>*"No growth without assistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint. Now give yourself up and find yourself again."*

The most 'complete' action movie I know, it has everything; clever story, interesting characters, adrenaline action, emotional core... there's even not one, but two great romance stories in here.

The first chase sequence on the roofs followed by the amazing fight sequence made me fall in love with this instantly. The fantastical elements and gravity defying for the movements make it so captivating and thrilling. Impressive and creative sword (among other weapons) fighting. The choreography is flawless. Great performances from everyone but Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat deliver on both the physical and dramatic beats. The movie looks stunning, everything from the filmmaking, the beautiful sets/locations, the costumes, the camerawork and the score.

The only problem I have with it is the lack of action in the middle (during the romance side story) it lost a lot of heat—I don't even think any of it was necessary for the movie. Not enough Michelle Yeoh fighting in the middle either. Fortunately the third act picks up like never before, action lovers will have their lives forever changed at 1h30... one of my favorite action sequences of all time. Bamboo fight after was pretty epic too. Perfect emotional ending.