cwhjr

...but the subtitles on the DVD I rented were totally unreadable. They are burned directly into the film (unlike properly formatted DVD subtitles), and sit much too low on the screen, resulting in the English being cropped off. The VHS version might be better. Be warned!

Not as fun as Fong Sai Yuk or as serious as Fists of Legend, Tai Chi Master lands squarely in the middle. It's great to see Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh together, and both have a few shining moments. The fights are well choreographed, but dramatically it's just not as memorable as other Jet Li HK films. Nevertheless, it's worthwhile and fun to watch.

This "documentary" about the origins of kung fu is interesting, but it is certainly no documentary. And it's not all about Jet Li. There is footage of Jet Li as a child, performing at various competitions, and some shots of him with his family. The closing segment has Jet Li doing "Drunken Sword Fist", a style I'd seen only in Jackie Chan's famous Drunken Master films.

The bulk of the film is simply various kung fu students and masters demonstrating their skills, at a variety of locations and schools. A long central segment is devoted to the more exotic kung fu skills - chi levitation, wall scaling, tree punching, etc. The customary (and distracting) HK kung fu sound effects have been overdubbed, and some of the footage has been sped up. And, while there is no plot per se, some kind of love story is attempted between the two narrators. Weird.

Don't expect to learn too much, but prepare to be entertained.