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• Legendary Assassin

  Sunday, Mar 1, 2009 1:11PM / Standard Entry / Review

  The movie itself is more engaging than the action, which is a letdown to genre fans, considering what Nicky Li could come up with in Fatal Move's finale, which is one of the best fights ever. Rather than topping it, they're going downhill, with action that relies too much on editing and overuse of wires at odd moments - this is a contemporary movie where gravity-defying stunts are a taboo. At this rate, it's not going to do his career any good, since even if he doesn't top his previous works, Wu Jing should at least maintain a certain standard in the action department, given that the audience is getting more sophisticated and picky.
  
  I find the movie and script captivating enough to be glued, especially when things are always kept busy throughout, with some light, humorous touches, Ronald Cheng's character, or Wu Jing's conversation with Lam Suet. The sweeping paranomic view in the opening boat ride scene is majestic - they should do more of such shots of the island to give one an overview of its surrounding and make good use of it. It's nice to see them coaxing some nice performance out of Celina Jade, who appears quite natural. But I find her accent in the Mandarin dub (was it her own voice?) rather weird - maybe I'll try the Cantonese (but my Cantonese is half-baked) track later. And the finale is quite heartbreaking.
  
  Wu Jing handles his own role with aplomb, there's some magnetic and inscrutable about his character that draws one to him. And he seems like a spiritual, reflective person - he reads sutras like Tao Te Ching - to ask the question and get one thinking would God forgive you for your past mistakes. God is all-forgiving, but we're bound by the law of cause and effect, as well as answerable to our own conscience.
  
  The dark, brooding, elusive and haunting atmosphere in the opening fight is great, but Kou Zhan Wen is underused here. Wu Jing shouldn't have his character character overwhelming everyone else, and should have opted for a more balanced approach to fighting, with some of his opponents standing on equal footing, especially when it's a wasted opportunity with Kou Zhan Wen and later Ken Lo. There are some good and creative moves here and there, but as a whole, the action scenes fall short ultimately, lacking coherency and flow with too many "short cuts".
  
  I suspect Wu Jing is behind some nifty ideas since you can spot some similarities to his TV works in some fights (since Fatal Contact and he mentioned before that he has some part to play in choreography of his works and the martial arts directors are often quite receptive to his suggestions) and maybe he's also to be blamed for too much misplaced wirework for a modern day work. After all, I don't see Nicky Li using so much wires in his other movies or being that creative, in fact his past works seem more monotonous in fighting (excepting Looking for Mr Perfect).
  
  A pity Wu Jing couldn't find an actual martial arts star to play his final opponent (because they're unwilling, Wu Jing isn't famous enough), that's why he could only create a 1 against 100 for the finale. The first half is very unoriginal and sloppy, with Wu Jing randomly kicking the hell out of everyone who're just punching bags and don't get a chance to land any blows. There's no exchange at all. In the second half, after falling of the building, when he's injured, the fight gets more interesting, he's at a disadvantage and there're some good implementations. It's also very tragic and touching, how he's willing to go all out and sacrifice himself for Celina, but the film didn't build up enough romance between them.
  
  If Wu Jing's going to do Tai Chi, he would benefit from getting Cheung Sing Yim's help in casting and calling forth wushu wonders like Xu Xiang Dong, Ji Chun Hua, Li Yuan, Philip Ng, et al, as well as having an able choreographer for period movie, like Yuen Wo Ping, Sammo Hung, or Tan Qiao. 
  
  

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• Champions

  Sunday, Mar 1, 2009 1:09PM / Standard Entry / Review

  Not bad, some entertaining moments from the wisecracking Dicky Cheung, and the hiding the baby scene, but there's a lack of focus, of general direction, and purpose not only with the script but the characters and fights too. Especially nice to see so many martial artists in one single film. Didn't find it too long, but thought the random events don't add anything to the plot.
  
  Good choreography of Praying Mantis (which is said to be Tsui Siu Ming's forte) and Eagle Claw, but Tai Chi is turned into aggressive rather than softer style here. The fights are quite nice, with varied forms, but they're more like mini-fights, some kind of prelude to a fullblown one to one exchange that never really happens - they just end halfway, such between Xu Xiang Dong and Yu Rong Guang, Dicky Cheung and the bodyguard/henchman.
  
  Perhaps, Tsui Siu Ming is trying to take a conciliatory, peaceful approach to martial arts, even then, he should not have every fight ending halfway all the time. Whether they end in a draw or not, they could go some more, not be interrupted by some haphazard occurrence. And it's jarring to juxtapose another event in the middle of a fight scene and keep switching to the running scene in the finale.
  
