Cai li fu

Choy Lee Yut is a famous Chinese martial arts but I have not heard of it. Therefore, hearing that this movie is based on Choy Lee Yut, I had to give it a shot. Though the martial arts is famous, the movie is not so. I think this is a direct-to-DVD type of movie, I have not heard it showing in cinemas. Since this is a low-budget movie, do not expect excellent visuals and big fight set pieces in cool places and known movies stars like the IP man movies. Some of only noticeable stars are Sammo Hung and Dennis To although they do not appear often.

The story: It is nothing new to the martial arts genre and even the fighting scenes are just okay for a martial arts movie. There is even sappy romance between the main characters. For God's sake. The first third of the 1 hour and 32 minutes movie is okay focusing on the school and the contract of the fight competition for the school but the second third turns into a sappy puppy love story where the main characters are somehow attracted to each other. Martial arts fans will have to wait till the last third to see some real fighting in the competition. But the waiting for the competition is not well paid-off. The moves/choreography brings nothing new to the genre plus all of the horrifying slow-motion shots. And the song played during the last fight scene. What was the music composer thinking? The CGI in a few scenes is like from a cheap video game.

Overall: It is nothing new. It is just another generic low-budget martial arts movie trying to please martial arts fans. Watch this if you have the time to spare. If not, you will not be missing a lot of things.