Crouching Dragon: The Tiger Lily Cut (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) - ssj

When the original Crouching Tiger was released in 2000, thousands of hardcore Asia film fanboys plunged into a tailspin tizzy.
“This is going to ruin Hong Kong and Japanese exploitation!”
Apologists for the film and peddlers of imports did their best to mollify those nervous Nellies.
And yet … mainstream Westerners, exposed to “artistic” Asian action cinema, began sniffing the landscape.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made a sh!tload of money, and, as doomsayers predicted, future Asian fare became easier for world digestion. Wackiness went on the fade.

Thankfully, ssj mangled this talky bi-polar film back to the crazy roots of Shaw Brothers!
By jettisoning mounds of talky exposition and utterly subverting the subtitles.
Plot now revolves around a stolen Iron Chef blade, and the bickering and backstabbing that go on behind the scenes. And, of course, battles to regain the mighty kitchen cleaver.
Should I mention additional, juicy double entendre dialogue?

Great antidote to the borefest that the original was. Energy level diminishes in the final act, and jokes start to fall flat. The story tumbles into a confused mess, but what the hey, this is still brilliant for what is it.