The Master - Einer muss der Beste sein

The Final Master

This martial arts movie based on the fighting style of Wing Chun. Now going into this movie I saw the trailer and thought 'oh cool they'll use weapons instead of just punching and kicking.' Yeah the whole entire movie is based off of dagger fighting.

Chen Shi, played by Fan Liao, has to defeat eight martial arts schools to open his own. He fears that he's growing too old and decides to set up a betrayal, matchstick-men style. Only this time, with daggers. He was very believable and his martial arts is up there with some of my favorites.

Zhao Guihui, played by Jia Song, is a part of the chess game that the main character is playing. She is strong and adamant about not leaving her home town. She can be a bit over the top with her acting. Plenty of silent harrumphing, if I could sum up her performance.

Master Zou, played by Wenli Jiang, looks like a man at first. Then she speaks, and then on closer look she actually looks good. She does a wonderful performance as a local mob(?) boss? She works for the military? Her role in the movie was sort of implied. She even says in the movie "I'm not a gangster." which is something a gangster would say.

Speaking of context, the movie loves to see if your paying attention.

Little scenes like: Chen Shi is leaving being escorted out by nameless guards. He looks back for a moment. Turns to walk out. Immediately he turns around again and rushes back to the camera. Now revealed he was looking at his wife, Zhao Guihui. He eyes her closely and shouts "Look at me." She looks away. Defeated, Chen Shi walks out of the room.

Without knowing everything up until this point, this scene without any context is short and still a lot is spoke. This being a subtitled film, it's almost destined to not do well in the states. The fact that the film is on the level of Christopher Nolan, when it comes to subtext, means it'll be even more confusing for the movie going audience.

Verdict: If you want to see martial arts, pick up The Raid, Ip Man, or Ong-Bak. Once you've seen all of those, perhaps give this a chance.

I went into this motion picture expecting more of a Kung Fu extravaganza (although the last showdown in the film was pretty bad ass).

When the movie opens and the lead actor explains that he is a Wing Chun master I was totally expecting a rip off of Ip man, but with swords instead of fist. Though the movie showcases that screeching sound two swords make during signature Wing Chun blade fights this movie does not hold a candle to the Ip Man Franchise.

Like Ip Man, it's both a drama and an action flick, but to both genres I felt Ip Man was far more compelling. As this movie try to do both it became unbalanced trying to sustain it.

I found the drama too dry and weak to want to pay attention to it. I thought the wing Chun was just OK due to fast cuts that make it seem like the movie had no one in it who was a master of the style. In fact the whole movie seem to be cut together at a pace that makes neither genre work well for me.

I did appreciate some scenes where it looked like the camera shot was paying homage to old school Kung Fu flicks and the art direction does really take you back to the 1920s, but honestly this movie moved too slow and had too much to take in to really entertain.

A Wing Chun master (Fan Liao of "Black Coal, Thin Ice") has to defeat eight martial arts schools to open his own school. At the same time, he has become a chess piece in the local power dynamics.

Right off the bat, anyone who loves good cinematography is going to appreciate "The Final Master". Director of photography Tianlin Wang brings with him a rich color palette that makes even the opening credits appear sharp and vibrant. The hues and crispness bring to life this time period in ways that only a great man behind the camera can. Accompanied by an interesting score composed of horns and strings (thanks to Wei An), we almost have a noir or mystery feel.

There is a fascinating mix of Asian and European cultures, with the Chinese embracing certain elements of upper class British culture. For those in the West, it is usually the American or Englishman in a story who wanders into the foreign land ("the Orient")… seeing things from the Chinese perspective is a nice switch. The inclusion of Belarusian dancers is also a nice touch, adding in a third component of cross-culture. Not only is there the dominant East-meets-West aspect, but a Soviet bloc piece, as well, which fits in neither one side or the other.

While the reviewer's knowledge of martial arts and its history is admittedly limited, there is something strange about the film referring to our hero as the last of the Wing Chun masters. Today, Wing Chun is known as the martial arts variant of Ip Man, Bruce Lee and even Robert Downey, Jr of all people. Perhaps this was lost in translation, but it defies belief that the ancient art was known by only one man in 1930 before becoming the most popular form of "kung fu" today.

Those looking for a classic, Shaw Brothers-style movie should be aware that the hand-to-hand martial arts is limited in this picture. However, the blade-on-blade action is intense and more than makes up for it. Every possible variation of sword, axe, dagger and more is utilized, including some that seem impossibly large to wield. In an era (1930s Tianjin) where guns were plentiful, it is fascinating that there is some level of honor about what is allowed in combat.

Historical nitpicks aside, this is a great film with beautiful cinematography and plenty of action. We also get a great supporting character in Madame Zou, played by Wenli Jiang ("Farewell My Concubine"). The movie was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 52nd Golden Horse Film Awards, as well as Best Supporting Actress and Best Choreography. It rightfully won in the latter category. North American audiences now get a chance to see the picture, as it screens July 16 at the Fantasia International Film Festival.

Poor writing, pretentious, lack of resolution. The only worthwhile scene from this film is the alley fight. Reviewers lauding t his film as some sort of modern martial arts rebirth are grasping at straws.

It doesn't happen too often to come across a historical martial arts action film that isn't based upon the usual suspects such as Ip Man and Wong Fei Hung. The Final Master falls into this refreshing category as it mixes fictitious and historical events. The story follows Grandmaster Chen who is the last surviving practitioner of the Wing Chun style of martial arts. He desires to open a school in Tianjin to save his family's reputation. He settles down as he discusses his ambitious plans with another Grandmaster, marries a local waitress and trains a talented disciple who must ultimately defeat representatives of the other schools. However, organized crime leaders, members of the other martial arts schools and a ruthless military officer soon see Grandmaster Chen as a potential menace. He isn't as noble as he claims to be however and has a vicious plan with many twists and turns to defeat his numerous opponents.

The Final Master convinces on numerous levels. The cinematography is gorgeous with calm and precise camera work, beautiful costumes and detailed settings. The electronic music soundtrack is quite unusual by contemporary standards but goes back to classic martial arts cinema of the seventies. The fight scenes convince with unusual techniques and weapons and especially the film's last quarter is quite impressive in that regard. The story comes around with numerous twists and turns as the different lead characters all manipulate one another.

There are few things to criticize. The first quarter of the movie is at times difficult to follow and we are thrown into a story with numerous characters who all have particular agendas which can be somewhat confusing. The first quarter also doesn't show too many martial arts fights and has a slightly dragging pace. Once the viewer has made it through the first half hour or so, the characters get more intriguing, the fight sequences get more rewarding and the plot comes around with interesting twists and turns.

In the end, The Final Master is a very good martial arts action film with historical and fictitious elements. The characters are intriguing, the plot is filled with surprises and the settings look gorgeous. Don't get fooled by the slow start because the movie ends up being quite rewarding towards the end.