Siu Tai Gik

To Scott...

Yes, hard to believe Tai Chi can be a fighting system. Yes, it is. The problem with that is the image of Tai Chi that Americans or most people in the world is of the "soft", slow movements that are practiced in parks by elderly persons. Movements can be just a general term to describe a technique or a series of techniques in the martial arts. Basically in all martial arts, there are movements, whether they are an attack or a defense that can either be soft or hard in nature; Tai Chi is no different. Because of the health benefits of Tai Chi, instructors normally teach those movements. The hard movements, or shall I say the techniques that you would relate to the more "harder" styles of Kung Fu/Wushu are taught by emigrate Chinese instructors or instructors who have studied with such instructors or have trained in China. I guess it just comes to persons like you or die-hard martial arts enthusiasts who are interested in that aspect of Tai Chi.

One of donnie yens first. It is pretty funny, the obligatory training sequence is well done and the fight scenes are pretty decent. Its one of the last of the Shaw Brothers style films. No wire work and the like.

If you really need a reason to see this film check out the practice scene, set to 'Love is the drug' by Roxy music. Very funny.

Look up 'Shameless ripoff' in the dictionary, and you'll find a picture of Donnie Yen practising tai chi. The startlingly original plot -- our hero gets beaten up and sees his family killed, forcing him to learn a new style of martial arts so he can defeat the evil killer -- is enhanced by... well, okay. Not enhanced. But there are a few slight variations from tradition in an effort to give this film some semblance of a plot, such as the evil baddie being a loving daddy. But let us gloss over such trivia as plot --as did the director -- in favour of the characters and the kung-fu, the two essential ingredients in any movie of this type. Plot? Pah!

Anyway, the Sam the Seed character is a drunken tai chi master (that's a master of tai chi who's drunken, not a master of drunken tai chi. If you you were expecting differently from the film's title, tough). There are no amusing styles, and the tai chi bears as much resemblance to the actual art as does real-life kung fu to its cinematic equivalent. Do I sound like I didn't like the film? I hope not, because I *did* enjoy it, while recognising that it hadn't a shred of originality or thought behind it. Most of the fight scenes were good fun, and the bits in between, while unfunny, weren't as painfully so as they usually are in this sort of film. Yuen Woo Ping's reputation was made by Drunken Master, and this film was his most obvious attempt to cash in. I'm inclined to blame the studio more than the director for this though; not that blame particularly needs to be apportioned. You won't come away from this film thinking it was a masterpiece, but you won't be grumbling and demanding your money back either.

A simple way of describing this uniquely odd old school kung fu movie -- which also marked among the last movies of its' kind during the rise of contemporary action movies of the 1980s -- is that it's a fresh mix of old-fashioned goofball/slapstick comedy and creative martial arts choreography that you can find any pretty much any previous Yuen Woo Ping-directed kung fu gem. The movie actually was only a moderate success which did not do much for the traditional kung fu genre -- that was already drying up, with countless of similarly themed movies resuming the milking of the success that was SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW and DRUNKEN MASTER -- and was just made to be different, and introducing some new blood.

The biggest revelation of the movie is, of course, the exposition of leading actor Donnie Yen debuting in his first movie, and only aged 19 when the movie began production in 1983. Donnie had previously just finished his training course at the Beijing Wushu Academy. From there he stopped by Hong Kong before flying back to the US and was discovered by Woo Ping, who was looking for the next big thing in MA action movies. As a testament to Woo Ping, Donnie had to work for him and his "Yuen Clan" on a movie before signing a movie contract. That movie was THE MIRACLE FIGHTERS where Donnie was doing stunt doubling duties for the Yuen brothers. The movie was a success, and Woo Ping ended up so impressed with Donnie's extraordinary MA skills and gave Donnie his approval. Donnie signed the contract, and off was his movie career which has gone forward less and more years later till this day.

