"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" American Theatrical Poster

Director: Ang Lee
Writer: Hui Ling Wang, Kuo Jung Tsai, James Schamus, Kuo-Rong Tsai, Wang Hui Ling
Cast: Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat, Chang Chen, Cheng Pei Pei, Lung Sihung, Betty Huang Yi
Running Time: 115 min.

By Numskull

Pretty much everything that has been said about this movie is true.

The cast is superb. Chow Yun-Fat, who gets top billing, turns in a fine performance as usual but actually has a smaller role than his female co-stars, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. Yeoh is great as an middle-aged female warrior weary of the travelling lifestyle, and I was most pleased to see that she didn’t get dolled up too much to make her look younger (and therefore sexier to Studio Joe) than she really is (don’t take that as a slam on her, as I have more respect for her than for any pair of big tits posing as an actress that you can name). New kid on the block Zhang Ziyi has immense screen presence and, quite frankly, steals the show. You can’t take your eyes off her. She displays a vast scope of talent in one role played to perfection; she portrays multiple facets of Jen’s personality, from the sweet and innocent girl next door to the troubled loner with the mysterious secret to (most memorably) the cocky little bitch who stops at nothing to get what she wants. If there is any justice in this world, she’ll be a mega-star.

The story, despite the presence of a few cliches which most of us have seen before, is also very well done. Yes, Li Mu Bai wants to avenge his murdered master; yes, Jen is the unfulfilled daughter of a wealthy man who doesn’t want to go through with an arranged marriage; and yes, Lo is the thief with the heart of gold who falls for the rich and dignified princess type. But never mind that. Those points may be familiar but the plot’s progression is something else.

The visuals are very impressive indeed. Images of the overcrowded city streets that China is known for in this day and age are juxtaposed with sweeping shots of harsh deserts and wild forests, enforcing the idea that even the greatest fighter and the wealthiest nobleman was at the mercy of Mother Nature to some degree “way back then”.

The soundtrack is quite fitting, with the ethnic tones having a very strong presence while not being so abrasive to Joe Average with his Eminem and Jane Typical with her Backstreet Boys that they’re likely to cover their ears.

The subtitles, as far as I could tell, are flawless. I did not spot a single grammatical error. The only problem is that this probably cuts into the film’s profitability, as the average American hardly ever reads anything requiring a longer attention span than a bumper sticker.

The fighting (which, let’s face it, is the biggest reason why lots of people, myself included, watched or want to watch this movie in the first place) is magnificent. They’ve got that super-hero mentality where people can jump 30 feet in the air, but it’s all done smoothly. In particular, the two duels between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi are so jaw-dropping that you’ll never be quite as impressed with the action in most other movies again. After watching these two ladies go at it with such frenetic energy yet so much grace and fluidity at the same time, I wished, for the first time in my life, that standing ovations were permitted in movie theaters.

Now, with all of that having been said, I have some gripes with this movie. They weren’t nearly enough to keep me from enjoying it but they’re substantial enough to put here. First, the treetop battle. Chow Yun-Fat and Zhang Ziyi engaging in a fight-chase hybrid while leaping from treetop to treetop may sound like a cool idea, but it looks ridiculous. There’s a line between poetic visual fantasy and cartoon super-hero fantasy, and this scene definitely crosses it. Still, the movie as a whole is so good I almost felt guilty for snickering. Also, there is no final fight at the end. In a straightforward martial arts action movie this would be unforgivable, but CTHD is really a drama with the battles serving as plot points rather than gratuitous eye candy, so it isn’t as big a deal. The final result of this drawback is that Li Mu Bai’s revenge is not of the most satisfying variety.

Somebody somewhere has surely referred to this as “a martial arts chick flick”. This is not entirely unfair, as a pivotal part of the story is the doomed romance between Jen and Lo, which may or may not make you think “Get on with it, for fuck’s sake”, but that is just too bland a categorization to do this movie justice. It deserves better than to be pigeonholed as a faggy art-house film. Watch it with an open mind and I think you’ll agree.

Numskull’s Rating: 8/10

By Vic Nguen

“One of the greatest movies ever made!”
- Joel Siegel, Good Morning America

“The most exhilarating martial arts movie I have ever seen.”
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

“A work of astonishing originality.”
- The Wolf, Inside Out Film

“This film was so great that I literally shit my pants, and the excruciatingly horrific smell, along with the sheer brilliant greatness of the film, brought tears to my eye!”
- Random movie goer quoted at an overpriced multiplex; Fucktown Virginia

Okay, so that last quote may have been derived from my own twisted mind, but I concocted that obscenity-laden tripe for a reason. I’ll admit, CTHD is a good film (especially when compared to most of the shit Hollywood big-whigs shove down America’s collective movie-going asscrack (can’t remember if that was a Numskull quote, oh well, subconscious plagiarism isn’t really plagiarism)), but to go as far as to say that it is the greatest movie of all-time, that’s pushing it. I went into the movie theater with all the hype and hoopla stuck in my mind, and when I left, I found myself asking the question, “so that was it?” Now that I think about it, I probably would have liked the film a lot more if it wasn’t for the fuckin media overkill. Then again, I’ll probably end up going off into another one of my “FUCK HOLLYWOOD” tangents, so let’s discuss the actual film, shall we.

Most of you guys know the plot synopsis, so I won’t waste your time with it. First things first, the singular aspect that impressed me the most from this film is definitely the cinematography. Peter Pau, as far as I’m concerned, is one of the best cinematographers working in the film industry today. He can master and adapt to any genre at a moments notice (just take a look at his subtle work in Anna Magdalena, and juxtapose that to his inventive genius in The Phantom Lover, and you’ll see what I mean). His work on CTHD is no different. The film is filled to the brim with painstakingly elaborate compositions that are picturesque and beautiful. The scenes that take place in the desert flashback definitely come to mind. Another great thing about Pau’s work in CTHD is the fact that he knows how to film a fight scene. Take a look at all the fight-flicks that Hollywood churns out today, and you’ll notice that ALL of the fight scenes are shot so close that it is impossible to appreciate the actors true skills. You won’t see any of that crap in CTHD, however (or any other competent martial arts film, for that matter). Pau utilizes wide shots, which, along with conservative editing, makes CTHD’s fight scenes all the more exhilarating then compared to say, Romeo Must Die (or Rush Hour, or Lethal Weapon 4, or Mortal Kombat, or Shanghai Noon, yada yada yada….) Pau’s win at this years Academy Awards finally gave him the international recognition that he deserves, and hopefully he’ll get better work in the future, instead of making more shit like Dracula 2001.

When you’ve got a cast that includes Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, and the legendary Cheng Pei-pei, you know that acting wasn’t a major concern for the filmmakers. Chow Yun-fat, as always, gives a noteworthy performance as the aging martial arts master. I agree that he appeared awkward in many scenes with copious amounts of dialogue, but I’ll let it slide since Mandarin isn’t his native language, and because he’s Chow fucking Yun-fat. Michelle Yeoh doesn’t wear any skin tight leather in this one, but she still really hot for a character that’s supposed to be an aging hag. Oh yeah, and she gives a good performance as well, especially considering since, like Chow Yun-fat, Mandarin is not her native language. Zhang Ziyi (who could easily pass off as Gong Li’s younger sister) is now one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood, based solely on the strength of this film. It’s easy to see why. She’s got great screen presence, and she handles her vast amount of screen time with confidence and ease. Can’t wait to see her in Rush Hour 2. Chang Chen was quite good in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together, and he handles his role in CTHD well enough. Looks to me like he will be another one of those stars “on the rise” (better if it’s him, and not some talentless hack like Edison Chan, who stunk up Gen-Y Cops, which was a piece of horse manure by the way). Cheng Pei-pei starred in one of my personal favorite films (Come Drink With Me), so her turn as the evil-martial-arts-master-filled-with-vengeance brought me back to the days of King Hu (who obviously influenced Ang Lee, and whose films are infinitely superior; seek out A Touch of Zen if you got the chance.)

Of course, a vast majority of the people that contributed to the $200 million+ box office gross could give a dingo’s dick about storyline, acting, cinematography, etc. What they wanted was pure, adrenaline pumping wire fu. So how were the fight scenes, you ask? Good, to say the least, but nothing I haven’t seen before. Call me crazy, but I can think of about a dozen or so other fight scenes that I’d prefer over the ones in CTHD. Maybe it’s that hard-bitten, cynical-elitist side of me speaking, but face it, the fight scenes in CTHD are not the “be-all, end-all” as far as kung fu flicks go. Yuen Woo-ping has done a lot better (with the exception of The Matrix, I just couldn’t get past Keanu and his pseudo-Bruce Lee impersonation). Despite the bitter ranting, I can honestly say that Michelle vs. Zhang Zhiyi in the dojo was loads of fun. Plenty of aggressiveness and athleticism on display there. Their opening chase/fight was good, albeit a bit anti-climactic. The much talked about bamboo forest scene is a tad disappointing as far as fight scenes go, but the cinematography was astounding the entire way. There are others peppered throughout the film, but they were nothing to write home about (although the restaurant scene had some good laughs). The entire wire-fu thing has sharply divided many viewers. Either you love it or hate it. I personally love wire fu, that is, if it’s done right. The wire fu in CTHD is executed well enough, but appears stilted and shoddy when compared to superior efforts.

Hmm, what else have I yet to discuss (assuming you have been reading the entire way through). Oh yes, Tan Dun’s wonderful musical score provides the perfect complement to the films melancholy tone. Occasionally haunting and very elaborate, it is a job well done (thank god there aren’t any grating rap interludes). I could have done without the sappy pop-stylings of Coco Lee though, but its a minor quibble since she only has one song throughout the entire film. The editing by Tim Squyres allows CTHD to develop at a slow, VERY deliberate pace that works well for this type of film. So those of you who grew up nurtured by the evils of MTV, this isn’t the film for you (assuming, of course, that you have the attention spans of an acorn, which is probably the vast majority). Ang Lee’s direction has been endlessly discussed and praised by film critics everywhere, so I have no real incites regarding the subject. But if someone refers to the fuckin movie as “Sense and Sensibility with kung fu” again, I swear there will be hell to pay.

Anyway, with that out of my system, let’s get down to some closing thoughts. I am ecstatic that CTHD has been a mega-success worldwide, because that could only lead to increased exposure of not just martial arts films, but Asian cinema in general. In the last couple of months, films that Hollywood studios would usually ignore are now getting picked up for US distribution (ie- Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer and The King of Comedy). Yes, there is the possibility that these films will be butchered and dubbed (ie-every single non-US Jackie Chan flick), but there is also the inherent possibility that these films will be released subtitled and uncut (ie-Gen X Cops, Miracles, Takeshi Kitano films, etc.). No, CTHD is not the best film of all time, but hopefully it will inspire others to further explore a genre brimming with better films.

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 8/10

By David Reiffer

All the super positive reviews for this movie simply amazed me. Don’t get me wrong, this is a ground-breaking film. Action movies will never be the same. But I couldn’t believe such praise was laid upon a kung fu movie. I rarely take seriously the criticism of kung fu movies. Many because I believe its impact depends on the “WOW! Fact or” of its contents.

After seeing this movie, no, living this movie, I can understand the hype which is all very well deserved. There was great acting by all the principle characters and mind-blowing action along the way. After successful releases such as The Matrix and this film, mainstream movies with never be the same.