  Excellent wushu display in the middle and expounding of wushu philosophies but never fully explored. There should have been some actual training rather than just an explanation of the opponents' styles in preparation for the tournament.
  
  Xu Xiang Dong's fantastic as usual and dominates whichever scenes he appears in. Whatever forms he does he just outshines everyone else. His two sons and the kidnapper's bodyguard look to have great skills too.
  
  

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• Ip Man

  Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 11:07AM / Standard Entry / Review

  The first thing you might be asking when you see the movie Ip Man is, who's that guy? Such a humble person with such a collected composure? Is that really Donnie Yen? Yes, it's Donnie Yen, surpassing himself in acting, successfully creating a spanking new image, under Wilson Yip's polished direction and gripping storytelling.
   
   Ip Man's somewhat an anti-hero, he's not the type to stand up for anything... unless he's really forced to. A very unassuming, humble, laidback person, who's utterly devoted to martial arts, he loves sparring against people (his eyes would light up on hearing about/meeting strong opponents), exchanging pointers that he sometimes neglects his family. He's equally obsessed with martial arts as Xing Yu, who studies under all masters. But of course, his wife's lion roar is enough to snap him out of his fervour. And Donnie Yen just looks his part, handling all the qualities very fittingly well and subtly.
   
   The film is divided into two portions - "peaceful" times and invasion. The first portion is too short and too rushed while the second portion is perhaps a mite too long. It has the right amount of well-placed martial arts philosophy without turning too preachy or getting lost (or getting the audience lost) in zany Zenny mumbo jumbo.
   
   While there are many fights, quite a few don't seem particularly long, such as the opening fight.
   
   The first fight is a challenge by Chen Zhi Hui who's trying to prove his worth. Their interaction are quite light-hearted as he arrives at a wrong time. It also establishes the laidback nature of Ip Man. This scene seems rather routine and mechanical as if Donnie Yen's doing dummy training on Chen Zhi Hui who just gets into punching bag position. It looks as if he's practicing Wing Chun on his own.
   
   Two martial arts sequences that stands out the most are highly remarkable Fan Siu Wong going around challenging everyone, and his fight against Ip Man, fighting with grace, speed and power.
   
   Compared to Prodigal Son, Ip Man has more speed, energy, ferocity in the fights, but the choreography doesn't appear to be as detailed and varied in forms. While Wing Chun is more difficult to portray on the film than other forms of martial arts, given its tighter, close-quarter, less glamorous movements, Sammo Hung shows he still has the expertise and creativity in making it come to live again on the screen, but this time at full speed, with no pauses between each move.
   
   In particular, Fan Siu Wong and Donnie Yen are incredibly fast - think of the alleyway fight in SPL, but using traditional forms - their exchange is no less than shockingly fast, powerful and precise. Fan Siu Wong's character resembles Iron Robe in Once Upon A Time in China, but he's more adorable maybe because of his brashness and Fan Siu Wong's excellent portrayal and cute expressions.
   
   There's quite a bit of humour in the first portion of the film, like Donnie Yen's funny look when Fan Siu Wong breaks something in his house as they fight each other and Fan Siu Wong's equally funny responses and facial expression. While "Gomu, gomu no, gatling gun" look a bit cartoony in the trailer, within the context of the film, they are mightily impressive. They're already going at very very astonishing speed, yet Donnie Yen's still able to push himself further, despite his injury and pains in the shoulder. Hats off to him.
   
   But maybe they make Ip Man much too peerless in the film, there's not much of a challenge, anticipation, or tension, whoever he's fighting. He's forever so calm, casual and relaxed, (except when he's enraged against the Japanese - but the reasons somewhat misguided) and his opponents couldn't even come close to him, not even Fan Siu Wong - once Ip Man begins to retaliate. Would definitely wish they make Fan Siu Wong an equal match, rather than having Ip Man being overpowering, and starting the film with the training days of Ip Man would be welcome, perhaps they could make a prequel instead of a sequel, especially considering who Wilson Yip has in mind to play Bruce Lee.
   
   The camerawork can get out of hand at times, in particular Fan Siu Wong's 2nd encounter with Donnie Yen at the cotton mill. This scene looks so much nicer in the BTS, but is a letdown in the film with too much closeups and rapid editing - you could hardly make out anything.
   
