS.

One of HERO’s biggest draws is its beautiful manipulation of nature. In THOFD, Yimou does the exact opposite. He lets the majestic landscapes shine in their own natural beauty. In return though, he creates loud and vibrant costumes that when paired with the backdrops, synergizes the cinematic beauty of the film. As for the action scenes, they retain the effect of ‘awe’. While not better than HERO’s as a whole, the bamboo fight sequence is definitely one of the top twenty fight scenes of all time. The visual flare may be different from HERO, but Yimou succeeds yet again in presenting us a film that hits our ocular g-spots. 

Zhang Ziyi is in everything now. Anything that has any international market appeal from Asia, she’s almost guaranteed to be in it. Some people may be suffering from an overdose of the Ziyi, but at least it’s an overdose of an actress who can act. She may very well be this generation’s Maggie Cheung. Takeshi Kaneshiro’s transformation of a playboy police deputy to a hopelessly in love bodyguard is heartbreaking and believable. Andy Lau’s character emits a devious and sinister aura from the minute he appears on screen, but slowly unravels that front and shows the softer side of the character…only to slap you in the face when he puts back on the insidious mask. This triumvirate of superstars makes the, otherwise, bland characters far more interesting.

While every other department of the film is top-notch, the glue that holds it together is the story. Herein lies one of THOFD’s biggest flaw. While the actors make the story somewhat believable, the actual content is on the brink of being completely ludicrous. The devoted passion that Jin and Mei develop in the course of 3 days is inconceivable. Even Andy Lau’s character addresses this implausibility. The onslaught of plot twists that come on at the second half of the movie seems more like a gimmick rather than a treat. While it works to a degree, it treads on the line of failure. The ending, however, becomes the biggest problem of the film. Anita Mui was originally cast as the House of Flying Daggers’ leader, but she passed away before the film’s completion. Rather than recasting her role, Yimou rewrote the film’s ending in respect to Anita’s passing. Now, it’s hard to say what the original ending would have been like, but the final cut’s ending really betrays the tone of the film. While the last minutes of the film are the most poetic, it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the film. It is hard to judge this ending because I respect Yimou’s decision not recast Anita’s part, but at the same time, the ending works against the film. It’s a tough call at the end of the day, but the ending will ultimately be left to the viewer’s discretion.

Film is a medium in which to entertain. If a film opens your mind to new things, great! But judging THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS in the most basic form of cinema, then it succeeds in completely submerging the audience into a role-playing opportunity and entertains them for the two hour duration. While definitely not Yimou’s best work, THOFD is definitely worth the price of admission.