David Reiffer’s Rating: 9.5/10

By Klotera

First off – this is NOT an HK martial arts movie. Don’t expect it to be like one. This is not Fist of Legend, Drunken Master II, or Iron Monkey. What is it? A beautiful character based story rolled into a unique martial arts film experience. Much in the vein of Ang Lee’s earlier “Eat Drink Man Woman” (another brilliant movie), this film is about the characters, their situations, how the deal with their situations, and how all their situations come together to affect the others.

In this, Ang Lee’s new masterpiece succeeds just as much as that earlier effort. This is combined with a beautiful setting, featuring amazing locales, cinematography, and score. Martial arts sequences are beautifully choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping who manages to really make the fights fit in perfectly with the style of the film. There are plenty of wires, but the fighting itself is more grounded than your average wire-fu. While it isn’t quite Fist of Legend, the martial arts here are quite memorable, particularly the Yeoh/Zhang fight in the armory.

Performances all around are great, with Zhang Ziyi’s confused and angry character stealing the show. The somewhat forced Mandarin of Chow and Yeoh may be a slight point of controversy (much less so for those of us who don’t speak Mandarin) – but it doesn’t change the fact that you can see the emotion in their faces and in their actions. Some people say this movie is overrated. As a martial arts movie, maybe. As a film overall – no way. This character based film is engaging and unforgettable. It is the perfect way for Ang Lee to pay tribute to the martial arts and wuxia stories he loves. Truly one of the best movies I have ever seen and one of only a handful that would get a 10/10 from me (the other couple being domestic films).

Klotera’s Rating: 10/10

By James H.

From the very first shot until the very end of the credits, I was glued to the edge of my seat, with my eyes glued to the screen in front. I watched for 120 minutes, this epic story of love, honour, freedom and revenge.

The complex story follows the search for the Green Destiny sword. Retiring warrior Li Mu Bai (a simply phenomenal Chow Yun-Fat), gives his sword as a gift. However, the sword is stolen by a mischievous young martial artist Jen (the gorgeous Zhang Ziyi, who will be in “Rush Hour 2″). Li Mu Bai’s close friend, fellow warrior, and object of his affection, Yu Shu Lien (a marvelous Michelle Yeoh), then vows to get it back. Watching this story unfold is one of the most exciting things one will ever see.

The acting is above top-notch. I was absorbed by every facial expression and every movement. Normally, when you watch a film with Chow Yun-Fat, it’s always Chow Yun-Fat as so-and-so. But in “Crouching Tiger”, the character absorbs Yun-Fat, and you forget that it is him.

However, the film belongs to Michelle Yeoh and new-comer Zhang Ziyi. When they take the screen, they leap off of it. Both command enormous screen presence, and could easily carry this film on their own.

As well, this film could have easily collapsed under the weight of the complex story and the actors, but director Ang Lee superbly manages to gracefully holds everything together, and keeps the film at a lightening pace.

Also, Lee creates easily some of the most awe-inspiring fight scenes ever committed to celluloid. Forget “Police Story”, forget “Fist of Legend” and forget “Drunken Master 2″. They are nothing compared with this film. Yeoh and Ziyi move with grace and fury; they are unbelievable.

The year 2000 has been an abysmal one for filmgoers. We watched all summer, month after month, as mediocre films came and went leaving little impact. Not only is “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” the best film of the year, it will leave an impact on filmgoers for several years to come.

James H’s Rating: 10/10

By Retter

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” stars Chow Yun Fat as a retiring warrior called Li Mu Bai who is giving up his prized sword to a master. He has come from a period of meditation, which he found disturbing, and wants to put his warrior days behind him. He is co-stared by Michelle Yeo who plays Yu Shu Lien, an equally gifted warrior in martial arts, who once was in love with the brother of Li Mu Bai, but he was killed in battle. She now has feelings for Li but won’t show them to him in respect for his brother. Li, after giving his priceless sword to a master and close friend, finds the sword is stolen by the beautiful Jen played by Zhang Ziyi. Li must get the sword back, and he is aided in his quest for what is right, by Yu Shu Lien. Zhang is a student of Jade Fox ,a ruthless martial artist who is known for her stealing of a secret martial arts manual, and the murder of Li’s former Master.

With these main characters, and also Zhang Ziyi’s true love interest, unfolds a truly engrossing story which although is long travels at a lightening pace. The acting by all the leads is brilliant, and all the supporting cast are flawless. The story is complicated but is easy to follow, with Ang Lee showing the world what a great director he is. The cinematography is brilliant especially in the beautiful natural surroundings where the film’s characters often are. The plot is excellently constructed and all the characters are well developed. The films music score has a variety of classic chinese music pieces, and are often emotionally stirring, and add to the films authentic atmosphere. The film settings are beautifully colorful and very realistic for the time period the film tries to replicate.

Just the things I have said so far are reasons to go and watch this film, but it is all topped off by amazingly choreographed fight scenes, which are furious and dazzlingly over the top. These fight scenes were directed by Yuen Wo Ping who is famous for his work on “The Matrix”, but “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is a far superior film in every aspect. I was highly impressed by And Lee’s direction because he blended classic story telling with jaw dropping action to produce one very entertaining film. The use of “wires” was brilliant in this film, where warriors can fly from rooftop to rooftop. This is a great example of excellent world cinema which is hugely vibrant, fresh, and acclaimed by both critics and audiences.

If you only see one foreign movie this year, make sure you see “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, because it is such an outstanding film which is guaranteed to satisfy.

Retter’s Rating: 9/10 (I can’t give any film ten because there can always be room for improvement although this is near perfect)

"Police Story 3" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Stanley Tong Gwai Lai
Writer: Edward Tang Ging Gan, Fibe Ma Mei Ping
Producer: Willie Chan Chi Keung, Edward Tang Ging Gan
Cast: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Wah, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Kenneth Tsang Kong, Josephine Koo Mei Wah, Bill Tung Biu, Philip Chan Yan Kin, Mars, Ken Lo
Running Time: 90/95 min.

By Numskull

This is a review for Police Story 3. Not “Supercop.” FUCK “Supercop.” Police Story 3. Yeah, baby.

Jackie Chan, director of the first two Police Story films, passes the reins to Stanley Tong and shares the spotlight with Michelle Yeoh, whose unhappy marriage to producer/boy billionaire Dickson Poon had just been terminated and who was ready, willing, and able to resume kicking ass. This time ’round he’s on assignment in mainland China and Chan Ka Kui (formerly Chen Chia Chu…don’t ask) has to contend with “stranger in a strange land” syndrome, and his usual confidence and hardness of the rectal region are toned down somewhat. That’s not the only way this installment differs from its predecessors. Superintendent/Chief/Whatever Raymond is gone, Uncle Bill is now known as Uncle Piao, and Mars, who played a police officer in the first two films, is now a minor (VERY minor, actually) villain named Hsiung…a questionable casting decision, to say the least.

Perhaps the biggest difference of all is simply the general “feel” of the movie. Not for soccer moms herding their kids into the theater to watch Shanghai Noon are the scenes of drug injection, no-name characters getting gunned down, and Michelle’s character killing one of her own agents to prevent her cover from getting blown. It’s undoubtedly one of Jackie Chan’s most violent movies, and while that fact in and of itself doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I really think it would have been better off with a little more of his trademark goofiness. A LITTLE more, mind you. The poolside scene stank of ’80s sitcom, and on the Chinese DVD, Maggie Cheung’s voice is about two octaves lower when she’s speaking English. Next time, get someone bilingual to do the dubbing, eh?

This installment’s BATATE (Big Action Thingie At The End) is a doozy…so much the better after the pretty-good-but-not-quite-up-to-Police-Story-standards stuff earlier on. You can’t help but question Jackie Chan’s sanity as he hangs from a ladder dangling out of helicopter trying to shake him off as it flies high above the streets of Kuala Lumpur, and Michelle Yeoh has possibly her most nail-biting scenes ever…clinging to the side of a (fast) moving van and falling back onto the hood of a (again, fast) moving car (watch the outtakes for a true “holy shit” moment), AND the now famous motorcycle jump onto the top of a moving train. (Damn, I used the word “moving” too much in that sentence.) The festivities conclude with some nice hand-to-hand combat atop the train (remember when Jackie did that at the end of his movies? Ah, memories…).

At this point, the Police Story series is showing signs of its age, but certainly hasn’t degenerated into a sad parody of its former greatness. Worth owning, but only in its untainted, Tom Jones-free incarnation.

Numskull’s Rating: 7/10

In this installment of the ‘Police Story’ saga, Jackie gets loaned to mainland China as a Hong Kong ‘Supercop’. He’s supposed to infiltrate a mob by helping the mob boss’s brother escape from prison. He teams up with Michelle Yeoh, as China’s chief of security. Great choice! Finally, a female who can hold her own with him, kick for kick! They should work together more often. Action and stunts galore, with just enough comedy thrown in to make everybody happy. By the end, I was pretty sure that the two of them moonlight as the Energizer Bunny. NOTHING stops them!!!

Added plus – Jackie dubs his own voice. Watch the outtakes for Jackie to join the (no doubt) exclusive club of people who’ve been hit by helicopters and lived to tell the tale. One minus – does Jackie really order ‘roast cat – with string beans’ in the restaurant?!?!?! No matter how many times I play it, that’s what I hear!

Ro’s Rating: 9/10

A few weeks ago, I was bored and rented “Police Story III”, just for a comparison between the H.K. and U.S. version. I was quite disappointed when I got it home and watched it. To my dismay, the film ran only 95 minutes. Anyway, the scenes that were cut from the U.S. version didn’t help the movie.

Now the film itself is a good one, in fact it is a great one. Jackie goes into mainland China to retrieve a drug lord and infiltrate his gang. He is paired with a mainland officer played by Michelle Yeoh. That’s the basic premise and that’s all you need to know.

Some fans were disappointed with the lack of fights in the film. It is an action film, not a chop-socky. If you want to see a chop-socky flick rent “Drunken Master II” or “Young Master”. The action scenes in the film are great. There’s plenty of gunfire and explosions for everyone.

“Supercop” is, by far, the best JC film to be released in North American theatres. The dubbing is great, but the soundtrack is something to be desired. It is full of hip-hop and rock tunes that just don’t seem to fit the film. Although, Tom Jones’ rendition of “Kung Fu Fighting” is superb.

James H’s Rating: 9/10

This is one of chan’s most overrated movies. I’m not saying this is a bad movie but it had a lot of slow points to it. The fights were waaaaaay to short and needed more of them. The scene were Jackie fights a comrad in a police headquarters was a cool fight scene. Michelle Yeoh also had a few kick ass moments in this movie too. The thing that saved the movie was the stunts that takes place in Malaysia when Michelle Yeoh hangs from a bus avoiding other cars, Jackie hanging from a rope ladder of a helicopter, and Michelle Yeoh Jumping onto a moving train on a motorcycle. The previews which show all of the cool stunts, explosions, and cool kung fu movies is all you get in this movie. Overall with the Ok short fights and real impressive stunts…not bad.

Dennis’ Rating: 6.5/10

This one took a little getting used to. I had just grown to love the charm, dumb humor and Jackie’s brand of “non-violent” violence when I saw Supercop and my first impression was that it was rather dark and well… Violent. After the 2nd viewing I warmed up to it and caught more of the subtle humor. Michelle Yeoh was fantastic, a far superior role for her than the weak Bond flick, and the chemistry was great, as was the acting of the entire cast. As everyone else said, the action is spectacular, the best and most polished in any Chan film I’ve seen, however I enjoy Chan films more for the amazing martial arts and Supercop was definitely lacking in that department.

