Drunken Master II

'Jui kuen II' is another funny Jackie Chan film with some great action scenes that were both skillfully shot and impressively performed. It has its share of funny moments but much of the comedy seems forced to the screenplay and lack the charm of its prequel 'Jui kuen'. The plot is very predictable and clichèd. The set designs, particularly Wong's house have been nicely decorated. The background score is pleasant. Jackie Chan pretty much plays the same character as in most of his films but he's still fun to watch. Anita Mui deserves special mention as she provides the funniest moments and is a delight to watch (even though it felt slightly awkward to see her cast as Chan's mother). So for me what stood out in this film are the brave action sequences (particularly the one at the end) and Anita Mui. Otherwise it's quite an average film as I did not feel as entertained as I would expect when watching a Jackie Chan film.

This film is all the more fantastic because it is, however loosely, based on fact. Chan is in one of his finest roles as Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung, fighting foreigners who wish to take artefacts out of China during the Ching dynasty.

An appreciation of turn-of-the-century China does help, but even without it, the film remains incredibly entertaining. The kung-fu choreography is interwoven with a well-written story which should instil pride in any Chinese moviegoer.

Even Chan's acting is excellent, as the young Wong Fei Hung who develops his "drunken boxing" style - a type of kung-fu which is aided by the consumption of alcohol. However, his father forbids his son's drinking, fearing that he will not know when to stop. His stepmother is encouraging, hoping to put her stepson on the map in the local community. The rapport between the characters is superb and realistically acted by the players. The martial arts' choreography here is among the best in any film.

Of Chan's movies set in an earlier time period, Jui Kuen II must rank as his best. An excellent example of the genre.

I may be wrong about this, but I think Chan is responsible for the avalanche of ironic performance fights we have now.

Here's the deal: movies need to be cinematic and fights are cinematic so we have them.

Movies fall into two rough buckets: various concepts of sincerity and those that have (incorrectly as it turns out) been conflated under the concept of irony. Anything that exists in the first eventually has a sibling in the second; that's the way the world works.

So if you have fights, even elaborate kung fu productions that are sincere, sooner or later someone will figure out how to annotate them. Chan was the guy that found a way to turn fights into a show and at the same time produce a simultaneous commentary that says: "watch this, its funny."

To do the annotation, a requirement is that first level be excellent. Chan IS an excellent fight performer, and key to this awareness is the much publicized fact that no cheating is done on the effects. But he also a great humorist as well.

This particular film isn't the turning point for all fight irony that follows. That was much earlier, but this is probably the best and most explicit.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Well, Jackie Chan has had an interesting career. On one hand, he's made some classics like Project A and Dragons Forever. On the other hand, he's made some less-than-spectacular movies like Crime Story and First Strike. This movie is easily his best film ever...and also one the best martial arts movies ever made. He revisits the role that made him famous: Wong Fei Hung, the drunken master. The plot deals with smugglers trying to steal China's treasures, but in the end it isn't important. The fights are what matters, and Chan fights like a son of a gun. There are some excellent traditional fight scenes like him fighting Lau Kar Leung and one w/ a Choy li fut stylist. There's a memorable fight against an Ax Gang (Ax army is more like it). The finale, where he takes on the smugglers led by a super kicking Thai boxer, is probably the greatest fight scene choreographed. This movie doesn't cease to entertain. A must see for any fans of action, martial arts, HK movies, or just Jackie Chan himself.

Jackie Chan is the trouble prone son of a local doctor and martial arts instructor. In an attempt to help his Dad avoid paying taxes on some ginseng he is bringing home for one of his patients, Jackie stows the root in luggage belonging to a local political official. When he attempts to retrieve it, he finds someone else digging in the same baggage and a battle ensues. Jackie is stymied at every turn, even when he uses his famous Drunken Boxing, but finally retrieves the precious package and makes it back to the train as it is leaving the station. Unfortunately as all Jackie Chan fans can figure, Jackie got the wrong box. It seems the official was smuggling out a famous Chinese artifact and the man who was going through the luggage was a special investigator trying to get evidence. This local official is using the factory in Jackie's town to hide all the other relics he has stolen and becomes enraged when he discovers the theft has been committed. He ships his men all over town searching and they final track down Jackie and his spitfire step-mother and try to steal the artifact back. Jackie is a ball of fire rolling through the group but is vastly outnumbered. His step-mother takes matters into her hands and begins throwing bottles of liquor at him since what could better help a master of Drunken Boxing than getting drunk. Jackie ends up beating the gang and disgracing his father in the process who has always told him not to use this style. His father knows that many practitioners of this style end up as drunks in the end and worries the same will happen to his son. Finally Jackie is forced into helping rescue some of his friends who are trapped in the factory. The battle that follows is a dazzling display of Drunken Boxing at it's finest. This movie succeeds at all levels. It doesn't promise any hidden agenda and fail to deliver. It promises a martial arts packed movie with dazzling stunts and comedy to boot...and it works. Jackie was trained in the Hong Kong Opera at an early age and his talents are never more on display. The opening fight which takes part under a train is something that must be seen to be believed. The two combatants use a spear and a sword in their battle and basically are in a crouch the entire length of the car. Subsequent scenes incorporating the drunken movies are both hilarious and awesome in the ease of the choreography. Another good point for this movie is the dubbing is better than any many I have seen. They even allow Jackie to dub his own voice which is something that doesn't always happen for English speaking foreign actors. As usual with a Jackie Chan movie you must also watch the deleted scenes that are shown during the credits.