   All in all a wonderful film, but marred by less than inspiring synthesiser score rather than live instruments and some quirky cuts/camerawork in the action scenes.
   
   It seems that they have quite a bit of footage that didn't make it to the theatrical cut and they're planning to use them for the sequels. We shall see.
  
  Merry Xmas
  
  
  

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• Fatal Move

  Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 11:14PM / Standard Entry / Review

  Story is not bad - it's about the fall of Sammo Hung's gang because of one fatal move - that has moral implications - he made, with things starting to go awry gradually. There are some witty lines. In a scene where Sammo Hung's gang are trying out new firearms and they ask him to change his weapon too, Sammo Hung takes out his old and trusty rifle, fires three shots, all hitting bull's eye. And he quips, "It's high time you learnt to be environmentally conscious and go green."
   
   There are quite a few action scenes throughout, with three major martial arts scenes. The gunplay is the standard fare of pyrotechnics with bullet hits and things being blown up. While I enjoy martial arts movies, I'm averse to extreme violence; unfortunately, Fatal Move is pretty graphic and extreme with blood and gore.
   
   While Ken Lo does indeed get one fight, it's far too short and over too quickly in a few seconds. Ken Lo mentions in an interview that Wu Jing kept asking if they'd get to fight each other. It's actually possible to let them have a go at each other in a raid on police station; it works within the context of the movie, even if the scenario would be a bit off logic. Newcomer Jacky Heung, who spent a year training in martial arts, gets two action scenes one of which is a martial arts scene whereby he goes on a gory maniacal killing spree. He does have quite a bit of presence. While Sammo Hung has plenty of screen time, he only has one car chase scene and one fight. Wu Jing doesn't have as much screentime, but he gets the lion's share of the action scenes.
   
   The first martial arts scene is when Wu Jing, who doesn't speak much, storms into a rival gang headed by Kou Zhan Wen, Wu Jing's senior from Beijing Wushu Team. He's Wu Jing's close friend and they're both on Dreamboat Soccer Team. It's definitely a pleasant surprise to see him here. He's a very capable martial artist and has been in short roles in Tai Chi 2, Master of Taichi and as the main villain in Fist of Hero and Master Ma II. Before going in, Wu Jing begins, "Since they aren't pulling out their guns, neither should we." Next he tells his subordinates, "Stay back, and watch a great show."
   
   And indeed, we get a great show, a very bloody and violent fight whereby Wu Jing dispenses the rival gang members with ease. The encounter between Kou Zhan Wen and Wu Jing is fantastic. First Kou Zhan Wen stops Wu Jing with further killings of his men with dual weapons, sabre on one hand and something that looks like sai but with two prongs on the other hand, "Chopping up my brothers like vegetables - that's not very nice." He first traps Wu Jing's sword with the sai-like weapon and swings his sabre at Wu Jing - all in split-second. Very neat stuff. He wields dual weapons with great dexterity and speed. The exchange is very intricate, fast and intense. A pity it doesn't last long enough. However, it's the harbinger of what's to come between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing in the finale which is nothing short of breathtakingly jaw-dropping, accompanied by a wonderfully appropriate soundtrack.
   
   While it may appear that the fight between Wu Jing and Sammo Hung is not a necessity but rather added so that we get to see them fight, I beg to differ. It's a battle for pride and honour, as well as to affirm one's skills, to fulfill their wish as martial artists before their untimely doom. It starts with a simple line from Wu Jing, "I don't believe you're number one." And they start. They're really going out at each other. Neither is holding back. The vigour, the breakneck speed, and those moves that look really dangerous, the impact of the hits. While I've seen Wu Jing fighting with sword before, I've not seen him doing it like in Fatal Move with such alacrity and ferocity. This is simply some of the finest weapon works ever.
   
   The martial arts sequences are of traditional type with complex manoeuvres mingled with realism and intensity of modern-style fighting sans gravity-defiance. At the speed and intensity they're going at each other, it's not something that non-martial artists can pull off - not at the level of competence, effortlessness, the rawness, the speed, the insanity, the aggressiveness of the contact, and the precision. They'd be hesitating to do such fatal moves and stunts anyhow.
   
   I've never been big on Nicky Li choreography for modern works from New Police Story to Invisible Target. But with Fatal Move, for once, I'm sold. Not only is he able to come up with such an intense and intricate choreography but also able to inject some freshness and creativity into the matrtial arts sequences, throwing in some exquisite moves of great ingenuity. The only things I wished for are longer length for the fight against Kou Zhan Wen and a lot less violence.