Am I the only one who thinks the beginning fight sequence in the school is absolutely incredible? Except that it was so short and didn’t really have any purpose (There’s no bad guy to hate) I think this is one of Jackie’s best displays of fighting on film – and probably the most realistic. I swear I re-wound that 2 minute scene like, 15 times! Overall, while not one of my personal favorites, definitely one of Chan’s finest moments…

Dembone’s Rating: 8.5/10

I think I’d have to rate this one as my all-time fave (to date). Forget the “lack” of fights, there’s a _story_ here! Jackie’s character actually has more than one dimension, and the chemistry with Michelle Yeoh (who, by the by, kicks major ass — gotta get me a copy of “Wing Chun” now) is priceless. Further, the frequent references to Jackie’s opera days are totally hilarious; just wish I knew more about Chinese opera so I could confirm my suspicions that some of the poses he strikes (e.g., before Ken Lo gets whacked by the sign during the train fight) are straight out of the opera. I could (and almost have) watch this one every day for a week quite happily and never get sick of it. Anyone who hasn’t seen this yet needs to do so, or suffer the wrath of those of us who have.

Marcia’s Rating: 8/10

Would I burn in hell if I dare to say that I find this film to be better than the original? That point may be arguable, but consider this. A friend of mine once pointed out that the only good Star Trek films are the even numbered ones (Wraith of Khan, Voyage Home, Undiscovered Country, First Contact). While that’s hardly indisputable, it seems right to me. We have a similar pattern goin’ on with the odd numbered Police Story films. So far, 1 and 3 are the ones that matter (I’m looking forward to the long rumored number 5). But while the original was a groundbreaking stunner that brought kung fu into the modern world and more or less started Jackie tinkering with the non-fighting action sequence, and number 2 was lackluster attempt to recreate it, Police Story 3: Supercop is an altogether different beast.

Imagine if Die Hard 2 had real stunts instead of special effects and Bruce Willis did them himself. Or if Tomorrow Never Dies didn’t suck. Or if Joseph Yana knew what the hell he was talking about (ok, that one doesn’t really fit, but I couldn’t resist). That might give you an idea of the dynamic explosiveness of Supercop. The film had some Chan fans slightly disappointed, I think because it was a bit of a departure that violated some Chan purist ideals. First of all, Chan dared to allow another star to have their share of the spotlight. That would be the lovely and ass-kicking Michelle Yeoh, who pounds major damage and defies death with almost the same energized abandon as Jackie does. Hmmm, wait a minute, she’s not really the first costar to shine in a Chan flick. What about Sammo Hung in Project A? Or Yuen Biao in Wheels on Meals? Or Simon Yuen and I assume his stunt double in Drunken Master? Oh wait, I see why they’re upset. Because she’s woman! There’s a woman in a Police Story film who’s not there to just get kidnapped and be the source of comic relief? Don’t get me wrong, I love Maggie Cheung, but her talents as an actress were hardly being challenged here. It’s time to tell the purists that women aren’t just gonna sit at home, wear an apron, bake brownies, vacuum the carpet, cook dinner and have the husband’s cigar, martini and slippers ready for him when he come home from work. The 1950′s are over, Donna Reed is off the air and women are empowered! They’re gonna jump on to moving trains with their motorcycles, they’re gonna hold on for dear life on the side of a moving van, they’re gonna take a running jump into the air, do a flying split and kick two guys in the head at the same time, just like Michelle Yeoh does. They’re gonna deliver great action and look hot doing it. And action flicks will be all the better for it, just like Supercop is.

Second, and this criticism is more justified, there is less fighting in this flick than there had been in Jackie’s previous ones. The difference is noticeable and some Chan fans may be understandably irked. But I personally didn’t mind, because what we get instead is a virtual shopping list of action film conventions (so pay no attention to what Tom Weisser has to say). Supercop has everything you could ever want in an action film. Fights, explosions, stunts, shootouts, car chases, it literally has it all. Highlights include a drug trafficker’s summit that erupts into a fantastic shoot out, a rumble in a restaurant, and the heart stopping finale, which has Jackie hanging from a flying helicopter and culminates with him goin’ toe to toe with the mighty Ken Lo on top of a moving train. It may not be Drunken Master 2 (nothing is), but it’s damn fine fisticuffs nonetheless. And although the movie starts a little slowly (unlike the original, it doesn’t open with an action sequence), once it gets going, it rolls on like a freight train and just doesn’t stop. With Who Am I going straight to HBO (Can we send Ken Lo to the offices at Tri-Star to kick a little ignorant film executive ass?), Supercop remains, by far, the best of Jackie’s American theatrical releases.

Stockton22′s Rating: 10/10

This film is awesome! From the jaw dropping stunts to the beautiful and stunning Michelle Yeoh, this film has got it all! Jackie plays Chen Chia Chu, a supercop that has been assigned to break a dangerous drug ring led by a drug lord named Chaibat. To do so, he must free Panther, one of Chaibats men in jail and gain his trust to help him capture Chaibat. Joining Jackie is Inspector Yang played by the stunning Michelle Yeoh,she out does Jackie until the end, where Jackie jumps off a building to a helicoptor ladder, flying around Malaysia until dropping into a train for a fight against Chaibat and his men. All I could say is that this movie is fantastic and is easily available for rent at all video stores, but I recommend that you try to get this film subtitled and letterboxed at a local Chinese video store. If you cant get it from the Chinese video store, just get it!

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 6/10 without Michelle Yeoh; 10/10 with her

Why, why, WHY didn’t this movie make at LEAST $100 million in the US last summer. Come to think of it, why didn’t KINGPIN make it to the $100 mil. point. I’ll tell ya why, cause the little automatons were MUCH to busy watching INDEPENDENCE DAY for the umpteenth time. The American moviegoing public sucks, and you can quote me on that. Everyone I’ve shown “Supercop” to can’t get enough of it. I’ll say to them, “Didn’t you borrow it last week” and they’ll say “Yeaaaa…uh, no.” then I’ll say “BULLCRAP, YOU DID TOO!” and they say “OKAY, OKAY, I’LL COME CLEAN, I DID BORROW IT LAST WEEK, but I just ((sob, whimper)) love that movie ((heavy sobs)) SOOOOO MUUUUCH!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” then I’ll laugh, and laugh, and laugh….

Dan-O’s Rating: 9/10

Vic Nguyen’s Rating:

Yes, Madam

Director: Corey Yuen Kwai
Writer: Barry Wong Ping Yiu
Producer: Sammo Hung Kam Bo
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, John Sham Kein, Meng Hoi, Tsui Hark, James Tien, Dick Wei, Tai Bo, Fung Lee, Chung Fat, Dennis Chan Kwok San, Fruit Chan Gor, Johnny Cheung Yiu Wah, David Chiang Da Wei, Chin Kar Lok
Running Time: 93 min.

By Numskull

Less than one minute into Yes, Madam, Michelle Yeoh slams a hardcover book shut on a man’s exposed genitals. At that point I knew I would be watching something a little…different.

And I was right. “Different” in the sense that it doesn’t play out at all like the plot summaries on the package and elsewhere on the web would have you believe. The movie is described as an action flick with Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock as cops (surprise, surprise) doing pretty standard HK action flick cop stuff. Not so! The main thrust of the movie is three friends…Aspirin, Strepsil and Panadol…trying to make a big score by diving into the deep end of the organized crime pool and cutting a deal with the notorious Mr. Tin. Aspirin and Strepsil and petty thieves and Panadol is a forger/counterfeit artist who has the most unintentionally funny line in the film: “I’ll do things unthinkable of!” Strepsil is stuck with the role of mediator when Aspirin and Panadol bicker (which is all the time) and Sammo Hung has a small role as their mentor, referred to only as “the old man”. It’s odd to see Sammo as a young man pretending to be even older than he is no (2/21/01). Tsui Hark also appears in the film…I believe he plays Panadol but since I’m not accustomed to seeing him, don’t think that’s set in stone. The guy who plays Mr. Tin has just about the worst diabolical laughter ever produced by villain or villainess. Young Michelle Yeoh, in one of her earliest films (#2 unless I’m mistaken) may be considered the lead and may have the most screen time but she most certainly is NOT the central figure in the story. Neither is Cynthia. This ain’t no mindless “You go, girl” flick about women just kicking ass…but you might wish it was.

There’s a brief and pointless shootout to start things off; then, for a good hour or so, the story just plods along with a dash of excitement every now and then to keep the viewer at least vaguely interested. The catalyst for Michelle to have the case dumped into her lap is the murder of her friend Richard (which doesn’t seem to bother her on a personal level even one little bit). Cynthia Rothrock gets introduced a later on and beats up a fleeing suspect in an airport. Then she beats him up again in the interrogation room. That’s pretty much all she likes to do. Beat people up. Michelle’s character is more of a good Samaritan type of cop. She may be the beauty queen, but Cynthia is more fun to watch.

Like I said, the plot (such as it is) focuses primarily on Aspirin, Strepsil and Panadol. Panadol is, to be blunt, an addle-brained buffoon, and his buddies aren’t exactly criminal geniuses either. Their antics are supposed to be amusing, but they give you an unpleasant sense of “filler”. Strange jokes pop up in odd places throughout the film to catch you off guard, but for the most part, they’re pretty lame. One notable exception is when Panadol (a complete wuss in addition to being a jackass) must elude an angry ex-customer inside his tiny apartment, which is cluttered with all sorts of obstacles that he uses to his advantage in order to keep his attacker from throttling him. Additionally, there’s a part where a civil servant and a police officer argue over the right to give a parking ticket which is worth a snigger or two. Also worth mentioning: a plastic tit, an unusual recipe for applesauce, and Mr. Tin’s henchman who looks like a caricature of Saddam Hussein.

So what’s the point of all this? Well, it turns out that Aspirin and Strepsil have inadvertently stolen a microfilm from Mr. Tin, and it has fallen into Panadol’s possession. On the microfilm is a forged real estate contract worth billions of dollars. This is the plot device around which lots of shit revolves, yet it’s hardly given a mention.

So, we have two ass-kicking ladies not kicking much ass and three nincompoops not doing much of anything for about an hour and twenty.

And then, the payoff.

Considering thie sparse and watered down action seen for the majority of the movie, my expectations for the inevitable showdown between the forces of good and the unscrupulous Mr. Tin weren’t too high. When said showdown took place (it WAS inevitable, after all) I was much relieved to see that the film had not been a complete waste of time. While not epic by any means, it is a very good “Us vs. Them” battle with Michelle and Cynthia sending bodies flying everywhere and Strepsil just trying to survive (the part where he’s cornered by swordsmen is the funniest bit in the movie; you’ll know it when you see it). After the peons are dealt with, they go after the big fish. This whole scene seems to be where most of the budget went. They really make a mess out of Mr. Tin’s home. The Police Story influence isn’t hard to see.

So, when that’s all dealt with, it just remains for everyone to go home and live happily ever after, right? Wrong. The very end of the movie tosses out the NLP (Neat Little Package) syndrome and hits the viewer in the balls (female readers, substitute the body part of your choice). All in all, a so-so movie with a very nice finish, but not worth writing home over (unless it’s next door).

