True Legend
Yuen Woo Ping
The story: Su Can (Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo) is the creator of the legendary martial arts skill Drunken Fist. What lies behind this achievement is a tragic tale of betrayal and loss set in China in the late 19th century.
Like a wooden pillar struck by Su Can’s sword, this movie splits neatly into two.
The first part deals with Su’s betrayal by his adopted brother. Yuan Lie’s (Andy On glowering scarily) father was killed by Su senior for his evil ways, so he holds a grudge against the Su family.
He eventually exacts a terrible vengeance and while Su Can and his wife Xiaoying (Zhou Xun) survive, their son is held hostage by Yuan Lie.
The unfolding of all this presents many opportunities for tightly choreographed fights and the fluid mayhem is a thing of beauty.
One scene that stands out is the showdown sequence between Su Can and Yuan Lie in a well. One can only marvel at the athleticism on display as they manoeuvre for advantage and balance while scuttling up and down the wall of the well with limbs outstretched.
Then again, one would expect no less from Yuen Woo Ping. Despite helming the classic Jackie Chan gongfu flick Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow (1978), he is probably best known for being an action director non pareil and his choreography can be seen in such diverse films as the Wachowski brothers’ sci-fi dystopia flick The Matrix (1999) and the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
Zhao handles the action adroitly and while he is a more expressive actor than, say, Donnie Yen, he seems more suited for playing the debonair, gentlemanly warrior that Su Can is at the start of the film rather than the drunk and unkempt beggar he later becomes.
Still, there is at least a degree of believability to him and Zhou Xun being a loving couple.
True Legend though is not content to leave well enough alone after the climactic showdown between Su Can and Yuan Lie as the film has yet to account for the creation of the Drunken Fist.
This is where things get out of whack and we are suddenly watching an Ultimate Fighting Championship in Heilongjiang which pits Chinese fighters against towering Caucasians.
It gets even more surreal when the late David Carradine, best known for his 1972 TV series Kung Fu, inexplicably shows up as Anton, the dastardly manager of the Westerners.
Despite some competition from music star Jay Chou as the God Of Martial Arts and actress Michelle Yeoh as the kindly Sister Yu, Carradine wins hands down for the most distracting cameo.
When Su Can finally comes up with the Drunken Fist, it feels more like an afterthought than an integral part of the story. Instead, it is the bizarre turn taken by the film that will floor you.
(ST)