Man of Tai Chi

I didn't really know anything about Man of Tai Chi when I watched it. I was in a mood for something; I just didn't know what. I was stunned to discover Keanu Reeves in the film and even more stunned to learn it was his directorial debut.

I've always liked Keanu Reeves films, because I was almost always entertained. Everyone has a few flubs here and there; so his few are easily forgiven.

I, myself, am a big fan of foreign films. In many cases, it's because the story lines are fresher and morals are deeper.

That being said, if you're looking for an award winning film this isn't it and it's not meant to be. I was looking to be entertained, in that aspect, Reeves delivered.

I've seen the complaints about the performances, choreography, etc. As a director he had a full plate, especially for a debut. The language barrier alone would have been difficult enough to adapt to.

I'm not going to give any details about the film. I will say that this is a film you have to have a taste for. I do like the message behind the film though, which is for you to decide on your own. Everyone can come to their own conclusion, because we can find different meanings in everything.

This is a martial arts film directed by Keanu Reeves about delivery man Chen Lin-Hu (Tiger Hu Chen) who is skillful in Tai Chi that was led to join an illegal fight club, headed by Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves). Chen needs the money from the club to save his master's ancient temple from being razed, but Mark eventually wants Chen to start fighting battles that only ends in the death of the opponent, which is something that goes against the Tai Chi philosophy that Chen was taught.

While a good message delivered about the meditation and philosophy of the Tai Chi skill, with plenty of martial arts action mixed in, this movie lacks a compelling story and good acting. Keanu Reeves and Tiger Chen each gave a very mediocre and wooden performance - no emotion and substance. Mark's video cameraman tried too hard to be the hipster of the movie, attempting to sound cool and ghetto at the same time, which was really irritating; I think it rubs salt in the wound to the already sub-par acting. The subplot about police detective Sun Jingshi (Karen Mok) pursuing Mark was pretty entertaining, but not emphasized enough. The story could have been more captivating if more focus was placed on the police investigating the fight club; however, it was overshadowed by the excessive fight scenes. This made the movie pretty predictable and lacking suspense.

The fight sequences though, especially with Chen and his master, were pretty awesome to watch. It does make the movie go a little faster, which is sometimes dragged by the slow-moving plot.

Overall, if you enjoy nothing but martial arts action, this film is for you. But, if you like a good balance of martial arts and drama, than this film falls just short of that.

Grade C

Man of Tai Chi may not be one of the best martial arts movie made, but i would say, its a good first attempt at directing by one of my more favored actor and an all-around good human being, Keannu Reeves. Though the acting might slightly be bland for the most part (all right then, all through out except for Karen Mok who i adore), but then again you have to admit though it's not exactly Shakespeare we're watching here. Its a pound for pound martial arts movie for action flick aficionados, too much acting or show of emotions would've made it too soft for me or pretentious. I think this movie might as well be Mr. Reeves' love letter to Chinese cinema which apparently influenced him a lot. I'm quite impressed as well that Mr. Reeves has set his Hollywood superstar status aside to make way for the little guy behind all the fancy stunts and high kicks that makes all those Hollywood action movies enjoyable. Kudos to Tiger Chen for the amazing action sequences in this film as well in the other movies he had been in as stunt coordinator and the like. Mr. Chen, is the real thing here. And in conclusion, i would like to say that i know that not all may come to appreciate this movie, only a few will, but i say its an acquired taste. Its entertaining for the most part. I'm glad its not deep which is what i like in an action flick, because i don't want to work that hard when i'm already too exhausted just following the punches thrown in this film. But its a joyride and a spectacle to savor from beginning to end. Again, congratulations Mr. Anderson... the Matrix will be proud.

I liked what I saw in the trailer, but was still not sure what Keanu Reeves would do as a director. I have heard from him in many interviews how he is a 'kung-fu film nut' but you can never be sure if actors are serious in interview or not. Once you see this movie, you can tell just how much of a kung-fu film nut he actually is. He used the camera very well in every single fight scene, none of the shaky-cam stuff we see in most action and kung-fu movies today - where the speed of the camera makes the pacing of the fight. On the contrary in Man of Tai Chi Reeves keeps the camera stationary, or only slowly panning in the fight scenes, he also used a lot fewer quick-camera cuts. Essentially he allowed the impressiveness of the moves and styles themselves to shine through. If you choreograph the fights well enough the camera does not need to be moving fast, in fact it could sit in one place and not move at all and the fight is still impressive. He still need to work a bit on his dramatic direction but he has fight scenes down pat. If he somehow reads this, or someone who knows him does - don't change a thing with your fight direction.

MAN OF TAI CHI marks a collaboration between Hollywood and China as the studios join forces to make a traditional tournament-based martial arts flick. The film is directed by and stars Keanu Reeves as an evil millionaire who mounts violent fight tournaments and broadcasts them to internet viewers in a bid for fame and fortune.

What MAN OF TAI CHI has going for it are the plentiful fight sequences, all of them expertly choreographed by Yuen-Woo Ping. It's hard to go wrong with tournament-style films - they're a staple of B-movies, after all - and the almost constant stream of hard-hitting fights makes this great fun to sit through.

There's little more to it than the action, however, seeing as the film is deeply flawed. Reeves's debut direction is applaudable, but they could have picked a better person than a composer to write the trite, predictable storyline. Elsewhere, Tiger Hu Chen proves to be a charisma-free leading man, despite his impressive tai chi skills, while Karen Mok overacts for all her worth. Simon Yam is barely in it despite being prominently billed. Worst of all, Iko Uwais makes a cameo appearance and doesn't even get to fight - the dumbest decision in the entire movie. My recommendation is to watch it for the fights but don't go in expecting much else, because you won't get it.