Numskull’s Rating: 6/10

"Wing Chun" Chinese DVD Cover

AKA: The Legend of the Kung Fu Queen
Director: Yuen Woo Ping
Writer: Elsa Tang, Anthony Wong
Producer: Yuen Woo Ping
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen, Kingdom Yuen King Tan, Waise Lee, Catherine Hung Yan, Norman Chu, Tsui Ah Fai, Chui Heung Tung, Cheng Pei Pei
Running Time: 91 min.

By Numskull

In this Yuen Wo-Ping/Michelle Yeoh collaboration, Yeoh is THE Wing Chun, a woman who (in this film, at least) wears mens’ clothing and runs a tofu business with her aunt Abacus (played by a very animated Yuen King Tan). Because scoundrels everywhere hatch plots to disturb the peace on a daily basis, she uses a highly defensive, “brainy” fighting style to humiliate male chauvinist pig after male chauvinist pig without really hurting them. How accurate the choreography in this movie is with regard to Wing Chun as it’s known today I don’t know, but the point that it’s a “gentle” martial art with emphasis placed on restricting your opponent’s capacity to attack you is gotten across sufficiently. This is evinced by bits like Wing Chun luring her foe into a small shed where his big, unwieldy spear is of little value (I’m sure someone will see a phallic symbol in that…read on), while she, armed with a pair of short swords, is able to peck away at him at her leisure.

Action films with female leads aren’t always guilty of “I’m a woman in a man’s world and I’ve got something to prove so all of you pig-headed men had better stay out of my way if you don’t want a severe verbal and/or physical bitch-slapping” syndrome, but this one is. When the men aren’t drooling over the young widow Charmy and going to ridiculous lengths to catch a glimpse of 0.02 square inches of exposed flesh near her rib cage, most of them are making fun of the way Wing Chun dresses or rallying behind some dickhead who challenges her by saying “When it comes to fighting, men are always superior to women” or some such malarkey, because they’re too chicken shit to try it themselves.

Here’s a sample of what to expect:

ABACUS: “Men are disgusting.”

CHARMY: “I know, they really are disgusting.”

ABACUS: “Yeah.”

Wow, that really brings an unprecedented amount of intellectualism to the whole battle of the sexes issue, doesn’t it? Fortunately, the fight scenes are the main attraction here, not the Lifetime talk show-style dialogue. They’re choreographed well enough, and the wire shit is kept to a bearable level, but, alas, the undercranking is not.

For those who don’t know (or, if EVERYONE knows, then just to waste space): Undercranking is the process of filming something…typically a fight or action sequence…with the camera recording at a higher-than-normal speed, so that when the footage is played at a normal rate, it looks like things are happening faster than they really did (or CAN). When used with moderation and care, undercranking is forgivable…perhaps even unnoticeable. But, with the extent that it’s used in parts (but, fortunately, not all) of Wing Chun’s fight scenes (the movie’s, not the character’s), it looks utterly ridiculous. Seeing a guy perform multiple backflips just isn’t as impressive when he does them all in about as much time as it takes to sneeze. Why Hong Kong film makers ever thought that using this technique so excessively was a good idea is one of those questions that just can’t be answered in a satisfactory manner. A pox on undercranking! I curse the day it was ever devised.

The choreography, at least, is nothing to scoff at, so we are by no means talking about a total loss here. Michelle Yeoh, for her part, turns in a great performance as usual, projecting solemn heroism without losing her feminine touch. An actress of less maturity probably would have given us nothing but arrogant, “you go girl” in-your-face-ness. There is a weepy back story to her ass-kicking, but it’s of little significance.

One of Michelle’s best movies. Of course, she’s been in a fair amount of so-so stuff, and one or two pieces of absolute crap, but still, let’s not take it away from her.

Numskull’s Rating: 7/10

Wing Chun is a film that does some things well and some poorly. Its general story and plot revolving around the bandits is kinda generic and boring. The comedy, while quite good at some points (particularly coming from Wing Chun’s loud-mouth aunt), also gets cheesy and downright annoying at times. On the other hand, you’ve got an interesting sub-plot involving three women with different views on men coming together, and Wing Chun dealing with her femininity. And, of course, Michelle Yeoh gets to kick some major ass. It’s Yuen Woo Ping’s trademark wire-fu, in the tradition of Iron Monkey – so if you like that, you’ll love the fighting here. One particular scene, where Wing Chun must prevent a man from chopping some tofu, is particularly memorable.

Overall – it is a solid film that most martial arts film fans will enjoy. But, the aforementioned flaws in the plot and comedy bring the film down.

Klotera’s Rating: 7/10

"Butterfly and Sword" Chinese Theatrical Advertisement

Director: Michael Mak Tong Kit
Writer: Gu Long
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Michelle Yeoh, Joey Wong Tsu Hsien, Jimmy Lin Chi Ying, Donnie Yen Chi Tan, Yip Chuen Chan, Elvis Tsui Kam Kong, Lee Ka Ting, John Chang Kuo Chu, Wang Yao
Runing Time: 87 min.

By Numskull

Maybe this is just a peculiarity of watching a movie at 1 A.M., but it seems to me that Butterfly & Sword was written, produced, and directed by mutant vegetable-people with one brain cell evenly distributed amongst the lot of them. It’s a fantasy/swordplay flick with absolutely laughable action sequences, a plot that seems to have been pulled from the ass of a hallucinating crackhead, piss-poor subtitles, and some of the most flat-out shitty cinematic storytelling you’re ever likely to see. I can hardly believe that Kevin Chu, director of the highly amusing Flying Dagger, was at the helm of this abortion. The entire film is one monumental fuck-up from start to finish.

Joey Wang, substituting cutesy-poo perkiness for acting, is Butterfly, but the movie doesn’t really focus on her. Instead, it revolves around her husband Sword and his mysterious past with Michelle Yeoh’s character. Michelle herself serves double duty as A) a court assassin and B) the only reason I watched this odious dog’s breakfast disguised as a movie in the first place. She skewers people on bamboo stalks (a la Vlad the Impaler) and decapitates guys without a moment’s hesitation…quite a change from the ass-kicking sweetie-pie she portrays in Yes Madam, Wing Chun, etc. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the way she pulls it off, but the movie as a whole sucks so hard that you probably wouldn’t even notice if she gave the performance of a lifetime.

There’s this old dying man who wants to be king of the martial arts hill, so he sends Sword and Michelle (can’t remember her character’s name and don’t really care anyway) to kill some guy who is gathering warriors together, recruiting the best ones, and disposing of the others. This recruiting guy has an incompetent, vaguely faggoty son who tries unsuccessfully to lend some comic relief to the carnage. Meanwhile, poor Butterfly has to sit at home with a long list of instructions left by her hubby (or “hobby,” according to the subtitles).

There’s no rhyme or reason to the, uh, “fight” scenes in terms of story, choreography, or editing…just sloppy, wired-up absurdity. People explode like bags of dirt, bounce pineapple-sized iron balls off of their foreheads without the slightest bit of physical discomfort, and get their heads yanked off their shoulders by lengths of cloth. How sad that this sort of thing gets passed off as “martial arts.”

Like I said earlier, I only watched this movie because Michelle Yeoh is in it. As of this writing I haven’t seen all of her films yet, but I’ll be very surprised if Butterfly & Sword isn’t the worst of the bunch. I’d like to think there was a Jackie Chan/Jimmy Wang Yu/Island of Fire type of situation, where she only made her appearance to fulfill an obligation of some kind, or even just to be nice (she is reportedly one of the most pleasant and affable celebrities out there). Whatever her reasons were, though, this shitfest was a waste of both her time and mine. Don’t let it waste YOUR time as well.

Numskull’s Rating: 2/10

"Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Seven Lucky Stars
Director: Samo Hung
Writer: Barry Wong
Producer: Eric Tsang
Cast: Sammo Hung, Richard Ng, Stanley Fung, Eric Tsang, Michael Miu Kiu Wai, John Sham Kein, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan, Sibelle Hu, Chung Fat, Yasuaki Kurata, Richard Norton, Philip Ko, Andy Lau, Lau Kar Wing, Dick Wei, Anthony Chan, Cheung Ging Boh, Jaime Chik, Charlie Chin, Chin Kar Lok, Danny Chow, Chow Gam Kong, Chu Tau, Fung Lee, Kara Hui
Running Time: 90 min.

By JJ Hatfield

“Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars” is the third in a loosely connected series of movies starring the five former criminals who leave behind their past to start anew. Sibelle Hu returns as a police officer and convinces the guys to do her a favor and protect an important witness, (Rosamund Kwan). They agree only thinking about the grope potential and don’t realize how serious the matter is or how much danger they could all be in considering the gangsters involved. However Rosamund Kwan is mostly in danger of lame excuses to cop a feel.

What sets this movie apart from the first two is the fight scenes. There are not many of them but they are excellent. One fight in particular is spectacular when Jackie, Biao and Andy Lau fight a bunch of bad guys in a Pepsi factory which is a front for smuggling. (The warehouse strongly resembles the drug making warehouse in “Dragons Forever”.) The end fight is long and interspersed with comedy. One bit that is a joy to watch is Sammo fighting with raquetball(?) rackets. Even Biao gets to come out of the end fight scene victorious and conscious – something Sammo has been known to not do more than once. The fight scenes are not quite often enough to save the movie but they provide welcome action and I do recommend this movie despite it’s uneven pacing. This is the best of the “Lucky Stars” series.

JJ Hatfield’s Rating: 6.5/10

More of the same, but a little better.

I’m a little annoyed that I waited so long to see this one. It suffers from the same pacing problems found in several of Sammo Hung’s other movies, but this time ’round I didn’t mind as much. The humor is still juvenile, but it’s a little funnier. There’s still an agonizingly long scene or two where Sammo and his buddies go to absurd lengths for a couple of cheap thrills, but it’s a little easier to stomach. Yuen Biao still doesn’t have as much to do as his older Peking Opera School brothers, but at least he’s not absent for 95% of the film like he was in My Lucky Stars (which, come to think of it, I’ve never seen in its full length form, having foolishly bought the Arena video tape several years back. Damn…).

Drooling fanboys who think that Jackie Chan and Jet Li are the only significant Chinese superstars there are will most likely sleep through the first half hour as Sammo Hung, Sibelle Hu and company take center stage. Richard Ng (why the hell does this guy ALWAYS wear shorts in Sammo’s movies?) tries to learn black magic so that he can make the chicks hanging out at a resort fall in love with them. Most of the humor is equally lowbrow, without really being vulgar.

Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and their new partner Andy Lau make their entrance with a bang, taking on a slew of low-rent thugs in a very nice fight scene set in a warehouse. You can tell this is Sammo’s doing…old school fighting the way it was meant to be, with no wires, none of that fake-looking step-by-step choreography that plagues all those 1970s chop socky movies, none of Jackie’s clowning around and excessive use of props, etc. I’m not saying that these things can’t be amusing, but I prefer my ass-kicking to be a bit more straightforward. The same rules generally apply to the other fight scenes throughout the film, including Jackie’s duel with Richard Norton (the OTHER Richard who’s in lots of Sammo films) and the thrilling finale, which doesn’t cut rapidly back and forth between the various combatants, thus creating an odd sensation that all of this chaos ISN’T happening at the same time, but what the hell, sometimes it’s better to just let the fighting breathe flesh itself out.

