Tai chi zong shi

For all fans of Fung Fu cinema, this is another gem. The action scenes are amazing and the Tai Chi techniques used for the fight choreography's are very impressive indeed. This is a must for you if you are a Chinese cinema collector like me. The only problem I see is the bad edition changing from one situation to another and also the fact that is too long, but on the other hand, you get so many fighting sequences that will give you enough Kung Fu for 2 months!. This is a good movie, shot on video format, something that makes me remember that wonderful TV series "The Magic Palm of Buddah" back in my child wood in Venezuela during the 80's. Buy it now, if you are a Fung Fu cinema fan, you won't be disappointed. Yuen Wo Ping co-directed, so, you already know what does that mean.

It's confusing as Yuen Woo-Ping has been involved in three productions called "Tai Chi Master". The first in 1984 (now known as "Drunken Tai Chi") was a comedy that featured Tai Chi basketball. The more famous Jet Li film was from 1993 and then there's this late 1990's TV series that was edited into a 2 hour feature in 2003. I'm not sure what Yuen's actual knowledge of Tai Chi is but this production is certainly the closest to real Tai Chi Chuan of the three.

Essentially the story of how a young man, Yang, becomes a student of the closed door Chen family Tai Chi style and defeats Master Chen's enemy, a vicious warlord. This movie claims that Yang learned much of Chen Tai Chi by disguising himself as a haystack and spying on classes or by sparring with Chen's daughter who is disguised as a boy. This is the Yang who created the famous Yang Tai Chi style that's popular around the world but don't expect to see much of it here. It's probable that the historical element is on the fanciful side. However the movie offers frequent and well done fight scenes with a lot of actual Tai Chi techniques on display. The actors are excellent athletes and can actually do lengthy takes at full speed. Much like the old school movies from the Shaw studios. After the initial fight scenes which are not wonderfully filmed, the movie takes off and everything else is very well done.

Shot in standard PAL TV, the production is good and you get used to the TV look after a while. I have an aversion to many shot for TV kung fu dramas but this one is an exception. It's as good if not better than many shot on film kung fu movies. The biggest problem is the plot which is very choppy at times but I've seen feature films that are worse.

Enjoy, it's a real old school kung fu flick

Well, this movie looks like low-budget and also quite old, so I had some trouble to resolve the puzzle with names (against 1993 movie with Jet Li aka "Twin Warriors") but Yuen Wu Ping is also there among directors and this movie is a must for anyone practicing Tai Chi or other martial arts. There's a light comic and lyrical storyline telling us about the founder of the famous Yang Tai Chi style Yang Lu Chan - how he got into Cheng family and took Tai Chi out of ancestral family protection to the wide world. What is real great in this movie is the amount and quality of fight scenes, it's 2 hours of superb martial arts work. I bet fight choreographers put in this film more job than anyone else in the movie. And the level of performers is also very high. Besides group scenes with general plans we have a number of one-on-one fights where much of moves are shown in slowed details. It's a very good inspiration for all practicing people. I watched it twice in two weeks since I have it at home and already 4 in two month, and it doesn't get me tired, only gives taste for more practice. Not to speak about the wonderful character of Yang Lu Chan, whom everybody calls "kid" and his ever-smiling eager or serene face shining with purity of heart, along with charismatic Cheng Chang Xing teacher and other bright characters like master Tan Han Ching (bagua master) and lots of others (kinda hard to remember all their names) should be able to make this movie enjoyable not only for fight scene reasons and bring good cheerful mood to everyone!

I love kung fu movies. Usually, the cheesier the better. And it is in deed cheesy (a line in the movie actually says "I don't think your kung fu is better than my kung fu"). This does not apply unfortunately to this movie. The Tai Chi Master is simply unwatchable. Not the plot, which is par for a Kung-Fu-Film, but the technical aspects are simply rotten.

The movie looks like it was filmed with a camcorder, and the lighting equipment appears as though it was bought at sears. If this was a student film from a 20 year old attending community college, I would give it an A. But its not a student film, its a professional production. Which is simply sad.

The movie appears to be a parody, but its not. Very sad indeed.

This is my review of The Tai Chi Master, a Chinese action film from 1997. Not to be confused with the Jet Li movie from 1993, this one stars Wu Jing and is a two-hour film that was condensed from a 25-episode television series. Yes, you heard that correctly. A 25-episode television series (with each episode lasting 45 minutes each) was cut and re-edited to fit into a mere 2 hours. Such an endeavor may seem impossible, but it's emphatically successful here. Definitely one of the best martial arts movies you'll ever see, but it does have a few drawbacks.

First of all, the production values are not the best. The visuals are a bit hazy and the sound design could have been better. Not a big deal, because I find that I get used to it fairly quickly. Second, editing is a bit choppy – which is probably a consequence of editing a television series down into movie form. Third, the storyline feels a bit rushed at times. This is set during the 1800s and is basically about a young man who learns Tai Chi and clashes with a number of people, one of which is a vindictive prince. The overall story and conflicts are good enough, but its the side stories that are weakened by this condensed version. However, one positive aspect that helps to mitigate the weaknesses in story is the likability of the protagonists. There's a bit of humor that's used well, and the actors have good chemistry with one another and it's fun watching them interact.

But that's not the best aspect of this movie. The real reason to watch this is for the martial arts. I kid you not, this is one of the most action-packed martial arts movies ever made. The first hour is peppered with entertaining fights, but the truly spectacular scenes are found during the second hour, which begins with a pagoda sequence (lasting a whopping 20 minutes) that represents exactly what Bruce Lee was going for when making Game of Death. If you remember, Bruce Lee wanted his character to fight a different opponent with a different fighting style on each level of the pagoda. Now, the Game of Death that was actually released in 1978 only has about 15 minutes of Bruce Lee footage because he passed away before he got a chance to finish it. Well, the pagoda sequence in The Tai Chi Master forces our protagonist fight against a Korean kickboxer, a Mongolian wrestler, a Miao pole fighter, a master of inner chi, a Japanese lady ninja, and a drunken monk. Let me put this into perspective. It's a treat when you see one fight in any action movie that showcases opponents with completely different fighting styles. This movie gives you 6 in a row! Utterly insane.

And that's not all. Like they say in those infomercials, "But wait, there's more!" After all of this, we a three-phase duel between two practitioners of Tai Chi. So this time, you get two guys who use a very similar style, and it's just awesome. One of these fights takes place amidst hundreds of hanging swords.

These fights are so intricately choreographed, it will blow your mind. There are so many martial arts moves here that I've never seen before in any other movie. I am not an expert on martial arts, but even I feel like I have a much greater knowledge of the style of Tai Chi after watching this movie – because you see so much of it, and it's captured so well.

This movie and Kill Zone (2005) made me an instant fan of Wu Jing. I love this guy and I try to watch every action movie he's in. He's had a very inconsistent film career, with inexplicable patches of inactivity and/or quality. It's nice to see him reach some financial success in recent years. Both Wolf Warrior and SPL 2: A Time for Consequences made a lot of money in 2015, so he's on a bit of a hot streak.