Wendy Wu

Worst DCOM I have seen. Ever. Well, maybe not as bad as Smart House. This was just bad. The acting and story was fine, but the effects SUCKED!

They were so fake! The only good fight scene was between the brother and Shen. That was probably the only scene in which I was excited.

Overall, I found this movie very boring and the film kind of ended suddenly.

I will give it a four for Brenda Song who is a very funny actress and that one fight scene.

4/10

Brenda Song is probably best known for being London Tipton, the dimwitted daughter of a wealthy hotel owner in The Suite Life of Zach & Cody. She proves in this film she can do more than be a pretty face! She said in a behind the scenes documentary for this film that she took karate classes as a child (even though she wanted to do ballet) and the really paid off! She kicks major booty in this DCOM.

The Basic Plot: Wendy Wu (Song) is a young lady hopeful of being Homecoming queen, but it is not until a young monk (Shin Koyomada) reveals to her that she is part of a prophecy...and that an evil force has been released and it is her duty to bring it down...but Wendy will have to hang up her prom gown and her hopes of becoming homecoming queen as well...

This is unlike any DCOM I've ever seen! Amazing special effects and martial arts choreography. I give it and 8/10

This movie was a joy to see. An interesting story line with great action scenes. It should rank with The Cheetah Girls, High School Musical, and other successful Disney Channel films. Though some of the special effects were not the best (what can you expect with a TV movie) it still showed effort.It also showed the amazing acting skills of The Joy Luck Club star Tsai Chin playing the grandmother of Wendy. The true amazement was shown by Disney Channel veteran but not yet star Brenda Song. Her wonderful acting in this film will take her to new heights in the Disney Corporation. Shin Koyamada playing the very religious yet heartthrob monk-trainer Shen was also a good choice for the role. I hope that you will take my advice and make an effort to see this movie. I am sure you wont regret it.

From the moment Brenda Song walked into the junior high school set of "Stuck in the Suburbs" and flung her retro-1960's hairdo over her shoulder, people who never knew who she was prior to then would realize this is an actress that The Disney Channel could not afford to lose before she grows up. And though she already turned 18 before the release of this DCOM, they couldn't possibly deny that she was a star in the making as far back as "The Ultimate Christmas Present." When I first heard that this was going to be Brenda's first starring role, I thought it was going to be incredibly corny, cheesy and campy. I'm surprised to find I was wrong about the third part.

Wendy Wu, is a pretty and popular contemporary Chinese-American California high school girl. She has two friends that envy her, a trophy boyfriend she's not entirely enthusiastic about, and while not the smartest kid in class, she's certainly not the spoiled airhead she plays on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." Neither she nor her parents, nor even her classmates make any issue of their cultural heritage, until two things happen; 1)Her mother, a museum curator starts getting newly received ancient Chinese statues, and 2)Wendy herself gets a visit from a Buddhist Monk who insists she's the reincarnation of an old female warrior destined to fight an evil spirit(What I'd like to know is how this temple survived more earthly evils like the Five Year Plan, "Great Leap Forward," Cultural Revolution, etc.). Naturally, she thinks the guy is nuts, but he slowly starts to convince her that he's telling the truth, and she agrees to accept training for the big fight that's to come.

The tagline here is "Pretty. Tough." No truth-in-advertising laws were broken here. Her opponent Jessica Dawson(Ellen Woglom)isn't so bad looking herself. The TV-PG Rating was appropriate as well, not only for the standard contemporary martial arts choreography, but for the idea that Shin may have to die, a la Michael Biehn in "The Terminator"(1984). Essentially, Shin Koyamada is Wendy Wu's version of Kyle Reese. Part of the problem with the kung-fu fighting scenes is that like so many of them nowadays, the producers think they have to rip off "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000)." Others detected elements of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer(1992)," the "Dragonball"(1988) franchise, and numerous versions of the "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers"(1993). Although admittedly, I saw more Power Rangers elements in "Sky High(2005)," than I did here.

Hardcore Martial Arts fans would probably dismiss this because it's a DCOM, and because of the cheesy plot, and far-fetched special effects, but I remember seeing plenty of martial arts movies from the 1970's with less of a plot, and people shooting lightning bolts out of their hands as well as other SFX that didn't exist in the 12th Century Far East. As of this writing, there don't seem to be any plans to put this movie on DVD, however the high ratings may change that. And though there are others who may like "High School Musical(2006)(TV)" better than this DCOM(including those who like this one), I feel the opposite way. All in all, it's not half bad.

The theme of Chinese marital arts on a Disney Original Movie caught the attention of my kids. I watched it with them last night when it was replayed. I also got hooked and entertained with the way the story developed. It was very interesting to see an Asian-American character as the girl to beat to become Homecoming Queen. She was frankly quite annoying in those scenes where she was trying her darnedest to shake off the Buddhist monk Shen, but the light mood of the whole movie made it tolerable. The scenes where Shen involved Wendy's teachers during training and the climactic fight were very action-packed yet with a sense of humor. You are willing just to overlook those impossible scenes (like how Wendy changed into her Chinese fighting garb at the museum that her Grandma brought for her, among many others). Oh well, it is all in good fun!