Tai ji quan

I saw this movie hoping it would run along the lines of "tai-chi master". After seeing the movie I'm not even sure it this is the sequel to it. There was very little, if any, reference to tai-chi. The acting was below average on almost all the actors. The story was very superficial with a simple plot. But then again, I don't watch hong-kong movies for their amazing storylines, I watch them for the fighting. And that's exactly what is this movie's strong point, the fighting is pretty nice, and inventive(pig-tail whip). Coolest fighting-scene was the one against the dad. Still, I can't reccomend this movie. Hopefully, a sequel worthy of being associated with tai-chi master will come along. Until then, I suggest you all dig out the original.

Most Westerners will probably be drawn to "Tai Chi Boxer" by Yuen Woo Ping's name, but I think it is a movie targeted primarily at Chinese audiences, who will probably respond more to its themes and period setting. The story is uncompelling, but the martial arts action choreography is spectacular and fascinating. Although Yuen Woo Ping sometimes resorts to wires, he lets the action stay on the ground long enough to let you appreciate the skills of the several martial artists who appear in the film. Jackie Wu, in his film debut, has graceful moves, and the fact that he is not very muscular makes his victories even more impressive; he really does make you believe that Tai Chi is the most powerful form of kung fu (especially when you add a mean ponytail to it). The guy who plays the main villain is fantastic - he seemed REALLY angry at all times. It is also a pleasure to see Sibelle Hu (one of the sexiest and most expressive actresses of Hong Kong cinema, in my opinion) in what is, according to IMDb, her last film role to date. (**1/2)

Wow, this film was much better than i expected! (maybe even better than Tai Chi Master!) Jackie Wu is Excellent as the lead and Darren Shahlavi(Smith) is very good as the british villain in this his first hong kong movie. Great supporting cast including Sibelle Hu (Jackie's mum) , Yue Hoi (Jackie's dad), Christy Chung (jackie's love interest), Billy Chau (Opponent, Great Nothern kicker), Ji Chun Hua (Smith's Thug) and Taam Chui (Jackie's Cousin). All give good performances especially Ji Chun Hua (Falling down a flight of concrete stairs, no pads!) Darren Shahlavi (Great stunts all round!), Jackie Wu (great fighting, despite the fact he has really bad eyesight!) but the best guy in the film has to be Taam Chui! Not only does he have his own character ( Ah Sung, jackie's cousin) he also doubles for almost everyone in the movie!! He is so physically talented (i think he studied Wu Shu at the same academy as Jet Li and Jackie) that he was obviously hired by Yuen Woo Ping to do the lightning fast jumping kicks and spins that other people simply can't do! He doubles for Billy Chau, Mark Cheng, Yue Hoi and even Jackie Wu at one stage! As Darren Shahavi once said in an interview "that guys the best kicker i've ever seen!" and that's coming from someone as physically talented as Darren! Taam is by far the most talented martial artist in the film (even with a cast like Billy Chau , Jackie Wu and Yue Hoi!) He is even assistant action director too! This film is a top five favourite of mine and is quite simply a classic of the genre! It's full of great acting, superb fights and as always good direction by Yuen Woo Ping. Should be enjoyable to just about anyone and a Kung Fu must see for fight fans everywhere!If you haven't seen it, go see it now!

Jacky Wu (former student of the beijing wushu team, who formed Jet li) plays Jackie: a young man that has to fight opium dealers. Most of the time, the fights look quite nice but the acting is so terrible (particularly from the white villain). There is also a cheap love story between Christy Chung and Jacky Wu and sometimes you can even see the cables in the fight scenes, particularly in the final fight. This movie deserves a 7.5/10 just because of the action sequences, nicely choreographed by one of the great: Yuen Woo ping.

After seeing it a few times, this is my conclusion. First, there seems to be two plots: one is that some English tuxedo-wearing guys are smuggling opium to China, the other is a boy-wants-girl love story.

One reviewer said it takes place about the year 1900 -- I couldn't have guessed from just watching the movie. Other flaws seems to be that it is unclear where it takes place. "In a village, somewhere in China." Yet there is a nearby town or village where they, unknown to all main characters, are sacrificing children (!) in a seemingly recurrent ritual. How can they not know about this? Later, this incident is never talked of again, and this and several other incidents make me wonder, why there are so many subplots.

Quite a few things don't make sense in the film... Don't understand why it even called "tai chi 2". It doesn't have anything in common with Tai Chi 1 (tai chi master). And the officer to which Rose was engaged is also an enigma: is he good or bad? I felt sorry for him anyways -- he was just trying to do his job and start a family, but everyone seemed to dislike him.

The acting is overall like the others said: decent, but not very spectacular. All though they could have mentioned the mother and father are very enjoyable to watch. Maybe a good thing would be if the story was focused more on the family life. Or focused on, well, *anything*, instead of diverse itself like it did.

Note that the first scene takes place 10 years before the rest of the film. They could have mentioned this. And why why couldn't they have bothered making a decent ending....

Enjoyable little thing though, thanks to its action and humour!! Recommendable!! 7 / 10.