Michelle Yeoh makes a cameo appearance as a judo instructor. She makes Richard Ng a lucky man by sitting on top of him. Then Sammo makes Michelle an unlucky woman by doing the same thing to her.

There’s a bit of a plot hole with Jackie and Andy having to protect some bad guy with the matter of “why” not exactly being crystal clear, but it’s not that important. There are a couple of other stupid points, like Ms. Wang failing to notice that there’s no evidence of a fire the morning after Sammo and his friends convince her that the house is ablaze, and the sniper in the bathroom falling for that “blind girl” act (come ON!!!), but the film gets by on the merits of its action and, to a lesser extent, its comedy, and, at the end of the day, is a pretty satisfactory experience.

Numskull’s Rating: 7/10

My favorite lucky stars flick due to the great fighting. Sammo finally editied together some great fight scenes in this “Lucky stars” movie. The comedy is just like “My Lucky Stars” because nothing is really funny by itself, but all of the funny scenes combined give a little bit of comedy satisfaction. There are four good fights… JC, Yuen Biao, and Andy Lau vs. many in the warehouse….Samo vs. those chicks, at least I think they were chicks… JC vs. Richard Norton…..and the superb finale with Yuen, Samo, and JC all kicking ass. I actually recommend this “Lucky stars” effort, even though JC is not in it much.

Clint’s Rating: 7/10

This film is excellent, the biggest and most expensive of all the lucky stars movies, the begining has a monster of a fight with Jackie and Yeun Biao taking on about 30 guys in a ware house, the humour is great, the only thing is Jackie was injured so the fight filled ending was done with Sammo intsead, but it’s still a great movie, from what I remember this has more Jackie in it than the other lucky stars flick, yeah watch this!

Louis Stevens’ Rating: 8/10

"True Legend" American Theatrical Poster

Director: Yuen Woo Ping
Writer: Christine To Chi Long
Producer: Bill Kong Chi Keung
Cast: Vincent Chiu Man Chuk, Zhou Xun, Andy On, Jay Chou Kit Lun, Michelle Yeoh, Leung Kar Yan, Jiang Lu Xia, Gordon Liu, David Carradine, Guo Xiao Dong, Feng Xiaogang, Jacky Heung Cho, Le Cung, Will Liu Keng Hung, Yan Ni
Running Time: 116 min.

By HKFanatic

Tell me again why Vincent Zhao never became as big as Jet Li? Despite starring in movies like Tsui Hark’s cult classic “The Blade” and the underrated martial arts flick “Fist Power,” Vincent Zhao’s star never really shined as bright as many of his peers. Yuen Woo-Ping’s latest film, the 2010 mystical kung fu epic “True Legend,” then, is Zhao’s chance to steal the spotlight: the movie is 2 hours of Zhao doing nothing but kicking ass and taking names.

The film actually features several great onscreen martial artists: Andy On (“Bad Blood“), Cung Le (“Bodyguards & Assassins“), Luxia Jiang (“Coweb“), Jay Chou. Well, I thought Jay Chou (Kato in the latest “Green Hornet” film) was just a singer-turned-actor but Yuen Woo-Ping saw fit to cast him as “The God of Wushu” so Ping must know something I don’t. To be fair, this is probably my favorite role of Chou’s.

Since the story is essentially an homage to classic Shaw Brothers movies, we also get a few cameos from old-school greats like Gordon Liu (“36th Chamber of Shaolin“) and Leung Kar Yan (“Five Shaolin Masters“). Rounding out the all-star cast is Michelle Yeoh and David Carradine in walk-on roles. It’s nice to have them in the film but I bet their paychecks were embarrassingly large for what amounts to less than 5 minutes of screentime.

Like any kung fu movie worth its salt, “True Legend” spins a twisted tale of revenge and redemption. Vincent Zhao plays a great military general during the waning years of the Qing Dynasty. He retires to a quiet life of teaching Wushu and lets his brother-in-law (Andy On), who’s always felt he was in Zhao’s shadow, take up position as governor. The years pass and Andy On returns, now infused with the dark power of the Five Venom Fists, his skin turned a ghastly Dracula white as a result. Andy still holds a grudge against Zhao and decides to take what he believes is rightfully his – and a bloody battle ensues. If you’re getting the hunch that Vincent Zhao is going to have to train for years and years to find a way to defeat the Five Venom Fists, then you’ve seen your share of martial arts movies too.

Had Yuen Woo-Ping stuck with this storyline and expanded on it a bit – explained why Andy On’s character became so evil and explored his tragic childhood with Vincent Zhao – I might have even given “True Legend” a solid 10/10. For better or worse, the film pulls an “Ip Man 2” towards the end and tacks on an extended third act in which Chinese martial artists must defend their pride against burly Westerners. It’s the scene where Jet Li fought Nathan Jones in “Fearless,” extrapolated to thirty minutes. The action here is still fun to watch but it’s not like seeing Vincent Zhao fight Andy On in a life or death battle at the one hour mark – two immensely skilled opponents fighting with lethal precision. Their extended fight scene is definitely the highlight of the film and a showcase for Yuen Woo-Ping’s ace choreography. The final 30 minutes don’t quite match that thrill; “True Legend’s” one glaring flaw is that it doesn’t quit when the going’s good.

Regardless, the entire film is full of excellent, wire-assisted martial arts battles. The emphasis here is on R-rated blows to the head and lethal stabbings rather than balletic, dance-like moves. The performances are decent, even if the script tends to rush through anything resembling character development. Actress Zhou Xun is almost unbearably gorgeous as Vincent Zhao’s loyal wife; it’s the kind of role usually reserved for Fan Bingbing but Xun is given much more to do here than just dote on her husband. Computer-generated backgrounds are a frequent eyesore – perhaps Yuen Woo-Ping was going for the whole “300″ digital backdrop feel – but they’re easy enough to overlook.

What makes “True Legend” so enjoyable is that doesn’t feel like a 2010 film at all. At its heart, it’s a throwback to the classic Shaw Brothers films, with their tales of deadly techniques and treebark-smashing punches, and a celebration of Yuen Woo-Ping’s fight choreography. If you can tolerate some less than stellar special effects and a disjointed third act, “True Legend” is a damn good time at the movies. With any luck, it will lead to more high profile projects for underdog Vincent Zhao. This is a martial arts flick for people who love martial arts flicks.

HKFanatic’s Rating: 8.5/10

"Project S" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Stanley Tong
Producer: Barbie Tung
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Yu Rong Guang, Emil Chau Wa Kin, Fan Siu Wong, Dick Wei, Athena Chu, Bill Tung Biu, Bowie Lam, Alain Guernier, Ailen Sit Chun Wai, Chan Man Ching, Joe Cheung, Mars, Yukari Oshima, Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang
Running Time: 98 min.

By Numskull

It seems that “they”… whoever they are… really don’t want us North American types to see this movie. The DVD and VCD from Hong Kong are both inexplicably devoid of English subtitles, and the Dimension release is… well, it’s a Dimension release. Dub only, false title, stuff missing, you know the routine. It also has a quote on the package from some peabrained critic calling Michelle Yeoh “the female Jackie Chan.” Good God, how demeaning. That just leaves the Region 2/PAL DVD from the Hong Kong Classics label, which is complete with good English subtitles but will set you back a pretty penny. Is it worth it? I think not. After all, Stanley Tong directed it.

Despite what the Dimension dickheads would like you to think, this is not a true sequel to Police Story 3 (“Supercop”). It takes place in the same universe, and Michelle Yeoh once again plays mainland Chinese cop Yang Chien Hua (NOT “Jessica Yang”), and Uncle Bill is here, and Jackie Chan makes a cameo appearance as Chia Chu in a scene that barely has anything to do with the story where he has a fake pair of laughing tits, and Eric Tsang is in that scene too, and there’s a girl named May who is not the same May (Maggie Cheung) from the Police Story movies, and…what was I talking about? Oh yeah…this isn’t a “true” sequel. Whatever that means.

Yang Chien Hua’s boyfriend (doesn’t really seem like the type to have one, does she?) is played by Yu Rong Guang, not Michael Wong as the UK DVD package states. He relocates to Hong Kong to make his fortune doing all sorts of illegal shit, and she gets teamed up with two marginally competent cops named Lung and Ming (Fan Siu Wong and Emil Chow, respectively) to stop him…only she doesn’t know it’s him at first. The eye-rolling melodrama can be seen miles away.

There’s one bad guy who goes by the name of Mr. Explosive. His specialty is…damn, what was it? Narcotics? Firearms? Forged documents? Pirate versions of Street Fighter video games where Chun Li fights naked? No, wait a minute…wait…oh yeah, right, it was explosives. What I want to know is, how does one conduct day-to-day business with a name like Mr. Explosive? And, for that matter, what about pleasure? I can see it now. He’s sitting in a nightclub, and some scantily clad woman takes the stool (I mean the thing you sit on, not fecal matter) next to his, and he says: “Hey there, gorgeous. My name’s Mr. Explosive. What’s yours?” Would she think he was joking? Would she think he was on drugs? Would she immediately make her excuses and remove herself from the premises? Would she assume that his moniker was an indication of his sexual prowess and that, should she decide to play “hide the salami” with him, she would end up with a fist-sized hole in her back due to some ungodly degree of ejaculatory pressure the likes of which has never been seen before? This is the kind of thing you’ll think about during the film’s boring parts, and, sorry to say, there are quite a few of them.

One of the film’s saving graces, however, is that Lung and Ming aren’t complete boobs, as one might expect. When they are first paired up with Hua, an unwritten formula pops into your mind, indicating that she’s going to have to bail these two f*ckwits out of trouble time and again, but…while she’s clearly more seasoned than they are…they actually manage to do something right once in a while. The film’s other saving grace is the ending, which teaches us (“us” meaning those who aren’t smart enough to figure it out for themselves) that love is a crock, so don’t even bother.

Action scenes are few in number and somewhat lacking in intensity. The best ones are the hostage rescue scenario at the very beginning, which constantly gets interrupted for film credits on an otherwise blank screen (bra-fucking-vo), and Michelle’s fight with a white guy who looks to be about a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than her. Apart from that, it’s mostly Police Story 3-style shooting and stunts, which is not to say it’ll put you to sleep, but c’mon, Michelle’s real talents lie in KICKING ass, not blowing it away.

I recommend Project S to anyone looking for an action movie that fails to leave any lasting impression on the viewer, with the possible exception of Michelle Yeoh performing the splits while wearing a knee-length skirt. It doesn’t suck, but it’s not great either.

Numskull’s Rating: 5/10

“Supercop 2″ is not so much a sequel, but a spin-off. It stars Michelle Yeoh of Police Story III: Supercop” fame. Supposedly, she plays the same character as in “Police Story III”, but I’m not too sure of that. Her character doesn’t seem to exhibit the same characteristics as in “Police Story III”. Anyway, the plot of “Supercop 2″ concerns Inspector Jessica Yang (Yeoh) travelling to Hong Kong to aid a pair of rather inept police officers crack a case. To make things worse, Jessica’s boyfriend, David, is somehow involved as well.

Stanley Tong’s direction shines in this film. It has some very nice action set pieces, and some decent fights. These are definitely the highlights of the film. There is a very nice car chase, and the flooding of the tunnel was pretty damn cool too.

The film is marred mainly from the acting and the lack of characterization. Yeoh’s screen time is cut short because she has to share the screen with the two aforementioned inept cops. Also, the writers could have developed the relationship between Jessica and David more and the issues that followed.

