Thanks for the info, y'all. Those kinds of details - like how the film balances plot and artistic considerations - are what's often lacking in mainstream reviews.

Just one question about the martial arts side of things... is it "realistic" martial arts, or does it depend on physically impossible wire stunts?

What I mean by 'realistic' would be, for example, Nameless' fights with Sky and Flying Snow in Hero. What I consider 'unrealistic' is absurd stuff like fighters skipping across the surface of a pond, which is just dumb, and fighters who accelerate after jumping. This tends to kill the effect, for me. This kind of thing spoiled the action in CTHD and in Hero's imaginary fight between Broken Sword and Nameless.