"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: Sword of Destiny" reportedly failed to impress.
The movie's trailer, that is, according to the Independent.
This may come as a big disappointment to fans who still remember the amazing scenes of the first "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" film, which was shown 15 years ago.
"...it's striking exactly how much a departure this is from the work of director Ang Lee, and cinematographer Peter Pau, on the original 'Crouching Tiger,'" the Independent said.
Many believed that the sequel to the hit martial arts movie, which earned $128 million in the U.S. box office, would boast of the same high level of production values as the original.
However, based on the recently-released trailer of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: Sword of Destiny," the film has failed to live up to the hype - and expectations - most especially since Netflix was one of its major producers.
"It's de-saturated palette riding off the post-"Man of Steel" universe, a far cry from the lush bamboo forests of the original, and rich darkness of its nighttime courtyard scenes," the Independent noted.
Moreover, the movie was made in English, which is considered a major departure from the original film which was done in Mandarin.
"Isn't that just a little insulting to assume fans won't be bothered to read subtitles?" the Independent asked.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: Sword of Destiny" was directed by renowned martial-arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping of the highly popular "Matrix" trilogy.
Although Chow Yun Fat and Zang Ziyi no longer star in the film, Michelle Yeoh is making a comeback and is joined by Donnie Yen and "Glee's" Harry Shum Jr.
Yeoh reprises her role in the movie as the "Lone Wolf" who must once again battle with an evil lord that poses a major threat to the world and must be stopped at all costs, reported Slash Film.
But despite the movie's big name stars such as Yeoh and Yen, the movie was described as "cheap, almost like a TV series instead of a film sequel."
"Plus, it's hard to get excited about this kind of action when there are movies like 'The Raid 2: Berandal' out there," Slash Film added.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: Sword of Destiny," also experienced some rough sailing when theatre owners refused to screen the movie, believing that Netflix, one of the film's producers, posed a major threat to the former's business model.
