I didn't want to believe it until I have seen the film myself. And as a lover of movies and I've watched tons of them (I currently have about 284 plus DVDs of my favorite films in my movies library), recently I finally got the chance to watch the much talked about film, Ashes of Time by Wong Kar-Wai. I wanted so much to like it and since I had read several reviews by people that considered it one of the top HK films and all I have to say is "are they nuts??". This film is really bad and the direction is the worst I've seen. Let me give an example by what I mean. In figure skating, the artistic skaters usually have elegance and smooth lines. A movie like Ashes of Time should be like that, or like a beautiful painting. Since its telling the story of warriors each with a unique story, and this should blend in the action in which the vision should be one that is beautiful and elegant. Instead, the movie is choppy and short on anything clever and doesn't carry through any scenes or emotions. I have never read the book, but I'm sure the original author/writer did not intended his movie to be interpreted in such a fashion. Wong lacked any brillance when he directed this film and the story was interpreted in such a belligerent manner. There is always unnecessary violence and killings. The viewer has no incline on why they do what they do, and there is absolutely no emotions when the characters kill or hurt. Even the worst action or horror films with little dialogue makes better movies. The drama is bad, the action sucks, the cinematography is good but not accentuated. The saving grace for this film is the all-star cast. I'm still hoping that someone would remake this movie the way it was intended by the author. One of the greatest martial arts fantasy to date would be "Dragon Inn" (1992). Perhaps Ang Lee, or John Woo would kick some booty if they ever got their hands remaking this classic story.