Basically a good movie. Could have been better, could have been worse. It ends up as being a standard action flick. Oh yeah, lest we forget Jackie Chan’s cameo. It has no relation to the story at all, and looks like a scene cut from one of the “Police Story” movies. However, it is worth it to see Jackie in drag.

James H’s Rating: 5.5/10

"Tai Chi Master" Chinese DVD Cover

AKA: Tai Chi
Director: Yuen Woo Ping
Producer: Jet Li
Cast: Jet Li, Chin Siu Ho, Michelle Yeoh, Fennie Yuen, Yuen Cheung Yan, Lau Shun, Yu Hai, Sun Jian Kui
Running Time: 94 min.

By Numskull

Note to Yuen Wo Ping: Stop renting out your justly famous talent as a fight choreographer to other directors and make more of your own movies. They may not be as polished or as sophisticated but, in this era of fecal matter smeared on celluloid getting passed off as entertainment, they’re great fun (“fun” being something that far too many “popcorn” movies fail rather miserably to provide).

Additional note to Yuen Wo Ping: Stop selling the rights to your movies to Disney if it is within your power to do so. Maybe you liked their treatment of Iron Monkey, but what they have done to THIS movie… releasing it dubbed only, under the false title of “Twin Warriors”… is a slap in your face.

Note to the reader: See this movie in its untainted form or not at all.

Ahem.

Two kids, Tianbao and Junbao (“Tempo” and “Jumbo” according to the DVD package) become inseperable while studying at the Shaolin temple. Tianbao (Chin Siu Ho) is ambitious and competitive; Junbao (Jet Li) is more relaxed, but still a devoted student. During a kung fu tournament, Tianbao’s opponent brazenly cheats, but the Sifu does nothing about it. Tianbao is understandably perturbed and proceeds to kick the cheater’s ass. The Sifu then decides that Tianbao is too vicious to study at Shaolin and expels him. Junbao tries to intervene, but the Sifu shoves him aside and attacks Tianbao. He underestimates the youngster and orders all of the other disciples to demolish him. I’d say the man has a problem with double standards, wouldn’t you?

At this point, you know this movie is gonna be cheesy, but way cool. Junbao and Tianbao have to fight their way out of the room with about 50 guys armed with staves trying to stop them. That done, they flee the temple and get a taste of civilization (which is usually anything BUT “civil”, but let’s not nit-pick). As they acquaint themselves with city life, they get involved with a number of rebels who hang out in an inn, including a girl named…get this…Little Melon. Can you fucking believe that? Little Melon. I mean, what’s her brother’s name, Big Banana? Yeesh.

(If you’re wondering whether or not Little Melon does, in fact, have little melons, you’ll just have to see for yourself. It’s a good movie so you’ll thank me anyway.)

Our two exiled monks part ways when Tianbao decides to sell out and start working for the tyrannical eunuch who controls the region. While elaborating on “his” position and how “he” attained it, this eunuch says: “I’m successful because I don’t need a woman.” Amen, sister! Uh…brother! Uh…whatever the hell you are!

Junbao prefers to keep his scruples and his dignity. You can see the showdown coming a mile away (actually there are two of them) but you don’t watch movies like this for plot twists. You watch them for the fighting, and that by God is something The Tai-Chi Master has in spades. There are some half-assed “every other scene must be a fight scene” flicks out there, but THIS film doesn’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Every battle is a keeper, especially the one where Junbao and his handful of allies take on about 200 soldiers at once. No shit!!!

“What about those damn wires?” you ask. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the term “wire fu” is insufficient to describe “accentuated” fighting because it’s not all the same. There are some clueless individuals out there who think it’s a good idea to have people in a so-called martial arts movie effortlessly floating in the air and all sorts of other ridiculous shit, and then you’ve got Yuen Wo Ping, who uses wires WITH RESTRAINT and does not allow them to overshadow the raw combative prowess on display. They’re two entirely different styles and in my opinion, this is far and away the superior one. You need not worry about excessive, limp-wristed cartoon super powers. Good, solid action here, and in generous portions to boot.

The presence of Michelle Yeoh can benefit any movie, and although she doesn’t get second billing here based solely on the selling power of her name, I couldn’t shake the feeling that her role could have had a bit more impact. She plays Qiushe, a wine-guzzling musician who is befriended by Junbao. She certainly does her share of the ass-kicking, but, disappointingly, she only gets to hold the head eunuch hostage for the film’s finale, leaving Jet to fend for himself in a one-on-one duel (which is as it should be, but it would’ve been nice if she could have taken on a head crony or a second-in-command or something).

As usual, Yuen Wo Ping inserts bits of humor here and there, some of which work (Tianbao letting people hit him for money), others of which don’t (Junbao going temporarily insane…for too long…after being betrayed by his former best friend). There are also a few things to laugh at that weren’t intentional, like the huge amount of dust that covers everything (watch the powder fly when the fight in the temple breaks out) and the breakneck pace at which Junbao and Tianbao get their hair back. Plus, there’s this little exchange:

“I had to pee.”

“I wanna pee too.”

“Together?”

“OK.”

By the way, the 1996 Yuen Wo Ping film Tai Chi II is a sequel to this one in name only; the two movies have no major cast members or plot elements in common.

A strong film on many levels for three of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema. Recommended for anyone who feels like going out and hitting somebody but doesn’t want to get beaten up.

Numskull’s Rating: 8/10

“In the Line of Duty” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Police Assassins
Director: David Chung Chi-Man
Producer: Dickson Poon Dik-Sun
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Sanada Hiroyuki, Michael Wong, Pai Ying, Chan Wai Man, David Lam Wai, Gam Hing Yin, Kenneth Tsang, Ninna Reiko, Chen Jing, Dennis Chan
Running Time: 85 min.

By Numksull

Michelle Yeoh, with short hair, fights a bunch of people. Henry Sanada, with a big stuffed bunny rabbit, fights a bunch of people. Michael Wong, with a persistent hard-on for Michelle, makes a total ass of himself. Oh well, I guess two out of three isn’t bad.

All in all this is a pretty good flat-out action flick, but there are some parts that could use some spit polish. “Magic” is an insufficient explanation for loaded guns bypassing airport security. Michael Wong’s tireless efforts to win Michelle’s heart (or at least get her in the sack) take up too much time. And worst of all, the villains’ motivations go beyond far-fetched and into the realm of sheer absurdity. It seems four guys who served in Vietnam became good friends and swore to never let anyone split them up. Many years later, one of them commits a murder for some reason (don’t ask), and his buddies use their vow as a license to snatch him from the law’s hands and blow away anyone, cop or civilian, who crosses their path. Or is related to someone they tried to blow away before but couldn’t. Or just happens to be standing around doing nothing. Don’t you wish YOU had friends like that?

Michelle is fun to watch as usual, and Henry Sanada is good too. Alas, the villains are less notable, with the last survivor having some unbearably cheesy diabolical laughter (dubbed so it’s not his fault, but cheesy nonetheless). And he’s a liar to boot; in one scene he tells Michael: “You’re a terrible actor.” (Michael Wong, a terrible actor? No way!)

Speaking of Mikey, Royal Warriors has one of his most memorable scenes to date. It’s an intense, heart-to-heart dialogue with a very, very special co-star. Finally, Michael Wong has found someone who shares his level of dramatic skill and knack for passionate performances: his pet goldfish. A round of applause (clap either your hands or your fins) for Mr. Wong and his aquatic friend if you please, ladies and gentlemen…thank you.

The fights and action scenes in this movie are pretty good…just good enough so that they seem too short, unfortunately. But at least they’re spaced well. Michelle’s tool shed duel, which is excellent at conveying a sense of frantic desperation, tops things off very nicely.

The body count here is pretty high so don’t watch this movie with the young ‘uns, and avoid it if you have a low threshold for violence. Me, I like it. Death and blood and hate and more death. Yeah, baby. Almost any HK film fan should get a kick out of this.

Numskull’s Rating: 7/10

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Writer: John Fusco, Du Lu Wang
Producer: David Thwaites, Harvey Weinstein
Cast: Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Harry Shum, Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Roger Yuan, Woon Young Park, Eugenia Yuan, JuJu Chan, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Chris Pang, Veronica Ngo
Running Time: 103 min.

By Kyle Warner

Considering the popularity and critical acclaim of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a sequel probably seemed like a no-brainer. Well, it took 15 years and the evolution of a streaming service into a production company to make it happen, but we finally have our Crouching Tiger sequel. And though it’s not nearly as good as the original, I still liked it.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny catches up with Michelle Yeoh’s swordswoman Yu Shu Lien eighteen years after the events of the first film. After the death of her beloved Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien drifted into exile and gave up on the hero life. She muses that a swordsman’s legacy is remembered for twenty years after his passing. It’s meant as praise but to her it feels like a curse. She is a martial arts master that longs to be forgotten by the world, haunted by all that could’ve been but wasn’t. When the death of her father figure Sir Te lures her back to the city, it’s not long before Yu Shu Lien is fighting for her life with the famed Green Destiny sword back in her possession.

At the same time that she returns to the world of martial arts, the evil Hades Dai (Jason Scott Lee) makes it his mission to capture the Green Destiny sword and make it his own. Willing to kill untold innocents in order to procure the sword, Hades Dai sends his most trusted assassins after Yu Shu Lien. Hoping to keep the Green Destiny sword out of Hades Dai’s hands, Yu Shu Lien calls for help, but only five warriors answer her call… and one among them is supposed to be dead.

In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Yu Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai are in love with each other, but since she was betrothed to another man (a man long dead before that film’s story ever began), the two held to their oaths and honor, never giving into desires. That man was Donnie Yen’s Silent Wolf and his return to Yu Shu Lien’s life is an unforeseen complication that couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. Putting aside their past for the time being, the two must fight side by side while Hades Dai’s warriors close in around them.

Sword of Destiny is a downgrade from the original film and it’s hard to deny it’s not something of a cash-in. However, that doesn’t automatically make it a bad film. How many sequels are not considered downgrades from their original films? Still, yes, some things about the film definitely suggest that money, not art or story, was the main objective behind the making of the film. The most obvious of which, at least around these parts, is the fact that the film was made in English and not Chinese. Did this bug me? Yes. Did I get over it as the film went along? Well, yes and no. It’s not a decision I agree with but at least some of the actors (most notably Michelle Yeoh) provide strong performances in the language. The reason behind the change in spoken language is likely linked to the fact that Netflix makes it easy to binge-watch and just as easy to quit a film and move onto the next one. Sadly, large numbers of American viewers can’t stand a movie with subtitles. I think that number might’ve even gone up now that so many are focused on their phones all day. It’s not easy to browse Twitter and read subtitles at the same time (a comment I remember reading from a viewer who complained that Netflix’s Narcos had too much subtitled dialogue). Netflix undoubtedly knows all of this. The decision to make the film in English will rub many the wrong way but there’s no changing it now. For those who want what I guess would be called a more ‘authentic’ experience, the film can be watched in Chinese with English subtitles thanks to a dub (there are other language options as well). It’s a weird reversal for kung fu fans that are used to watching Chinese films dubbed into English.

