Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" stars Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen, Harry Shum Jr., and Jason Scott Lee. Released on Netflix on February 26, 2016, the film is about a renowned warrior who emerges from retirement to protect a legendary sword from a villainous warlord.

The film is directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who also directed films such as Drunken Master, Tiger Cage, Iron Monkey, and True Legend. It is based on the novel 'Iron Knight, Silver Vase' by Du Lu Wang and serves as a sequel to the 2000 film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I have to be honest with you guys, I have not seen the entire thing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I've seen parts of it, but that's about it. Netflix has been quite successful in terms of shows like Marvel's Daredevil. However, their trend of original films has gotten off to a rocky start with Adam Sandler's recent film, The Ridiculous Six, back in December. Will it be able to turn things around with this martial arts sequel?

Pros:
The performances were decent.

The martial arts sequences were stylistic and entertaining.

The score was good in terms of its Chinese culture.

Cons:
Weak storyline.

The screenplay lacked depth.

Generic characters.

Some moments felt a bit rushed, especially the third act.
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Final thoughts: "Sword of Destiny" has its entertaining moments in terms of the action, but the story wasn't compelling enough to capitalize its unique Chinese style. As a guy who has not seen its predecessor, I was quite disappointed. If you're not familiar with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I would recommend seeing the first film before seeing the sequel. Otherwise, if you like watching martial arts films without caring that much about the story, it's worth watching once.

C-