Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Forget all your preconceived notions of what martial-arts films used to be like. This is what all future martial-arts films should be like.

"This" would be the breathtaking "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which could do to the formulaic "chop-socky" picture what "2001: A Space Odyssey" did to the similarly uninspired science-fiction genre, which had previously been the stuff of B-movies.

Of course, it should be pointed out that the genre as a whole has managed to produce a handful of classics (some of Jackie Chan's Hong Kong work, as well as director Tsui Hark's more inspired moments). But this thrilling, at-times tender, and surprisingly intelligent epic makes them all pale in comparison.

The really scary thing about it is that "Crouching Tiger" does so in such a seemingly easy manner — which of course, isn't meant to slight the performers, who certainly didn't have an easy time making the film. In fact, their work is so physically impressive that you may feel exhausted just watching them.

So here's hoping the fact that the film is in a foreign language (Mandarin Chinese, with English subtitles) with faces that are unfamiliar to many American audiences won't discourage them from taking it all in.

By the way, in case you're thinking "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is an odd name for a movie, just remember that it's an adaptation of one of seven novels by Wang Du Lu about 19th-century warriors. Probably the foremost among them is Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat, best known in the U.S. moviegoers for his role in "Anna and the King").

After years of combat, Li is ready to settle into a more peaceful existence. So he's decided to retire his legendary weapon, the seemingly indestructible Green Destiny blade, and has charged longtime friend Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh, from "Tomorrow Never Dies") with keeping it out of the wrong hands.

Unfortunately, a masked thief makes away with the sword in the middle of the night — following a spectacular battle with Shu Lien, of course. And the evidence suggests the culprit may have been the evil Jade Fox (Cheng Pei Pei), Li's longtime nemesis.

However, it turns out the blade was actually stolen by her protégé, warrior-in-training Jen Yu (newcomer Zhang Ziyi), who can't decide what to do with it. On one hand, she feels guilty about taking it from her newfound friend, Shu Lien. But if she keeps the Green Destiny, she may be able to escape the marriage her parents have arranged.

That probably sounds like enough plot for your standard martial-arts film, but there are several more running subplots, including the long unspoken passion between Yu and Shu Lien, as well as the seemingly ill-fated romance between Jen and Lo (Chang Chen), a Mongolian horseman.