  
  

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• A Legend of Shaolin Kungfu

  Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 6:01PM / Standard Entry / Review

  《少林寺传奇》 A Legend of Shaolin Kungfu - Heroes in Turbulent Times
  
  Director/Producer: Du Xiao (Lemo Do)
  Martial arts choreography: Ching Siu Tung
  Main cast
  Bao Guo An 鲍国安 - Abbot Zhi Yuan
  Li Chong 李冲 - 1st disciple Hui Yuan
  Li Yuan 李渊 - 2nd disciple Hui Shi
  Ye Jian Wei 叶剑卫 - 3rd disciple Hui Nu
  Xie Miao 谢苗 - 4th disciple Hui Ren
  Wang Xiao Long 王小龙 - 5th disciple Hui Kong
  Sun Hui Ning 孙卉凝 - Swordswoman Xi Yue
  Wang Gang 王刚 - Gao Yang, Emperor of Qi
  Wu Jing An 吴京安 - Yang Jian, General of Zhou
  
  Official site: http://www.filmland.com.cn/en_index.htm
  
   
  
  
  

  Legend of Shaolin Kungfu series is a trilogy consisting of Heroes in Troubled Times, Thirteen Warrior Monks, and Eighteen Arhats. The first, Heroes in Troubled Times, consisting of 42 episodes, is now airing in China to great success, with very high viewership ratings. It seems that the DVD has not been officially released in China yet. So far, the full length DVD appears to be available only in Singapore. Picture quality of this DVD set, except for the last disc, is the not the best since it's compressed quite a bit, with slightly fuzzy images when the camera zooms about, with 8 episodes being packed onto a single DVD-9 disc.

  Legend of Shaolin Kungfu I comes in six short stories telling the daring exploits of the 5 disciples of Abbot Zhiyuan. The last is a vagrant who tags along with the 5 monks after he meets them; a smart-aleck character of great annoyance who breaks all rules as a monk, yet remains faithful to Shaolin Temple. The stories are independent of each other, except for the relationships, ties and backgrounds of the characters who appear throughout the series. Being independent stories, it seems that the 5 disciples of abbot Zhiyuan rarely make much progress in martial arts skills, and training sequences are notably absent.
  
  
  The Neurotic Prince - Our favourite baddie Ji Chun Hua plays a bloodthirsty, aggressive, vile general serving under psychotic and maniacal Prince Anthony Wong. Second and third disciples Li Yuan and Ye Jian Wei have some superb sequences against Ji Chun Hua here. Li Yuan is simply amazing.
  
  The Brigands - Yu Cheng Hui and his gang of brigands are posing a big threat to the region, robbing caravans, killing and kidnapping the people. Some of them even dress as monks, thereby implicating Shaolin Temple. Yu Cheng Hui is someone who looks more radiant, commanding as he ages. He's doubled frequently (possibly by the fantastic Guo Hui who also appears in this portion as Yu Cheng Hui's right-hand man) - for crazy stunts that someone nearing/around 70 years old wouldn't be able to pull off anyway. But it's still a delight to watch when he is doing his own martial arts - double-handed sword - even if the weapon used is a variation.
  
  Contention for the Kasaya - Despite his present status as the High Priest, enjoying immense power and prestige, expelled Shaolin monk Wu Ma is still not satisfied. He is still sore over not being named the successor to Shaolin Temple and covets Bodhidharma's Kayasa. A slow-moving story. Yawning not included - provide your own.
  
  The Bodhi Sword - The 5 Shaolin disciples are now assigned to guarding The Bodhi Sword that everyone, including Chen Jia Jia and Tsui Siu Ming, are eying on. This is my favourite; finally some training sequences here but still not enough of them. Somewhat wuxia-esque, dance-like flavour for Chen Jia Jia's action scenes. Very touching scene on how the monks would rather transfer the pain to themselves than let the deer come to further harm.
  
  Princess' Love - Lovely Princess Fatima Yaqi runs away from arranged marriage to Shaolin Temple to look for her missing lover Xie Miao. Finally, Xie Miao gets to shine here with weapon work and fisticuffs. The exchanges between the monks themselves during the trials represent some of the best martial arts sequences ever.
  
  Return of the Prince - The brother of present emperor of Qi sees the royal family from the previous dynasty a prime threat to his ascendency. Having found out that the former prince is hiding in Shaolin Temple, he sends general Li Qi Long to capture him. Just as the first, the final segment of the series contains lots of fightings.
  
