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When “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” opened in 2000, it carried surprises: that Ang Lee, a director known for high-minded literary adaptations, could make such a vibrant and exciting martial-arts movie, and that a Chinese-language film could be a box-office hit in America.
The only surprise about “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny,” the thoroughly unexciting sequel that became available on Netflix on Friday, is that anyone thought it needed to be made. Directed by Yuen Wo Ping, the famous action choreographer who worked on the original “Crouching Tiger,” it’s a series of fights in search of a story.
The third Netflix original feature (after “Beasts of No Nation” and “The Ridiculous 6”), “Sword of Destiny” lifts what little plot it has from the earlier film. Once again the invincible sword known as Green Destiny must be protected from thieves. Once again the warrior Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) comes to the home of her friend Sir Te, this time for his funeral, and is joined there by an old flame. Once again a young woman trained by a deadly female fighter has a history with a sexy bandit.
The graceful and sly Ms. Yeoh is the only star to return from the original. The other central roles have been filled with performers less charismatic than their predecessors: Natasha Liu Bordizzo replaces Zhang Ziyi as the young woman, Harry Shum Jr. subs for Chang Chen as the bandit, and the stolid action star Donnie Yen steps in for the magnetic Chow Yun-Fat as Shu Lien’s platonic paramour.
Filmed in New Zealand by a mostly Western crew, with a number of Asian-American and Australian actors, “Sword of Destiny” has a hybrid feel. It’s an English-language production, and the variety of accents coupled with John Fusco’s stilted dialogue call to mind an old Hollywood melodrama set in exotic lands.
Mr. Yuen’s directorial style and the mediocre computer graphics give the film the picturesque, storybook feel of a Chinese studio production, however. Even his fight sequences, while fast and intricate, feel perfunctory. As the film ticks off the fights on its way to the big showdown, there isn’t a moment that possesses the enchantment or emotion with which Mr. Lee infused “Crouching Tiger.” “It is not kept hidden,” Shu Lien says, spying the Green Destiny in Sir Te’s quarters. Turns out it should have been.
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