I don't want to repeat what everyone else has said before, so I will go for a different approach.

Overall, the movie takes a couple of times to get the entire story - especially if you aren't Asian. There's alot of folklore involved that some people just won't "get" (especially my fellow Americans) unless they really want to open themselves up to it.

The landscaping and scenery is breathtaking. The movie is extremely deep rooted in to the culture and time in which it was depicting.

One OUTSTANDING AND VERY UNDERRATED character in the movie, however, is the Jade Dragon (played by Cheng Pei Pei).

This character wears MANY hats during the story and she is involved in, what I feel, is the most exciting fight scene in the entire movie (Chapter 12 on your DVDs). Overlooked in my opinion.

If you're looking for a chop socky flic, this really isn't what you should be watching (You'd be better off checking out IRON MONKEY) - if you're looking for a marriage of martial arts, fantasy and drama, then look no further.