  
  The scrīpt is excellent, compelling, with good pace. All characters are well-written, each having distinct personalities, strengths, and weaknesses - except for the abbot, who is practically enlightened, flawless, above all worldly desires. He's after all, modelled after 2nd Zen Patriarch Hui Ke. Each story usually opens with a simple, typical setting. Yet as it progresses, there unfolds layer after layer of complexity, and involves something of an even bigger scope and/or twist. Fair amount of philosophies are dished out too, often by abbot Bao Guo An while his six disciples, who are selfless and kind by nature, are practitioners who have to overcome obstacles along the way, not yielding to temptations, and learning to let go, to forgive their enemies. It's a faithful production revolving around Shaolin Temple that tries its best not to distort Buddhist doctrines, by having monks eating meat and such.
  
  I've never seen such an impressive ensemble of martial artists in one single TV series since Master of Taichi. The production advertises having 16 wushu champions and they're not joking. Each of the six stories comes with a number of different opponents, all with strong martial arts background, for the 5 monks to fight. In other words, those who fight, must have the capacity to do so well. And those who don't fight, are veteran actors who provide convincing acting. This is the best kungfu series I've seen since 36th Chamber of Southern Shaolin - I'd have gone with Seven Swordsmen if it's not wuxia.
  
  Not only does Legend of Shaolin Kungfu contains three to four times the amount of martial arts scenes compared to a regular series, they are executed mostly to utmost perfection, with no resort to camera tricks. It's a wonder they are able to film such a large quantity of martial arts sequences, all reasonably long, ranging from 1 to 3 minutes, without sacrificing quality in just 4 months (Correction: They spent almost 6 months in filming). Moreover, the fights are not thrown in haphazardly for the sake of having fights - they blend seamlessly with the plot. There's always a motivation behind each fight.
  
  

  All martial arts sequences are of exceptional quality, on the realistic side, with occasional use of pseudo bullet time, used to good effects. The one to one exchanges are especially great. However, when the 5 Shaolin monks team up to fight one impossibly strong opponent at the end of each story, the choreography gets rather shoddy implementation, with weak formations, quick cuts, and rather chaotic, over-the-top choreography. Maybe Ching Siu Tung can't handle formation fighting, or maybe they're short of time. And it's odd that the monks still need to team up even up to the final story. Haven't they made any progress at all? Are Shaolin martial arts so weak that they can't face an opponent single-handedly, or it's simply for the sake of ensemble casting? Or maybe I need to watch this from the perspective of the guy being surrounded, since when the 5 Shaolin monks fight individually against many opponents, the action remains good. Otherwise, the editing of the action is good, with wide shots and long cuts, showing everything clearly. However, sometimes, they love chopping up a martial arts sequences into parts, inserting a drama scene in between. This is bad. Big disruption, and they've even eaten up bits of the action in the process, such that when it switches back to the martial arts sequence, it doesn't always connect to the previous part. 
  
   
  
  Among the five Shaolin disciples, each using an unique skill or two, Li Yuan (above) stands out the most. He's certainly one to watch out for. He has a very good potential. His moves exhibit a combination of athleticism, effortlessness, potentency, and gracefulness. He is simply amazing and highly convincing. While he uses fist almost exclusively, he is no less conversant in swordplay, though only employed once. His fortes are Taichi, Sword, Sabre, Drunken Sword, Praying Mantis Fist; Tae Kwan Do; and Sanda. Ching Siu Tung must have been impressed by him to invite him for An Empress and the Warriors. He'll be playing the antagonist in Legend of Bruce Lee series. Ye Jian Wei and Xie Miao put up very good performances too, handling complex manoeuvres with ease. Wang Xiao Long is still young and is there mostly for adding a touch of cuteness. Li Chong is perhaps the only monk not known to have martial arts background. His actions are of more simplistic, straight-foward, brute force type, something suitable for one of his size and weight.
  
  Legend of Shaolin Kungfu shows that China has no shortage of fresh martial arts talent, it just depends on whether the producer, director are willing to take the risk and cast them when they shoot a kungfu series/film, in which only professional martial artists are capable of bringing out the authentic flavour of and doing true justice to martial arts. Many kudos to Du Xiao for daring to make such an bold investment in bringing fresh martial arts talent to the screen. Definitely looking forward to Legend of Shaolin Kungfu 2, where most of 5 disciples are back.

  
  

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