Though Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is known for its high-wire fight sequences, it’s really a romantic tragedy at heart. Sword of Destiny attempts to capture that same tone but it’s undone by a few lackluster performances, some underwritten characters, and the film’s unnecessary attempts to add humor to the story with its supporting characters. While Donnie Yen may be an upgrade over Chow Yun-fat in the action sequences, he doesn’t have the same dramatic chemistry with Michelle Yeoh. There is tragedy to their relationship but no believable romance. Yen makes for a cool character when the film calls for him to show his martial arts prowess, but there’s not enough to his character to make him memorable. Elsewhere in the story, two young characters (played by Harry Shum Jr. and Natasha Liu Bordizzo) fair a little better, caught in a conflict that wrestles with duty and compassion. It’s not particularly deep, but the young actors are likable. Zhang Ziyi’s Jen Yu character returns from the first film but Zhang Ziyi does not. This time played by Shuya Chang (Revenge of the Green Dragons), Jen Yu is demoted to a small but important role in the plot which I will not divulge here.

In the villain role of Hades Dai, Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) gives his most impressive film appearance since the early 90s when he was considered to be an up-and-coming star. Nearly unrecognizable from his younger self, Lee is all muscle and madness as the film’s central antagonist. There’s not much to Hades Dai beyond MORE POWER but it’s an entertaining villain and it makes me want to see more of Jason Scott Lee in future films. A less successful villain is Eugenia Yuan’s Blind Enchantress. Whereas the gravity defying fights of the original film hinted at fantasy elements within the world of Crouching Tiger, this film fully embraces the fantastic. I was open to the idea of a sorceress with prophetic abilities but the character is written paper-thin, with only a couple lines of dialogue to explain her motivations.

It’s Michelle Yeoh who makes the film, I think. It’s not until recently that I realized how much I love her character – even in the original film, which I watched in the week leading up to this, Yeoh is the one that I keep thinking back on. Yu Shu Lien is the best character that Yeoh’s ever played and she slips back into the role as though she’d never left it. Even the shift from Mandarin to English doesn’t hinder her performance. When she narrates her story, one almost forgets she’s speaking English at all. To me, that’s a sign of a great performance: when you forget what language you’re hearing.

Sword of Destiny doesn’t exactly feel like the natural progression of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon story, but it uses enough of the original film’s cast and crew to make it feel like it belongs beside it (or at least a few steps beneath it). Ang Lee sadly did not return to the director’s chair. In his place is Yuen Woo-ping, the action choreographer of the first film and a director of many other unrelated martial arts pictures. I actually think it’s one of Yuen Woo-ping’s better films as a director, showing restraint in the drama and the skill of a master when putting together the action (unfortunately he remains tone-deaf when it comes to comedy, though). Along with cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Yuen Woo-ping captures some moments of dazzling beauty on film. The fight sequences range from very good to amazing. There is one sequence on a frozen lake that I truly loved – it’s pretty, it’s unique, and it’s just so damn cool. In the finale, the film relies on CGI more than I’d like, but it’s still a fun time.

Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was something rare: a beautiful rumination on love that also appealed to action junkies. The sequel is a fun martial arts action movie and little more. I mean, let’s be clear: you won’t be seeing Sword of Destiny nominated for Best Picture in 2017, okay? Occasionally Sword of Destiny appears to strive to be something more, but it never comes anywhere close to touching the greatness of the original. And maybe that’s okay. In my eyes, Sword of Destiny didn’t need to be another modern classic. Maybe the extended time between the original and the sequel has some part to play in that. By this time, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s place in film history is secure, and no lesser sequel will ruin its legacy. Sword of Destiny is a flawed film but it’s often a very entertaining one.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 7/10

Reign of Assassins | DVD (Anchor Bay)

AKA: Rain of Sword
Director: Su Chao-Bin
Writer: Su Chao-Bin
Producer: John Woo, Terence Chang
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Jeong Wu Seong, Wang Xue Qi, Barbie Hsu, Kelly Lin, Shawn Yue, Nina Pau, Guo Xiao Dong, Matt Wu, Leon Dai, Jiang Yiyan, Hu Xiao Guang
Running Time: 117 min.

By Kyle Warner

As a fan of John Woo and star Michelle Yeoh, Reign of Assassins was once a film I couldn’t wait to see. Then, like the rest of America, I was forced to wait. And wait… It’s been six long years since the film was originally released in China but Reign of Assassins has finally received a DVD release in the States. In the time since its original release, John Woo’s been making more period epics in China (that much of his Western fans have yet to see), whereas Yeoh is doing more and more Hollywood productions. It really feels like more than six years have passed. But it’s finally here and we all get to see it.

Reign of Assassins starts with an animated segment that tells the story of a monk named Bodhi. Before his death, Bodhi became a master martial artist. And after his death, his remains have been rumored to grant extraordinary power to any martial artist who possesses them. We enter the story as the Dark Stone, a league of assassins led by the Wheel King (a very raspy Wang Xueqi), attempts to steal Bodhi’s remains from a prominent family. The family is killed, the remains are stolen, and the young female assassin (Kelly Lin) betrays her comrades and runs off with Bodhi’s corpse.

Instead of attempting to achieve ultimate power, Kelly Lin’s assassin ultimately decides to give up the life of martial arts and settle down in a more normal lifestyle. But first, she goes to a doctor and asks for a new face so as to avoid her enemies (the doctor alters her face by sticking insects beneath her skin to gnaw away at her bone structure. We don’t see the torture of the surgery but just the idea is terrifying). After a passage of time, off come the bandages and Kelly Lin becomes Michelle Yeoh (but the voice remains the same. I’m not certain, but I don’t think we actually hear Yeoh utter a word in the movie). Years pass and the woman, now going by the name Zeng Jing, blends into society as a merchant. However, the martial arts world’s search for Bodhi’s remains continues, and she cannot outrun her past forever.

As far as MacGuffins go, the crispy corpse of a badass monk ranks up there as one of the stranger ones I’ve heard of. And I enjoy odd ideas that you don’t see all the time. But the rest of the plot is a little beyond belief, relying on coincidences, body switches, and more than one supposedly dead person coming back to life. It’s like a soap opera with kung fu.

It should be noted that I watched the international version of the film, which is more than 10 minutes shorter than the cut released in China. What was edited and where, I have no idea. It’s my suspicion that many of the cuts came in the first act of the film, which is edited with such frenetic pacing that it’s occasionally difficult to follow.

Though written and directed by Su Chao-Bin (Silk), the film’s promotional material mainly focuses on producer and co-director John Woo (Red Cliff). It’s unclear how much credit Woo deserves as a co-director, though it’s said that he was on set almost daily, spent time in the editing room in post, and was the main director for a sequence featuring his daughter, Angeles Woo (The Crossing). Watching the movie, it’s easy to make comparisons to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as both films feature Michelle Yeoh, wire-fu, and a couple similar plot developments. But it’s clear from the start that Su and Woo have a totally different kind of film in mind, and they never go for the same sort of visual poetry that Ang Lee achieved. Reign of Assassins is a wuxia action movie with a healthy dose of romance thrown in, but it is no art film.

Michelle Yeoh is pretty solid in her first major martial arts-heavy role since Crouching Tiger nearly ten years prior. It’s a bit odd to watch her performance done in a different voice but that’s part of the film’s bizarre charm. Korean actor Jung Woo-sung (The Good, the Bad, the Weird) plays Yeoh’s lover in the more laidback second-act of the assassin’s life. I’ve always liked Jung and thought he did well in a role that was likely a challenge for him, as it required him to speak Mandarin. As the Wheel King, Wang Xueqi (Bodyguards and Assassins) is a bit over-the-top, with a whispery villain’s voice and a hood that obscures much of his face. The Wheel King’s motivations for obtaining the dead monk’s remains are certainly eye-opening, and it makes for one of the film’s more, umm, amusing developments. The rest of the Wheel King’s Dark Stone assassins are likable in their own ways, but they lack much in the way of character development beyond their main fighting style attributes. Still, actors Barbie Hsu (Croczilla), Shawn Yue (Wild City), and Leon Dai (Yi Yi) make good work of their limited screen time.

There are a few cool especially cool moments in the film, like the bank robbery performed via martial arts, and the film’s final fight sequence that successfully mixes drama and action to make for a satisfying finale. However, I still feel the story disappoints.

Reign of Assassins is an entertaining, if unremarkable wuxia action movie that ranks a few notches below some of the genre’s finer efforts from recent years. Whether it was worth the wait is up for you to decide. I certainly would not deter curious viewers from watching the film. Just keep your expectations in check.

Kyle Warner’s Review: 6/10

“Master Z: Ip Man Legacy” Theatrical Poster

Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Cast: Max Zhang, Dave Bautista, Liu Yan, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Jaa, Kevin Cheng, Chrissie Chau, Patrick Tam, Philip Keung, Anthony Ho, Xing Yu, Adam Pak
Running Time: 137 min.

By Paul Bramhall

While anticipation builds for the 2019 release of Ip Man 4, with all of its furore around the inclusion of Bruce and Boyka, it shouldn’t be forgotten that 2018 isn’t going to let us get away without an Ip Man fix either. Well, at least a fix of the extended Ip Man universe. For any kung fu fan that’s been living under a rock recently, Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy is the spin-off movie from Ip Man 3, which sees the third instalments anti-hero, played by Max Zhang, get his very own starring vehicle. It’s fair to say that there hasn’t been this much excitement for a spin-off movie in Asian action cinema since Michelle Yeoh headlined 1993’s Project S, a whole 25 years ago, which saw her reprise her character from Police Story 3. Yeoh is in Master Z (as I’ll refer to it from here on in) as well, but more on that later.

Following the same trend of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and its sequel, it’s Ip Man 3’s choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping that steps into the director’s chair for this entry. Woo-Ping’s directorial talents haven’t played to his strengths in recent years, with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny being painfully average, and The Thousand Faces of Dunjia bordering on the unwatchable. However his choreography on Ip Man 3 was stellar, so placing him at the reins of a tale that takes place in a universe he’s familiar with is as good a shot at redemption as any. If you’ve noticed I’ve used the term ‘universe’ twice by the way, it’s intentional. Lest we forget Ip Man was a real person, and while the franchise has increasingly moved away from factual representation, Master Z serves as the official stamp to confirm we’re no longer supposed to question if what we’re watching actually happened or not.

Woo-Ping certainly hasn’t skimped on bringing onboard the martial arts talent. Apart from the already mentioned Max Zhang and Michelle Yeoh, the screen is also graced by Yuen Wah, Xing Yu, Tony Jaa, and of course David Bautista. Whether all of them get to show off their skills is another question, but what can’t be argued is it’s great to see them onscreen together. What isn’t so great is Master Z’s plot, which is perhaps best described by saying it’s as flimsy as Ip Man 3 was meandering. I confess I kind of liked the meandering nature of Donnie Yen’s last outing though, but I didn’t feel the same way towards Master Z’s rather contrived excuse for a plot.

Basically it goes like this – after being defeated by Ip Man, Zhang has quit the martial arts world and is running a small grocery store with his son. One day, while making a delivery, he stumbles upon a couple of ladies (Ada Liu and Chrissie Chau) being assaulted by a group of triads. Being the noble guy that he is, of course he steps in and kicks all kind of Wing Chun ass, which causes the triads to retaliate against him by burning his apartment down. Zhang and his son are taken in by the ladies, and he starts to work at the bar Ada Liu’s brother, played by Xing Yu, runs. However when the same triads start getting involved in the business of dealing opium, Zhang teams up with Xing Yu to get to the bottom of where it’s coming from. This is a 2018 movie, so unsurprisingly, it’s coming from those damn foreigners, and naturally by the end the triads repent, and Zhang is left to take on the super evil Chinese hating David Bautista. The end.

