O Destemido

Beggar Su is a folkloric kung fu hero, and "True Legend" is Su's story told in epic form, from esteemed general to madman to drunkard to hero. Vincent Zhao is the titular hero, who after rescuing a kidnapped prince, returns home to his wife Ying (Zhou Xun) and young son, rather than becoming a governor as the prince offers in reward for his service. Instead, he hands the governorship over to his foster brother Yuan (Andy On), thinking to share his good fortune with the man he thinks of as a brother and who is in fact Ying's actual brother. He doesn't realize that Yuan is full of hatred and vengeful feelings for Su's family, because Su's father had killed Yuan's real father many years earlier, to prevent that rampaging man from killing more innocent people. Five years later, Yuan has control of an army, and he is seeking vengeance....

That is only the opening section of this film, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who is best known in the West for choreographing the fight scenes in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." "True Legend" is full of fight scenes, some of the quite funny, some of them quite beautiful; and it is also full of cameos of kung fu superstars such as Gordon Liu, Michelle Yeoh and, in his last role, David Carradine. I find that a little kung fu fighting goes a long way, but if you're going to see a kung fu film, you couldn't find better than this.

Americans have grown accustomed to a certain kind of Chinese martial arts film. Ever since Crouching Tiger, the Chinese MA film has gotten more attention beyond whatever Hollywood effort is churned out to force a Jet Li or Jackie Chan sub-par effort on American audiences. Crouching Tiger was followed by films like House of Flying Daggers and Hero, while those with bigger interests in the subject certainly sought out more films that most Americans might not know.

True Legend seems to pick up on this. Yuen Wo Ping, who is no stranger to Hollywood martial arts films, having dabbled his hand in a number of Hollywood efforts, seems to have taken some of what he's done for American audiences and applied it to this film. He has, after all, been attached to several big U.S. productions, most notably Kill Bill and The Matrix series of films. These and other notable Chinese MA films, which saw American audiences, between True Legend and his last directorial effort, Tai Chi Boxer (1996). So, it may not be surprising that he's incorporated some more Western friendly elements. That may be far reaching, but True Legend is certainly no traditional Martial Arts film.

For Chinese MA fans, this is a mixed bag. It starts out with several powerful action sequences, the most notable being the opening rescue scene. Sadly, this is Ping putting his best foot forward and the film never truly rises above it in terms of impressive action. That doesn't mean the film doesn't contain some other outstanding scenes that, at least, left me with a few 'oh snap' moments. And the combination of fantasy elements that you might see in older films, like the 5 Venom Fist style MA, and more modern concepts, like mixing break dancing with drunken fist boxing, give the film it's own identity.

Sadly, this creates a bit of an identity crises. We're given a historical context for the film, and the story presents itself similarly to Fearless, another MA biopic, but the film isn't grounded in reality and some strange turns are taken, those most notable being main character Su's encounter with The Wushu God. It's a bizarre, CGI heavy intermission between the more grounded first and final acts. But the entire tone of the film seems to be a mix of the two: the more traditional Chinese MA film and the modern, special effects and wire laden Chinese MA film, the kind that Western audiences might be more accustomed to. And reading about the production of the film, you can certainly see that Ping did want to go beyond the traditional film to create something more modern.

Despite this seemingly jumbled style, the film is full of Ping's mastery. Fantastic camera work, editing, and special effects add to the impressive set pieces and choreographed action sequences. Again, there are a ton of 'oh snap' moments, and in a MA film, that is a wonderful thing to have. The opening scene is an incredible display of talent, action, special effects, and choreography that will most likely go down as one of the great modern MA action scenes. There are plenty of other fantastic action sequences, and thankfully Ping knows how to shoot a proper action scene as opposed to so many other directors who think all the action has to be confusing and up close, and all the editors who think that it requires cuts by the second. This film reaffirms that, even after all these years, Ping can still produce something that is entertaining and exciting, that he is still a master of the MA sequence.

Whether you enjoy this film or not will depend entirely on how much you can enjoy the fairly odd mix of styles along with the inclusion of a fifth act to end the film. It does take a bit of a right turn with the final act, but it's none the less very entertaining, and includes a cameo (most likely our last glimpse) of David Carradine, who you might know worked with Ping on Kill Bill. However, I would recommend this film to any MA fan. It's unique blend of quirky style, fantastic action, and masterful filming technique all make up one entertaining Chinese MA.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It seems as if there are three stages to the star's development. The movie moves it along just fine.

I'm not a person who analyzes a movie to death. I'm just a regular guy that likes Martial Arts films. This one has plenty of action from the get-go. If you're searching for a good martial arts action flick and are hesitating on this one, don't hesitate. You will not be disappointed. Order a pizza, make some popcorn and enjoy the high flying kicks, punches and acrobatic action that this movie brings. There were a couple reviews that rated this low. All I can say is that's a result of states allowing cannabis to its citizens, because this movie is all that and a bag of chips.

Seriously, get it. You'll enjoy it.

Wenzhuo Zhao has just reduced a rebel province, but he turns down the chance to be the new governor, so he can marry Xun Zhou and open a martial arts school. Some time later, his foster brother, Andy On decides to beat Zhao to a pulp and take his nephew so he can keep him safe. The happy couple wind up on a mountain with Doctor Michelle Yeoh, and while he heals, has training episodes with Jay Chou, the God of Wushu. Eventually, there's a big fight with On, and Miss Zhou winds up dead.

It's supposed to be about the founder of the 'Drunken Fist' form of martial arts. If that sounds familiar to western audiences, that's because DRUNKEN MASTER was a breakout hit for Jacky Chan. The director of this film, Woo-Ping Yuen, had a small role in that film, and decided to make an utterly serious drama about it, with evil foreigners beating the tar out of Chinese, and jazz bands playing "Sweet Georgia Brown" sixty years before it was written. Chou appears to be having some fun in his dual roles -- the second is "Drunken God". Otherwise it's seemingly endless fantasy fighting and unhappiness.

There also something that annoys me about the Chinese fantasy films I've seen over the past couple of years: you can see the fact it is computer generated. Reality has a roughness that lends it verisimilitude, and the fantasy sequences wind up looking like cutscenes from a computer game.

I am basing my 9 stars for two reasons. First, the choreography is top notch. Second the cinematography is top notch. Simply put, this a very beautiful movie to watch. As for the story and plot...it's an action movie with a fairly simple story. It was designed to entertain with action and composition so the story is not the main vehicle which it uses to engage the viewer. If you are looking for extremely beautiful images, super insane kinetic choreography and fight scenes, you have come to the right place. The fights are on par with and perhaps even surpass Crouching Tiger, or Hero. Woo Ping just keeps improving on his choreography. I don't know how he does it, but he does it in every new movie. This is a definite purchase on bluray for my collection.