Le maître du Tai-Chi

HK Police detective Sun Jingshi (Karen Mok) obsessively investigates ruthless wealthy powerful Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves) who runs an underground fight club. Tiger Chen (Tiger Hu Chen) studies under Tai Chi Master Yang. He is a meek delivery guy in his normal life. Donaka offers him fights for money which he refuses at first. When the 600 year old Temple is under threat from developers, he needs money to fix it up.

The great thing in this movie is the fight choreography. The fights are beautiful dances. It is extremely well done. There is a good character relationship between the teacher and student. It's a descend into the dark side that Darth Vader should have had. That's the good part of the movie. The bad parts are all the affectless acting led by the king Keanu Reeves. His directing debut is competent but shows a monotonous doggedness. He doesn't show much excitement other than the fights. The last fight does have some problems. It's not set up properly. Keanu Reeves needs to show his power before. There isn't much drama here but it's still worth a watch.

I liked what I saw in the trailer, but was still not sure what Keanu Reeves would do as a director. I have heard from him in many interviews how he is a 'kung-fu film nut' but you can never be sure if actors are serious in interview or not. Once you see this movie, you can tell just how much of a kung-fu film nut he actually is. He used the camera very well in every single fight scene, none of the shaky-cam stuff we see in most action and kung-fu movies today - where the speed of the camera makes the pacing of the fight. On the contrary in Man of Tai Chi Reeves keeps the camera stationary, or only slowly panning in the fight scenes, he also used a lot fewer quick-camera cuts. Essentially he allowed the impressiveness of the moves and styles themselves to shine through. If you choreograph the fights well enough the camera does not need to be moving fast, in fact it could sit in one place and not move at all and the fight is still impressive. He still need to work a bit on his dramatic direction but he has fight scenes down pat. If he somehow reads this, or someone who knows him does - don't change a thing with your fight direction.

I didn't really know anything about Man of Tai Chi when I watched it. I was in a mood for something; I just didn't know what. I was stunned to discover Keanu Reeves in the film and even more stunned to learn it was his directorial debut.

I've always liked Keanu Reeves films, because I was almost always entertained. Everyone has a few flubs here and there; so his few are easily forgiven.

I, myself, am a big fan of foreign films. In many cases, it's because the story lines are fresher and morals are deeper.

That being said, if you're looking for an award winning film this isn't it and it's not meant to be. I was looking to be entertained, in that aspect, Reeves delivered.

I've seen the complaints about the performances, choreography, etc. As a director he had a full plate, especially for a debut. The language barrier alone would have been difficult enough to adapt to.

I'm not going to give any details about the film. I will say that this is a film you have to have a taste for. I do like the message behind the film though, which is for you to decide on your own. Everyone can come to their own conclusion, because we can find different meanings in everything.

This is a martial arts film directed by Keanu Reeves about delivery man Chen Lin-Hu (Tiger Hu Chen) who is skillful in Tai Chi that was led to join an illegal fight club, headed by Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves). Chen needs the money from the club to save his master's ancient temple from being razed, but Mark eventually wants Chen to start fighting battles that only ends in the death of the opponent, which is something that goes against the Tai Chi philosophy that Chen was taught.

While a good message delivered about the meditation and philosophy of the Tai Chi skill, with plenty of martial arts action mixed in, this movie lacks a compelling story and good acting. Keanu Reeves and Tiger Chen each gave a very mediocre and wooden performance - no emotion and substance. Mark's video cameraman tried too hard to be the hipster of the movie, attempting to sound cool and ghetto at the same time, which was really irritating; I think it rubs salt in the wound to the already sub-par acting. The subplot about police detective Sun Jingshi (Karen Mok) pursuing Mark was pretty entertaining, but not emphasized enough. The story could have been more captivating if more focus was placed on the police investigating the fight club; however, it was overshadowed by the excessive fight scenes. This made the movie pretty predictable and lacking suspense.

The fight sequences though, especially with Chen and his master, were pretty awesome to watch. It does make the movie go a little faster, which is sometimes dragged by the slow-moving plot.

Overall, if you enjoy nothing but martial arts action, this film is for you. But, if you like a good balance of martial arts and drama, than this film falls just short of that.

Grade C

I read the reviews from regular users. I feel some missed the point here in this movie. I happen to be experienced at what is taught inside secret societies and underground fighting. Tai Chi is a foundation and a central skill of fighting and meaning. The fight with Tiger Chen and his master is definitely the most impressive. I gave it 7 out of 10 because the lesson he learned that self-control, meditation and humbling yourself makes you more of a winner and better fighter. He learned that finally. His master cared about him deeply and you can tell when he was so concerned about him using his skills for the wrong reasons. Many of the users that would give this a lower score due to the fact of Keanu Reeves and his first directing debut were taking a side trip and missing the movie. Whatever director you have you cannot foil the skills and charisma of Tiger Chen and his master, plus the moral lessons in this film. It was not a perfect film, but you have to notice how incredibly fluid and fast this guy is and in which proves Tai Chi is more than just a style of meditation and moves. However, this also comes with learning control and not letting yourself be moved by possessed anger. I will tell you the moves were authentic, real and had little wire work, barely any. They were real masters of Tai Chi Kung Fu, both Tiger and his master I can tell you that. Anyone that cannot see that has not been in front of this going on outside of a movie like I have. Remember his teacher said he had to slow down and empty himself. It is not all about fighting and speed. It is about using your Katas, focus for your entire movements and being able to transfer and use your Chi instead of just your physical body. In all of this and the lessons, it was a ten score.