05-12-2006, 01:06 PM
Halfway through your review, I was already preparing to post about so many martial arts films screwing up the finale. It turns out that's where you were headed.
It's a puzzler. I mean, in storytelling, endings are tough. You have to satisfy the reader's expectations (whether through action or cerebral means) and tie up all the loose ends and make it all mean something (resolution).
But for a martial arts film, it's a lot easier. Many don't even bother with a resolution (how many movies have I seen that end with a freeze-frame of the good guy delivering the death blow to the villain?).
There's some simple guidelines for a great final fight. It should have the most at stake (intense emotions, perhaps large bodycount), should be the flashiest (the best martial artists pulling out their best moves), and should have the best fight choreography (please, don't switch to special effects to compensate).
There's other stuff, of course. But even those simple basics get violated time and again.
I recall House of Flying Daggers. Worth watching, I suppose. But what a collapse near the end. All the characters started doing reprehensible things, showing cowardice or betrayal or incomprehensible coldness (disregard for a loved one). It could have been a great movie. But by the end, all the emotion was gone. I didn't like anyone.
As for the final fight scene... How odd. I can't even remember if there was one. That is never a good sign.
It's a puzzler. I mean, in storytelling, endings are tough. You have to satisfy the reader's expectations (whether through action or cerebral means) and tie up all the loose ends and make it all mean something (resolution).
But for a martial arts film, it's a lot easier. Many don't even bother with a resolution (how many movies have I seen that end with a freeze-frame of the good guy delivering the death blow to the villain?).
There's some simple guidelines for a great final fight. It should have the most at stake (intense emotions, perhaps large bodycount), should be the flashiest (the best martial artists pulling out their best moves), and should have the best fight choreography (please, don't switch to special effects to compensate).
There's other stuff, of course. But even those simple basics get violated time and again.
I recall House of Flying Daggers. Worth watching, I suppose. But what a collapse near the end. All the characters started doing reprehensible things, showing cowardice or betrayal or incomprehensible coldness (disregard for a loved one). It could have been a great movie. But by the end, all the emotion was gone. I didn't like anyone.
As for the final fight scene... How odd. I can't even remember if there was one. That is never a good sign.