Duelist (2005)

I like how this movie breaks narrative conventions but that doesn't make the story interesting. It's like it was directed and put together by 2 different persons, with the cut-off point being somewhere in the middle.
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Stunts - 69/100

Narrative - 48/100 | It’s way too silly at the beginning. The tonal shifts in this movie and weird editing in the beginning are quite jarring, whether they’re intended or not. It seems nobody stopped at some point to ask themselves the question “wait, what are we going for again?”

Fight Choreography - 77/100 | This is basically sword-fighting ballet. If I got this right, they meet and engage in metaphorical sex through duels? Except yelling at each other there doesn’t seem to be anything of substance to their relationship. Eventually becomes excessive slow-mo melodrama for no reason, but it looks damn good.

Enjoyment - 52/100 | The mise en scène in this movie is quite something, and so is the cinematography. Great-looking movie, that’s for sure. But I’m not sure I got the message, if there was any to begin with, except the usual “love is not something you can control”. And I’ve always preferred plot and characters (basically, writing) over visuals.

If you liked Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster, give this movie a try. It’s basically a more messed-up and less coherent version of it.

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