Drunken Tai Chi

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.

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.

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

I have to start off by saying that after seeing Iron Monkey, I went out and looked for every Donnie Yen movie I could find. And after all of that hard work, I realized that they all sucked! From his John Woo-like flop Ballistic Kiss to his numerous appearances (and subsequent deaths) in films like Highlander, Blade 2, and Shanghai Knights, on thing is apparent: Mr. Yen has got to get a new agent. His ability in martial arts is virtually unsurpassed, but the only other movie I've seen that challenges his abilities like in Iron Monkey was Drunken Tai Chi. With a goofy storyline of revenge (surprise!) and training to become stronger than the bad guy, Yuen Woo Ping has expertly melded comedy and action to create a fantastic party movie, something that anyone with a sense of humor can appriceate. Donnie is in top form, which is surprising given that this was his first starring role. He shows fantastic flexibility and a certain charisma that's hard to explain. I seriously hope that Donnie gets together with Yuen Woo Ping and creates another masterpiece soon, because getting killed in every film you're in is no way to make a legacy. (Ask Sean Bean.)

Look up 'Shameless ripoff' in the dictionary, and you'll find a picture of Donnie Yen practising tai chi. The startlingly original plot -- our hero gets beaten up and sees his family killed, forcing him to learn a new style of martial arts so he can defeat the evil killer -- is enhanced by... well, okay. Not enhanced. But there are a few slight variations from tradition in an effort to give this film some semblance of a plot, such as the evil baddie being a loving daddy. But let us gloss over such trivia as plot --as did the director -- in favour of the characters and the kung-fu, the two essential ingredients in any movie of this type. Plot? Pah!

Anyway, the Sam the Seed character is a drunken tai chi master (that's a master of tai chi who's drunken, not a master of drunken tai chi. If you you were expecting differently from the film's title, tough). There are no amusing styles, and the tai chi bears as much resemblance to the actual art as does real-life kung fu to its cinematic equivalent. Do I sound like I didn't like the film? I hope not, because I *did* enjoy it, while recognising that it hadn't a shred of originality or thought behind it. Most of the fight scenes were good fun, and the bits in between, while unfunny, weren't as painfully so as they usually are in this sort of film. Yuen Woo Ping's reputation was made by Drunken Master, and this film was his most obvious attempt to cash in. I'm inclined to blame the studio more than the director for this though; not that blame particularly needs to be apportioned. You won't come away from this film thinking it was a masterpiece, but you won't be grumbling and demanding your money back either.