Crouching Tiger vs. Bulletproof Monk

[dhay2]

Hi,
I have an interest in screenwriting and I loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, yet Bulletproof Monk left much to be desired. I cannot explain why. Was it the story or the acting or what? Maybe someone can help me with this

[SoulJackerUK]

Crouching Tiger = good movie
Bulletproof Monk = bad movie

?

[OkeyDokey]

Did you sympathize with the main character?

Was the conflict interesting?

Did you care what happened next in the story?

Were the situations compelling?

Was the dialogue fresh?

Were the plot points intriguing?


These are all excellent questions to ask yourself about your own writing.

[StRogue]

It's all about the story, the plot, the characters...
crouching tiger was a really good story, with great actors.
You cannot compare the two, like apples and oranges.

Charli

[pantalone]

Also, I'd say that Crouching Tiger is "wuxia" and Monk was not.

[vmf]

Totally apart from the lame story, poor dialogue, and total lack of urgency, Bulletproof Monk had some of the worst exposition I've ever seen in a feature film.

Many times during the movie, the two main characters just sit down and start explaining the character history and backstory to the audience. :eek

[peakbeach]

Bulletproof Monk

If it's so bad and laughs at many screenwriting guidelines we're told to follow to the teeth on this board, how did it ever manage to get good coverage, impress the big-time producers, and get made by one of the major studios? Or was it a vanity movie cranked out by another obscure independent dreamer? :eek

[SoulJackerUK]

Re: Bulletproof Monk

If it's so bad and laughs at many screenwriting guidelines we're told to follow to the teeth on this board, how did it ever manage to get good coverage, impress the big-time producers, and get made by one of the major studios?

Yeah, like "Hollywood" has never made a bad movie...

[pantalone]

Re: Bulletproof Monk

Somebody had to pick Pitof for Catwoman.

[Sledgeh101]

Re: Bulletproof Monk

The difference is that, at it's core, Crouching Tiger was a love story about two sets of people who wanted to do nothing more than live a peaceful existence together, and were constantly denied their happiness. Either it was a sense of duty, a sense of honor, or simply when other people got in the way. The swordfighting, while incredibly cool, and the music, while amazing (probably one of the big reasons why CT is such a better movie - the background score can enhance or destroy a movie), was all secondary to the love stories between Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien, as well as Jen and Lo.