Reading some of the comments on here, it's hard to see how anyone can have a strong reaction to this movie in either direction. It is middle-of-the-road from start to finish. Yes, there are a few funny moments, but those are balanced out by tedium and mediocrity. Josh's incessant narration (including the opening monologue that explains, in detail, the entire plot) becomes heavy-handed and overly expository. What's intended as a clever breach of the fourth-wall comes comes across as a way to bolster his substandard narrative writing skills. By the final credits, I was left completely cold and within an hour, had lost any memory of watching the movie in the first place. It may be a good way to kill an afternoon if you're home sick from work, but anyone looking for anything other than a meaningless time-waster should look elsewhere.
Reviews
2 Reviews
House of Flying Daggers
(2004)
High on flash, low on flesh
27 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
All of the reviews have rightly stated that "House of Flying Daggers" is one of 2004's most beautiful movies. No one will disagree that the level of stylization and composition is much higher than your standard fare. However, halfway through the film it becomes clear that the scriptwriters hurriedly pulled together a cliché-ridden story in order to facilitate getting to the next big fight or beautiful set piece. By the end of the film everyone is a double agent, everyone must choose between love or duty, and if anyone is outnumbered in a fight, they'll be saved by a barrage of timely projectile weapons hurled from off-screen. All of the actors do a fine job with the material, yet it is the material itself that is so tedious and convoluted that one simply stops caring.
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