I watched this film with my daughter last night and what an experience! The martial arts is out of this world, as implausible as they may be. (Even my youngest wondered why Mei's sleeves made a sound when they touched drums.) The storyline begins as one thing, establishment versus dissidence, but ends as another entirely. The twists I never saw coming which I like that in a movie. I was all set to watch a film where one side vanquishes the other, but it turns out to be something else entirely. If this is the first time watching, be prepared to be surprised. I have to admit there was some laugh out loud moments at some of the crazy stuff the MLs do. I have grown up watching martial arts films and we would always joke about how gravity just doesn't exist in these films. This one is no different. The setting is the biggest star. Gorgeous cinematography takes your breath away. The Ukrainian forest where it was filmed is magnificent, as is the bamboo forest where one of the biggest ambushes takes place.

Now for the weak plot. There are some parts of the story which I felt should have been explored. The title is House of Flying Daggers, so why does the plot barely revolve around them? Weren't they supposedly stealing from the rich to give to the poor? It's all alluded to, never shown. The movie needed them to be dealt with, yet was mostly centered around our three main leads. Grant you, this kept things more simple but it needed more substance. There is no buildup to the romance either, and I was a bit bothered by this. It was cold and then got really hot within minutes, but once it got started, it was smoking!

The OST was the best part of this production. I listened to the whole thing on Spotify today and loved the romantic ballads and moving themes. The Lovers melody is very moving and Kathleen Battle's rendition is beautiful.