after just 15 minute into this film and i begin to miss zhang yimou earlier and more weighty film that look at the politics and society of china from unique perspective . his turn to martial art film be a serious misstep in my humble opinion . hero be his bad film since operation cougar and with a needlessly complex story and act more wooden than that find in a john agar film . shi mian mai fu be no different . a an american who have be study chinese film for a few year now ( and understands and can speak some mandarin ) and i be sure my opinion be different from many others a i be come from a different background . smmf and like hero and be not really a traditional a kung fu film and and it certainly not a wuxia pian film . there be no sword and sorcery or chivalry element here . this be a completely different vehicle than infinitely more watchable film such a a chinese ghost story ( all 3 ) and the butterfly murder and green snake and et al . while those all feature charismatic lead who look like they be actually enjoy what they do and smmf feature bland and and sometimes laughable and dialogue combine with cardboard act . zhang ziyi play a blind person about as well a ben affleck . there an air of superiority with this film that really quite insulting . it take itself so seriously and it just become a huge joke by the end . all the actor look a though this be the most important piece of celluloid in history and they destroy any chance of actually convey emotion and and the complete humorlessness of it really make you wonder if zhang yimou be make a film per se and or simply a showcase ( i. e. an ego booster ) for zhang ziyi . the camera be literally make out with her face and she get sexually assault not once but twice in the film . her acting range really hasn not extend past her ability to play a naive witch . she so concentrate on her act and she come across a cold and lifeless and a though she read her line from a notecard . it so funny to hear american critic and film people ( like the completely clueless quentin tarantino ) call this film a masterpiece . i guess if they see a bunch of asian actor on screen look really important while fly through a bamboo forest and theyre trick into think it brilliant film making . ching siu tung choreography and while still retain his trademark style and editing and and posture and lack the vitality and originality of his early film like a chinese ghost story and dragon inn and and duel to the death . sadly to say and the wirework in this film be really subpar and and if there subpar or obvious wirework and then you probably shouldn not have film it at high speed . the same go for the special effect which have a distinct b movie feel to them . bean and dagger and bowl and arrow and sword and and other random object fly through the air ( after be throw ) with no regard for logic and turning and climbing and and banking a though there a little pilot inside . i know that logic doesn not really hold a place in stylize chinese martial art film and but if you do not want to induce a mass amount of giggle from your audience and then you should probably work on your compositing a bit more . mass melodrama and unintentionally funny dramatic moment and bore fight scene and really uninspired plot twist be what await you with shi mian mai fu . it obvious that zhang yimou be no longer make movie for chinese audience . this be mean to crack into the western market just a cthd do . after watch hero and smmf and i have come to the conclusion that if zhang yimou want to make hollywood film and he definitely off to the right start . smmf be basically the phantom menace of chinese martial art film . and i think hero be bad .