Siu Tai Gik

Donnie Yen does a pretty good job in this movie, both in acting and in the fight scenes. Theres some wire work here and there, which is expectable when you watch ANY martial arts movie anyway. The fight scenes are really well done(Donnie Yen is obviously really good at Tai Chi and a great kicker!)Theres also a lot of comedy in this movie(better than that in Drunken Master with Jackie Chan). People shouldnt compare this to Jackie Chan's Drunken Master, it has a different plot and theres not a focus on drunken boxing(theres pretty much none!). Some of the Yuen Brothers are also in this movie like the Tai Chi Master and Killer Bird. Overall a good fun kung fu film and one of Donnie Yen's best! Overall: 9/10

Donnie Yen's breakout role comes at the tail end of the old school martial arts boom in Hong Kong. Under the direction of Yuen Woo Ping it could go one of two ways: A kung fu based movie in the vein of Drunken Master and Snake in Eagle's Shadow or an even sillier excursion like Miracle Fighters or Shaolin Drunkard. This lands somewhere in the middle. I won't go over the plot, you can find it on other reviews.

This is mainly a goofy comedy with the fighting for the most part played for laughs. Puppets, fireworks, break dancing, bicycles are used as gags through the fights with the last couple fights displaying more of traditional styles. So is it any good? Let's get one thing straight: there is no drunken tai chi. I'm guessing the title was chosen to cash in on the drunken boxing craze that was on its last leg at the time. There is some great Tai Chi on display here. The training sequences are fun and the application is great. Donnie Yen also has a couple scenes using the rope dart which are stand outs.

If you are a big fan of Donnie Yen or just very goofy comedies with the Yuen clan's usual weirdness this will be up your alley. If you are looking for something more packed with fights and less goofy comedy I'd recommend Magnificent Butcher, Knockabout, or Legend of a Fighter, all classic Hong Kong films directed by Mr. Yuen.

First off let me say that most people that give reviews don't know what they are talking about. This movie is Donnie's first and is a very good one. He definitely did better on his first than Jackie Chan (Young Tiger) and Jet Li (Shaolin Temple). This movie is not about drunken tai chi, it's about a drunk teaching a young man tai chi. That's the difference when you get original titles vs American titles. Yen's action is remarkable as well as his acting skills, and the fact that the Yuen family backs him up more than proves his credit in the movie business is A+++.

In this movie you can't help but to feel sorry for Yen as he tries to make his brother feel just as special as he is vs his rotten greedy father. Only to wind up losing them both is when the heart break shows up, but back to the review Donnie more than proves that he is the man for the job once he gets his hands on the Killer Bird. If you want some good ole Asian action, then try this movie out. There are a lot of critics out there but let's see if they can recall America ever coming out with action this good.

To Scott...

Yes, hard to believe Tai Chi can be a fighting system. Yes, it is. The problem with that is the image of Tai Chi that Americans or most people in the world is of the "soft", slow movements that are practiced in parks by elderly persons. Movements can be just a general term to describe a technique or a series of techniques in the martial arts. Basically in all martial arts, there are movements, whether they are an attack or a defense that can either be soft or hard in nature; Tai Chi is no different. Because of the health benefits of Tai Chi, instructors normally teach those movements. The hard movements, or shall I say the techniques that you would relate to the more "harder" styles of Kung Fu/Wushu are taught by emigrate Chinese instructors or instructors who have studied with such instructors or have trained in China. I guess it just comes to persons like you or die-hard martial arts enthusiasts who are interested in that aspect of Tai Chi.

One of donnie yens first. It is pretty funny, the obligatory training sequence is well done and the fight scenes are pretty decent. Its one of the last of the Shaw Brothers style films. No wire work and the like.

If you really need a reason to see this film check out the practice scene, set to 'Love is the drug' by Roxy music. Very funny.