For a debut movie, DRUNKEN TAI CHI does wonders for Donnie Yen as the main performer. It's nothing new though, and pretty much consists of the basic aesthetics of a Yuen Woo Ping movie. The goofy humor, the pacing, the violence (reasoning behind it); the overall message. Although I enjoy Yuen Woo Ping's kung fu movies very much, most of his output contain this type of content making me wishful that he could've done a lot more serious movies at the height of his career as a director. Movies such as LEGEND OF A FIGHTER, TIGER CAGE, IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4, and IRON MONKEY clearly shows that Woo Ping can helm action movies without heavy comedy elements present. That being said, Woo Ping does a good job of applying his movie style onto Donnie's action performance and in his limited acting skills without making things awkward. Donnie Yen is wonderfully supported by Yuen brothers Yuen Cheung Yan, Yuen Yat Choh and Yuen Shun Yi, the late Lydia Shum (RIP), recurring old school kung fu actors Don Wong Tao and Lee Kwan, and Donnie Yen's fellow Chinese-Bostonian friend Mandy Chan who also made his acting debut with this movie. As usual in Yuen Woo Ping movies the comedy is tailor-made for the Yuen brothers, with Yuen Cheung Yan getting most of it, and for the most part his moments are pretty funny despite going towards overdone slapstick level of comedy after a while. Lydia Shum -- who was known for using her overly loud voice and screaming in movies to great comical effect -- is probably the one who delivers the best comedy performance in the whole movie, which is nowhere near as slapstick-ish or exaggerated like Cheung Yan's. Yuen Shun Yi -- who started out playing villains in minor or supporting roles, and occasional heroes as the lead actor -- continues the villain route here playing a ruthless killer showcasing his physical skills along with a strong antagonistic onscreen presence marking this particular performance one of his best ever done. The rest of the cast also provide some decent stuff in between the comedy and the action scenes assuring that the story flows and progresses with enough captivation to hold viewers' attention.

A Yuen Woo Ping movie is of course all about the fight scenes, and they are numerous enough to not disappoint. The action choreography by Woo Ping and Yuen Clan are very fun to watch and features the usual routines of movements as well as fascinating training montages, and certain details that shows the fighting techniques effectively and compellingly. The best attribute of the action scenes though is the storytelling behind them. Somewhere along the story, the action scenes takes a big shift once Yuen Shun Yi enters the story proving to be an extreme adversary for everyone, with a hardened fighting style that is difficult to defeat. What is the opposite of hard? Soft. And what would be a perfect style to counter a hard one? Woo Ping has all the answers and pulls it off with conviction and to maximum effect. Donnie Yen -- at the time the movie went into production -- was just getting a hang of things in the Hong Kong movie industry, and wanted to prove himself. And to the point that he was so gung ho about it that he was willing to do most of his own stunts -- something he gave up on not long after the movie's release though. And his physicality is on full display doing all the fighting techniques and stunts. The way Donnie performs here is unique as he doesn't move like a typical taolu wushu practitioner or a Hong Kong martial artist-turned stuntman. It's like Donnie followed Woo Ping's instructions while putting a contemporary twist to the techniques creating a blend of old and new in his overall performance. This has always been Donnie's way of performing onscreen, and it's so attractive to watch. It's no wonder viewers over the years have come to appreciate his movies even to this day. Credits to the Yuen brothers, Don Wong Tao, and even Lydia Shum (and her stunt double) for being eye-catchy in their action performances too.

My verdict is that the movie makes good use of Donnie Yen's mere athleticism as a taolu wushu practitioner -- the same forms-based wushu discipline (opposed to sanda wushu, which is based on full contact combat) that Jet Li excels in -- as well as his true martial arts abilities and knowledge -- gained from learning and training actual practical fighting styles after migrating to the US in his late childhood. But Donnie's talents could've been utilized for a more serious and fitting movie, as it's apparent that Donnie looked uncomfortable in some comedy scenes -- Donnie has went on record stating that Woo Ping's comedy style isn't to his preference. Nevertheless, the movie is a strong contender in Donnie's filmography proving to be a decent debut for him as well.

Donnie Yen does a pretty good job in this movie, both in acting and in the fight scenes. Theres some wire work here and there, which is expectable when you watch ANY martial arts movie anyway. The fight scenes are really well done(Donnie Yen is obviously really good at Tai Chi and a great kicker!)Theres also a lot of comedy in this movie(better than that in Drunken Master with Jackie Chan). People shouldnt compare this to Jackie Chan's Drunken Master, it has a different plot and theres not a focus on drunken boxing(theres pretty much none!). Some of the Yuen Brothers are also in this movie like the Tai Chi Master and Killer Bird. Overall a good fun kung fu film and one of Donnie Yen's best! Overall: 9/10