I'm watching at the moment (the Directors' Cut) and its LOOOONG 
I'd never seen it before so don't know what was missing in the TC of the film. Its' very well made and beautifully shot (John Lone's performance is very good) but the transfer on the DC is poor 
In some ways his attitude to Western things was almost the opposite of Jet Li in the first OUATIC movie, like he embraces them. He does like the power of being emperor though it seems (thats why he wants to stay inside the Forbidden City, he is Emperor as long as he stays there)
I wasn't very up on the history of the film.