First chinese movie to be watched ever, and actually had some expectations since it is critically-acclaimed and is considered by many to be a classic.

The premise of the story was rather simple, yet it was interesting to know how the romance plot of shu lien and li mu bai would uncover and i thought it would really focus here but was wrong (and for good reasons, plot wise, but i also really couldn't connect with them immediately since they were not presented well enough to really root for them). The martial art scenes especially at the beginning was really thrilling, exciting to watch, and refreshing (since i was exposed more on the korean action story-telling before this movie). The pacing was rather good and it was moving as quick as i anticipated it to be, with the green destiny sword always being lost and then recovered and then lost again, to li mu-bai's plan to avenge his master's death by killing jade fox, and jian long/jen's romance with xiao hu (which i actually wanted more but the backstory was already good and gave ample background for their connectiom with each other). The highlight here would really the spontaneous yet gripping martial art scenes especially the "flying" transitions since it was executed really well and the bamboo fight scene between li mu bai and jian long, add to that the realistic and well-shot settings (just loved the scenery of xinjiang and the desert).

Aside from that, jian long/jen's character was notable in here. She really was the embodiment of a crouching tiger since she doesn't want to conform on her obligations as an aristocrat's daughter to be a simple and abiding wife to a "pompous aristocrat" (verbatim from her) and a hidden dragon with her skills as a swordsman and a martial artist. I really liked how her character (as bratty as she was) was developed. Also props on the emphasis of the movie itself in having strong women characters and the less dependence on men on having to save them, and how consistent their characters from start to finish.

One thing that i would've wanted the film to showcase more would be the reason why jade fox became the antagonist as she was, since li mu bai's master's death may have been justified by here, but the undercover police's death wasn't and i didn't heard anymore from his daughter after her father's death. Also, the ending, as realistic and sad as it was (was really hoping that jian-long did not die and xiaohu's story would also apply to her), but was less impactful as i would've anticipated it to be.

Nevertheless, a great watch for the most part, it is actually a great movie, but to be considered a classic is still something i personally couldn't agree, for now. However, this movie is an eye-opener for me to watch more chinese movies.