This is one of those mythic Chinese films set in the past with warriors, martial arts, revenge and so forth. The director is Woo-ping Yuen, who directed Jackie Chan in Drunken Master. “Drunken” kung fu eventually finds its way into the story here too, and Yuen directs the action scenes well. There’s a lot of swordplay toward the beginning and more hand-to-hand combat, some fairly brutal, later on. There’s some of the gravity-defying Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-style leaps, and the hero (Man Cheuk Chiu), Su, survives blows that would fell WWF wrestlers, but you expect that sort of stylized action in this kind of movie.
So that’s all pretty good. If you don’t mind the pedestrian dialogue and general hokiness of the whole thing, it should entertain. (The acting is a mixed bag, though Crouching Tiger’s Michelle Yeoh makes an appearance.) By way of example, in a very early scene we see Su embraced by his “blood brother,” who offers only gratitude as they part. Five years pass, and though nothing else happens in the meantime, we next see him trying to kill Su—to whom this comes as a complete surprise. (Su’s new archenemy stays in madman mode for the rest of the movie.) Superior movies of this type, especially those of Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), have almost an elegance to them, with stories that seem like fables. This seems more like a yarn. I will give it points for having a completely unexpected and different (though still corny) third act when it had seemed like the movie would end with Su’s inevitable revenge.
IMDB link
viewed at Ritz 5 [Philadelphia Film Festival] and reviewed 10/19/10
Showing posts with label kung fu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kung fu. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Karate Kid (***1/4)
I suppose the title will irritate some, given that Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han teaches the kid (Jaden Smith) kung fu, not karate. The kid’s mom (Taraji P. Henson) confuses the two, and even after watching this movie I’m not sure of the differences myself, but Chan is Chinese and the movie takes place in China, where kung fu is the reigning martial art. Even so, there’s an unmistakable fidelity to the 1984 film of which this is a remake.
Both characters feature handymen who employ repetitive tasks as ways to build strength and discipline. And both save the boy from a bully trained by a cruel master, only to train him for an inevitable showdown. In the 1984 version, Pat Morita’s Miyagi says: “Karate for defense only.” Han says that kung fu is for “making peace with your enemy.” As Han, Chan displays far less of the physicality than in his straight action (or action-comedy) roles, but is extremely likable. In the title role, Jaden Smith has very much the cocky-yet-charming persona of his dad, Will Smith. The only other prominent role, a quasi-love interest for the boy, is charmingly played by Chinese newcomer Wenwen Han.
There’s no getting around that the storyline is still completely formulaic, though that won’t bother the target audience. The message of nonviolence is nice, even if the kids will probably forget about it as the movie builds up to the inevitable revenge ass-kicking. But the novel element that most justifies the remake is the transplanted setting. While the Americans attend an English-language school, and most of the dialogue is in English, you can, more than in most Hollywood films set abroad, surmise that there are interesting places different from the United States, people who don’t speak English, and faraway places worth visiting. (The locations include both Beijing’s Forbidden City and the Great Wall.) Perhaps Chan’s participation—or the Chinese government’s—ensured that the Chinese come off as neither quaintly charming nor wisely exotic, excepting that Han seems to have magic healing powers.
Silly title or not, the new Kid’s all right.
(My rating is kind of from the point of view of a younger person, but the movie was still fairly enjoyable as an adult.)
IMDB link
viewed at UA Riverview [PFS screening] and reviewed 6/2/2010
Both characters feature handymen who employ repetitive tasks as ways to build strength and discipline. And both save the boy from a bully trained by a cruel master, only to train him for an inevitable showdown. In the 1984 version, Pat Morita’s Miyagi says: “Karate for defense only.” Han says that kung fu is for “making peace with your enemy.” As Han, Chan displays far less of the physicality than in his straight action (or action-comedy) roles, but is extremely likable. In the title role, Jaden Smith has very much the cocky-yet-charming persona of his dad, Will Smith. The only other prominent role, a quasi-love interest for the boy, is charmingly played by Chinese newcomer Wenwen Han.
There’s no getting around that the storyline is still completely formulaic, though that won’t bother the target audience. The message of nonviolence is nice, even if the kids will probably forget about it as the movie builds up to the inevitable revenge ass-kicking. But the novel element that most justifies the remake is the transplanted setting. While the Americans attend an English-language school, and most of the dialogue is in English, you can, more than in most Hollywood films set abroad, surmise that there are interesting places different from the United States, people who don’t speak English, and faraway places worth visiting. (The locations include both Beijing’s Forbidden City and the Great Wall.) Perhaps Chan’s participation—or the Chinese government’s—ensured that the Chinese come off as neither quaintly charming nor wisely exotic, excepting that Han seems to have magic healing powers.
Silly title or not, the new Kid’s all right.
(My rating is kind of from the point of view of a younger person, but the movie was still fairly enjoyable as an adult.)
IMDB link
viewed at UA Riverview [PFS screening] and reviewed 6/2/2010
Friday, June 6, 2008
Kung Fu Panda (***1/4)
Yet another animated animal movie with a you-can-do-anything message, this is nonetheless fairly entertaining, with well-executed action sequences. The title character is infused with the persona—and, roughly, the physique—of the actor who voices him, Jack Black. A little bit paunchy, he mixes hapless bravado with a deeper insecurity. Being raised by a humble Chinese noodle maker who is also a bird, he fantasizes himself the venerated “dragon warrior” with enemies who “were no match for his bodacity.” But when an accident of fate—the juxtaposed emphasis on both fate and controlling one’s destiny makes no sense, but never mind—actually gives him his wish, he thinks there is a mistake. The aid of a reluctant kung fu master (Dustin Hoffman) and a multi-species posse called the Furious Five, perhaps in tribute to early rapper Grandmaster Flash, gives him the courage to face the excellently voiced villain, Ian McShane’s leopard.
IMDB link
viewed 6/7/08 and 6/21/08 at Moorestown; reviewed 6/27/08
IMDB link
viewed 6/7/08 and 6/21/08 at Moorestown; reviewed 6/27/08
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)