Someone at IMDB posted this link:

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/conten...g_daggers.html

It's an interesting, if not entirely eye-opening, read. But I don't agree in part with the comments regarding Hero.

nice read. thanks.

A valiant effort, but ultimately futile. Flying Daggers is the silliest movie I've seen since the Stepford Wives remake.

I realize House Of Flying Daggers is not the best movie ever made (though I think it's great nonetheless), Grubert, but it's also not as nonesensical as The Stepford Wives remake.

Anyhoo, I always thought House Of Flying Daggers is a very good film (better than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon IMO) so I found that article interesting and thought I'd share it here.

That said, the article does make a few minor mistakes.

The article lost me, as many do, by putting down better movies (CT,HD works successfully in many more ways) to make its case. HoFD isn't silly, but this defense is.

Is there a cliffnotes version?

I don't think it put Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon down at all, MrE. The writer merely said that Zhang Ziyi's character in CTHD wasn't likeable (which is true but that's so subjective that the same could be said of her character in HOFD) and expressed a prefference towards HOFD for not taking a blame society route for the love being doomed (although that is also debatable). But I will grant you that the article made the mistake of putting Ang Lee down. As I said, the article isn't perfect but it is interesting nonetheless.