Admittedly character arcs are attempted to be woven in. There’s the whole issue of Zhang not wanting to use or teach Wing Chun since he got defeated, which he does at least one of by the time the credits roll. The problem is character development has never been Woo-Ping’s strongpoint as a director, and such sub-plots only come across as clumsy, and mostly superfluous, to what boils down to a simple tale of beating up the foreigners that are bringing opium into China.

Despite the plots best attempts to be more than it actually is, what can’t be argued is that Zhang owns the role of Cheung Tin-chi. A real martial artist, Zhang has been on the scene since working as a stuntman on 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but really came onto the radar thanks to his turn as the unstoppable prison warden in 2015’s SPL II: A Time for Consequences (which also pitted him against Tony Jaa). He’s gone from strength to strength since then, with his roles in Ip Man 3 and The Brink cementing his reputation as the real deal, and here he’s clearly enjoying the chance to return to a character who can this time walk away the victor.

Unlike in Ip Man 3 though, Master Z’s choreography isn’t being handled by Woo-Ping, with action duties instead handed over to his brother and fellow Yuen Clan member Yuen Shun-Yi. Master Z marks the first time for Shun-Yi to take on fight choreography duties solo, however he has worked with Zhang before, when he was part of the choreography team for The Grandmaster 5 years earlier. What he brings to the table is a mixed bag. When the action’s confined to a restrictive space is arguably when the choreography shines the most – Zhang and Tony Jaa go at it briefly in the doorway of a closed store, and kung-fu fans will get a kick out of watching Zhang and Yeoh perform an exchange with a glass of whisky, that calls to mind a similar scene with Simon Yuen and Hwang Jang Lee in one of Shun-Yi’s few starring turns, Dance of the Drunken Mantis.

However when he’s faced with a larger canvas to work with, the action frequently becomes ludicrous, and far too reliant on unconvincing wirework. One scuffle sees Zhang take on multiple attackers in and around the exterior of various buildings and their protruding neon signage, parts of which are lifted wholesale from the finale of the Thai movie Chocolate, only here it’s done with unconvincing CGI. Almost every flying kick is also wire assisted to some degree. At best it’s possible to turn a blind eye, at worst people fly through the air like a feet first version of Superman. It looks bizarre. It’s a shame, as when the action stays grounded, it delivers, but all too often a move that defies every law of gravity is suddenly thrown in for no discernible reason, which immediately takes you out of it as the viewer.

As the bad guy of the piece, David Bautista is a fine choice of casting. Eschewing the overly shouty gweilo devil, that guys like the late Darren Shahlavi were forced to portray for Ip Man 2, here Bautista remains calmly spoken throughout, and he’s all the more intimidating for it. As a steak loving philanthropist, his collected demeanour means that when he does begin to unload the pain, you feel every blow. He gets to face off against both Xing Yu and Zhang on separate occasions, and while I still think the Donnie Yen vs Mike Tyson bout is the best example of Wing Chun vs a burly bruiser, what’s on display here is certainly no disservice to the talents of those involved.

In terms of everyone else, Tony Jaa continues to do exactly what you expect him to, only without that same burning anger that he had in his Thai productions. His character is essentially there as a piece of throwaway fan service, and could just as easily have been written out of the plot with minimum impact. If seeing Michelle Yeoh in Crazy Rich Asians during 2018 didn’t leave you satisfied, then her small but meaningful role here should provide the fix you’re seeking, delivering a nicely choreographed fight against Zhang. Kevin Cheng is also notable for his performance as Yeoh’s younger brother, an overly ambitious triad with anger management issues. As a piece of useless but tenuously connected trivia, Cheng played the young version of Ip Man in Ip Man: The Final Fight.

Overall Master Z is one of those movies that has as much wrong with it as it does right, possibly even a little more. In the final third scramble to establish all of the foreigners as the bad guys (and I mean all – Bautista, the police, the patrons of the bar), subtlety is thrown to the wind and it begins to feel a little overbearing. It’s for this same reason that the fight pitting Zhang against Bautista ultimately ends on a whimper rather than a bang, leading to an extended finale that’s both overly wordy and overlong. Is there potential for a Master Z II? Possibly, but get someone like Soi Cheang at the helm, Woo-Ping needs to stick to what he does best, and at this stage in career, directing isn’t it.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5.5/10

“Wonder Seven” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Ching Siu-Tung
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Kent Cheng Jak Si, Andy Hui Chi On, Hung Yan Yan, Vincent Lau Tak,  Kwan Shan, Elvis Tsui Kam Kong, Chin Ho, Hilary Tsui Ho Ying
Running Time: 88 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

By the mid-90’s Hong Kong audiences appetite for the new wave wuxia boom was starting to wane. The likes of the Swordsman trilogy (and, well, any early 90’s movie starring Brigitte Lin) had wowed audiences with their bombastic wirework fuelled action scenes and convoluted plots, but times were changing once more. As 1997 approached tales of high flying swordsmen and deadly reams of silk were no longer in favour, and so it was directors who had made the new wave wuxia genre their niche, found themselves being forced to explore other genres to exercise their creative muscles.

Out of all directors who dabbled in the wuxia boom of the era, there’s arguably only one whose name is intrinsically linked to so many of the images that the genre brings to mind, and that name is Ching Siu-Tung. From stuntman to fight choreographer to director, Siu-Tung has done it all, and his 1983 directorial debut Duel to the Death is considered one of the all-time greats. In the early 90’s almost every new wave wuxia flick saw him involved in some capacity, whether it be directing (the Swordsman trilogy) to choreographing (Butterfly and Sword, Holy Weapon), the stamp of his highly stylised and energetic action sequences was an unmistakable one.

So it was understandable that Siu-Tung would look to transpose that same action aesthetic to a more contemporary setting, which is what he did with 1994’s Wonder Seven. Taking place in modern day Hong Kong, the Wonder Seven in question are a group of highly skilled Chinese agents, who the authorities call upon when they need to get a job done. One such job involves retrieving a pair of key cards, that when combined together, can grant access to millions of offshore dollars. However they have competition in the form of the Japanese yakuza, who are also after the cards, plus there’s some behind the scenes backstabbing going on, which all culminates in a race against time to protect the cards and save one of their own.

The plot of Wonder Seven is actually fairly straight forward, where it gets complicated is in the abundance of characters it throws on the screen, combined with the fact that many of them simply aren’t that interesting. Our seven heroes are played by Li Ning (if you’ve never heard of him, don’t worry, he only acted in 3 movies and one of them was the Bruce Le flick Fire on the Great Wall), Kent Cheng (Run and Kill), Roger Kwok (Fearless), Andy Hui (Future Cops), Xiong Xin-Xin (Once Upon a Time in China V), Vincent Lau (How to Meet the Lucky Stars), and Hilary Tsui (Shaolin Popey). There are attempts at characterising them (surprise – they’re orphans), but outside of the more familiar faces of HK cinema, the likes of Roger Kwok, Andy Hui, and Vincent Lau could have benefitted from being rolled into one character.

If anything the supporting characters are far more interesting. Michelle Yeoh, who was used as the face of the marketing campaign both locally and overseas, plays the conflicted girlfriend of a ruthless assassin, played with relish by Chun Ho (The Last Blood). By 1994 it had already been 2 years since Yeoh came out of retirement, with her stellar turn in Police Story III: Supercop, and her presence elevates Wonder Seven whenever she’s onscreen. Despite her character being central to the plot, because of the overcrowded cast, her role feels more like a supporting one. Thankfully she’d get more screen time in Wing Chun from the same year. Category III legend Elvis Tsui also turns up as the former coach of the Wonder Seven who now has to track them down, and manages to keep his clothes on for the entire time he’s onscreen.

The action in Wonder Seven sees flying swordsmen and their deadly swords replaced with motorbike riding Chinese agents and their…motorbikes. There’s a pre-credit sequence which sees our seven heroes pursuing a group of Mainland bank robbers (ah, those were the days) towards the HK and China border, and it’s one of those glorious reminders that often the most throwaway HK action scenes could rival the finale of any Hollywood action flick when they were firing on all cylinders. With the HK police unable to cross the border into China, the Wonder Seven jump their bikes over the fence (which includes a great sight gag involving Kent Cheng), and proceed to round up the criminals using a mix of fists, feet, archery, and their motorbikes. Plus there’s the slightly uncomfortable sight of pigs and geese being used in a role usually reserved for the kind of breakable props stuntmen get thrown into.

The wuxia styling is on full display, even down to the characters names, such as Steel Bar, Superman, Dragon, and Shaolin Monk (no prizes for guessing which one of them goes under this moniker). However things do get a little ludicrous as they jump and acrobatically manoeuvre their motorbikes around, while at the same time yelling the name of the move they’re about to perform, intentionally mimicking the same trope characters were fond of in old-school kung-fu movies. It’s a quirky addition to the action scenes, if an undeniably goofy one.

Thankfully not all of the action is limited to the vehicular variety, and along with Xiong Xin-Xin, frequent collaborator Lau Chi-Ho, and then relative new comer on the action directing block Dion Lam, Siu-Tung has put together a formidable team of action directors whose talents don’t go to waste. While there’s plenty of gunplay on display, we do also get some one on one face-offs as Li Ning goes up against Michelle Yeoh, and Andy Hui squares off against Elvis Tsui. Despite many of the cast being proficient in martial arts though, as per was standard for the era, Wonder Seven is more about big set pieces than it is intricately choreographed exchanges. To that end, it delivers, and its bombast isn’t only limited to its action scenes.

Wonder Seven deserves some kind of award for the most ridiculous funeral scene ever committed to celluloid. I mean, why go for a burial or cremation, when you can have your buddies straddle your lifeless corpse to your motorbike, rig it to the nines with dynamite, and then send you full speed over the edge of a cliff before detonating mid-air to send you up in the mother of all fireballs? As if that wasn’t enough, let’s set the whole scene to a musical montage which incorporates flashback moments from better days. I mean, El Cid really has nothing on these guys. It’s these moments that serve as a reminder of the days when you never knew what a HK flick was going to assault you with next, and movies from this era where really the beginning of the sunset on this unique brand of HK styled insanity.

Siu-Tung and his cohorts go all out for the finale, which without going into spoiler territory, starts with Chun Ho unleashing a drum solo in a basement carpark with a full drum kit (it makes as little sense onscreen as it does in writing), and ends with an explosion propelled projectile elevator versus a helicopter (it makes more sense onscreen than it does in writing, barely). While our heroes may be several shades of bland, thankfully they’re compensated by the ridiculousness of the action on display, which refuses to give a damn about such minor details as gravity, certain death, and any degree of basic logic.

It almost feels as if Siu-Tung watched the final cut of Wonder Seven and perhaps said to himself, “This really stretches believability doesn’t it?” As while he’d stick with the contemporary setting for his next outing, Dr Wai in the Scripture With No Words, he opted for the Operation Scorpio approach and framed the action within the context of a novelist visualising their latest story. While this approach may have allowed for even wilder action scenes, personally I enjoyed watching the over-the-top aesthetic of a new wave wuxia being imposed on a modern day actioner. Just change reams of silk for the fumes of an exhaust, and an all powerful weapon with a skyscraper rigged to explode, and you should be in for a good time.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10