Man of Tai Chi

HK Police detective Sun Jingshi (Karen Mok) obsessively investigates ruthless wealthy powerful Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves) who runs an underground fight club. Tiger Chen (Tiger Hu Chen) studies under Tai Chi Master Yang. He is a meek delivery guy in his normal life. Donaka offers him fights for money which he refuses at first. When the 600 year old Temple is under threat from developers, he needs money to fix it up.

The great thing in this movie is the fight choreography. The fights are beautiful dances. It is extremely well done. There is a good character relationship between the teacher and student. It's a descend into the dark side that Darth Vader should have had. That's the good part of the movie. The bad parts are all the affectless acting led by the king Keanu Reeves. His directing debut is competent but shows a monotonous doggedness. He doesn't show much excitement other than the fights. The last fight does have some problems. It's not set up properly. Keanu Reeves needs to show his power before. There isn't much drama here but it's still worth a watch.

This was a great movie, I am not sure what the others are whining about saying it is the worst movie in Hollywood. Clearly you do not know what bad movies are. This was a great flick! If you enjoy Ip Man or you are one of those guys who watches Chinese movies with English subtitles. You will enjoy this movie. There a clear progressiveness to the movie, nothing too cheesy or corny. Actions scenes were great! Decent story line. The main actor was good for someone who I have not seen before. Overall good flick to watch at home. Do not be discouraged to watch this movie because some "idiot" wrote that it was the worst movie. I would recommend this movie if you like Donnie Yen or Jet li.

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.

I read the reviews from regular users. I feel some missed the point here in this movie. I happen to be experienced at what is taught inside secret societies and underground fighting. Tai Chi is a foundation and a central skill of fighting and meaning. The fight with Tiger Chen and his master is definitely the most impressive. I gave it 7 out of 10 because the lesson he learned that self-control, meditation and humbling yourself makes you more of a winner and better fighter. He learned that finally. His master cared about him deeply and you can tell when he was so concerned about him using his skills for the wrong reasons. Many of the users that would give this a lower score due to the fact of Keanu Reeves and his first directing debut were taking a side trip and missing the movie. Whatever director you have you cannot foil the skills and charisma of Tiger Chen and his master, plus the moral lessons in this film. It was not a perfect film, but you have to notice how incredibly fluid and fast this guy is and in which proves Tai Chi is more than just a style of meditation and moves. However, this also comes with learning control and not letting yourself be moved by possessed anger. I will tell you the moves were authentic, real and had little wire work, barely any. They were real masters of Tai Chi Kung Fu, both Tiger and his master I can tell you that. Anyone that cannot see that has not been in front of this going on outside of a movie like I have. Remember his teacher said he had to slow down and empty himself. It is not all about fighting and speed. It is about using your Katas, focus for your entire movements and being able to transfer and use your Chi instead of just your physical body. In all of this and the lessons, it was a ten score.

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.