The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture

A look at the history of martial arts films from their Chinese roots to the present, presented by Samuel L. Jackson.

First of all, I love the connection between martial arts and the films of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. There is definitely a slapstick element that runs through these films, and to see that there were some direct homages really warms my heart.

Speaking more broadly, this is an excellent primer. Really being exposed to film in the 1990s, the influx of "kung fu" into mainstream film happened without context. It was not until much later that I learned about the Shaw Brothers and any of that history. The martial arts genre is so huge that it is hard to know here to begin, but this documentary makes a great road map for those just getting on the highway.

If you want to know all about Martial Arts movies from the works of King Hu (whose films inspired Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) to the more famous Chang Cheh action pics to even modern day Jet Li movies this is it! A really great and well narrated (Sam Jackson) documentary that is the perfect primer for the genre. The only problem was the total absence of Jimmy Wang Yu who made quite a few really great Kung Fu movies (leaning towards the fantastic). He was the big deal before Bruce Lee moved in and then he started directing his own stuff in the 70's. His Master of the Flying Guillotine is one of the best Kung Fu movies out there. Besides that hiccup it's a ton of fun and seriously informative.

As a fan of kung fu movies, I enjoyed this trip through the ages of kung fu movies. Yeah, the title would have you believe the documentary is about action films in general, but it's not. It would have you believe it's about martial arts films in general, but - as before - it's not. They're really just focused on the kung fu movies that came out of Hong Kong, and other films influenced from those.

The film is "hosted" by Samuel L. Jackson, but I sure don't know why. He doesn't have the credentials to lend anything to the narration. And his taped narrative segments were awkward, read from a teleprompter, and distractingly shot by someone with an infatuation with gratuitous camera movement. The production company could've saved a lot of money by hiring a film historian to just narrate from a static angle or all in voice-over.

This film was a gift from a friend who found it in the bargain bin at the video store for $3, so I guess it's worth that. But don't pay $20 for it. I'll give it a 4 out of 10.

Obviously made for an American audience who are just discovering martial arts films. Any experienced fan will like the archive footage but wonder why Crouching Tiger features so heavily and so many other seminal films are missing or barely mentioned. I'm also curious why in such a high quality production, some films, such as Jackie Chan's Drunken Master look like they were taped off a TV. The footage of the Shaw's Studio was fascinating as were the interviews, especially by Raymond Chow on Bruce Lee. But Tsui Hark features too much and Steven Seagal is interviewed but none of his films are even mentioned, nor van Damme. So like the proverbial curate's egg, good in bits but could have been so much better.

The Art of Action (2002) is one of the better documentaries on martial arts movies but is certainly not as good as it could be. It features many interesting interviews from legends of the genre including Sammo Hung, John Woo, Lau-kar Lung, David Carradine and even producer Raymond Chow. One of the best aspects of this documentary is that it includes numerous film clips and other rare footage, all nicely remastered and shown in the original widescreen format. Samuel L. Jackson was perhaps not the best choice for narrating the film but does a solid job.

The Art of Action is a nice introduction to the martial arts genre but is vastly incomplete. A nice history of the origins of martial arts film is given, from the Peking Opera influence through the Wong Fei Hung years. The film unbelievably glances over the genre's glory days of the 1970's and 1980's. Rather than exploring many of the legendary and popular films of the kung fu era, the documentary focus on a few (2 maybe) select films and actors. A chapter is given to Bruce Lee which provides some insight into his films and his impact on the genre. In a rare and interesting TV interview, a charismatic Bruce Lee explains his fighting philosophy. A chapter is also dedicated to Jackie Chan which discusses his career from his beginnings in the Peking Opera school to some of his more recent successes in the U.S. Not much time is given to the great Sammo Hung. Jet Li and legendary choreographer Yuen Wo Ping are also briefly mentioned. Some analysis was given to the career of director John Woo but was a little disappointing. They mentioned only in passing his classic Hong Kong bullet ballets and only showed clips from "Face Off" and "Mission Impossible 2." Much of the remainder of the film focused on modern movies, especially "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon." The film dwells on it for over 6 minutes! The documentary wastes a lot of time by mentioning contemporary films influenced by the martial arts genre like "Charlie's Angels," "the Matrix" and even "Shrek". Inexplicably there is no mention of Steven Segal, Jean-Claude Van Damme or Chuck Norris and their real martial arts influenced Hollywood films.

The Art of Action covers a lot of ground in only 90 minutes and does not get to go into much detail. Many classic films and legendary performers are not even mentioned in this documentary. There is no mention of actors like Hwang Jang Lee, Sonny Chiba, Dorian Tan, Alexander Fu Sheng or John Liu. There is also no mention of the independent film companies like Seasonal Films. The film was co-written by Keith Clarke and Christopher Sliney. The writing was not real strong and probably could have been done better by Richard Meyers or Bey Logan.

As a huge fan of the martial arts genre I was a little disappointed in the Art of Action. I felt it was incomplete and deficient in telling the whole story of the martial arts genre. It gives a nice history and background to the genre but does not focus on the all the great films that made it a worldwide phenomena. The Art of Action is a nice introduction to the genre for novice fans but may be disappointing for die hard fans seeking more in-depth analysis.

Film clips/Rare footage: 8/10

Depth/Analysis: 6/10

Overall: 7/10