Tai Chi Master

"Twin Warriors" is one of the best martial arts films I have seen, there are at least 20 different fight scenes all of them spectacular. Jet Li does a good job of acting here, he isn't as serious as he usually is, Michelle Yeoh who proved she could kick ass in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" shows her skills here as well. The action scenes for the most part are believeable, a few of them go over the top but other than that I was totally into them, if you're looking for pure martial arts action with a decent story and acting, give Twin Warriors a look.

As a t'ai chi player, I watched this film hoping to see a lot of t'ai chi (I'd already started running scenarios in my head where the brash young Jet Li learns t'ai chi from Michelle Yeoh). In this respect, and only in this respect, I was disappointed, as this is not a t'ai chi film but a story about how t'ai chi came to be. In every other respect, I was supremely satisfied. This is first class wuxia, alternating crazy fights with goofy humour, with a little tragedy and philosophy thrown in. Of course this mix will probably be insufferable to anyone who isn't into wuxia, but if you like the kind of martial arts films where combatants call out the name of the move they're about to do, you'll love this. Incidentally, you'll notice the inspiration for a fight in Charlie's Angels in one of the early scenes: "And this one's called knocking you on the head."

One of my favorite Hong Kong actors, Jet Li, does what I call his best film in "Tai Chi Master." Starring alongside Michelle Yeoh and a dozen other folks whose name I forgot, Li plays Junbao, a monk whose best friend betrays him and becomes a ruthless whacko. This leaves him only one option: grab a pole and start clubbin' baddies. While some parts are just too cheesy to mention, i.e. people flying around and some ridiculously hokey-looking effects (you can see the cable attached to a guy's back at one point), the best fights take place with just good ol' Jet Li, a pole, and an army of bad guys, where there is no room to fly around or do the ultra-powerful Buddhist Palms. Give Tai Chi Master a try. It's a love-hate thing for most people, and in my case, it's a love thing. This movie is one of the five best kung-fu flicks ever made, in my opinion.

Two friends, Junbao and Chin Bo, grow up in the isolated environment of the legendary Shaolin temple, studying to become monks. After being banished from the temple, they find adjusting to "normal" life to be difficult. Chin Bo, always the more ambitious one, agrees to join the oppressive army terrorizing the citizens. Junbao eventually joins forces with other concerned rebels in confronting the tyranny of the evil Governor (Jian Kui Sun) as well as Chin Bo, a newly minted general.

"Tai Chi Master", also known as "Twin Warriors" in North America, is an invigorating example of this genre. Most noteworthy about it is the way that it manages to contain an extremely healthy amount of comedy in addition to physical and acrobatic wizardry, all set against a very political backdrop. Directed with brio by the much celebrated Woo-Ping Yuen, the martial arts choreographer renowned for his work on the "Matrix" series, it has tremendous energy. The frequent fight scenes are so insane that they leave the viewers quite breathless. (Yes, you can sometimes see the wires holding performers in the air or pulling them along, but not often enough for it to really be a problem.) The comedy is frequently hilarious, and it's quite a joy to see action icon Michelle Yeoh bust out some comedy chops as her character Siu Lin turns to drink as a way of trying to forget about an unfaithful husband. Star attraction Jet Li (playing Junbao as a young adult) also served as the producer, and he's a delight, dazzling us with his moves but also showing off his flair for comedy and goofiness as Junbao seems to temporarily lose his mind. Siu-Ho Chin is excellent as the antagonistic Chin Bo, letting power go to his head, abusing his soldiers, and betraying his former friends.

The film gets fairly gory at times, and the English translations of the Asian dialogue do contain some profanity. But, despite the presence of a few very lovely ladies, there's no real sexuality as part of the package. It tells an adult story without ever getting too, too unpleasant.

"Tai Chi Master" has its over the top moments, but it does have some heart in addition to the action and humour, and the poignancy of a long friendship gone sour, so fans of the genre are sure to enjoy it.

Seven out of 10.

It's not Drunken Master, (not the Legend of Drunken Master, the original, noodge), but what is? It is a well made tale of an ousted Shaolin monk who through hardship and madness, learns the ultimately taoist T'ai Chi Chuan.

The thing I love about this film, (and you'd have to be a geek to go with this} but I love the fact that he learns T'ai Chi through his own hardships, not from a sifu (teacher), and the typical sifu or friend who dies is his friend, who, instead of dying, turns evil with power.

The entire movie is a great representation of Taosism (yin, yang, good and evil}. I don't agree that Michelle Yeoh (or Michelle Kahn at she time in the film) was not well used. She provided the idea of the easy path, drinking in this case, that is so lacking in gong fu movies. She and he both redeem themselves against the head bad guy (His character name escapes me at the time}, but there is no love interest between themselves. She's tough and troubled, he's tough and troubled and they actually help each other (read: she stops drinking to save him, he learns from her care and she helps cure his madness).

By the way, the head bad guy, (again, sorry about the name} was still played brilliantly even in dubbing. My friends and I still say "Hmmmmm" in his fey evil voice when thinking bad thoughts. It can be said it's typical Hong Kong fare... Good guy gets defeated, learns a new style of Gong Fu and defeats the bad guy, but then again, isn't that what Star Wars took 3 films to accomplish?

Anyway, my opinion of this film is tainted by the fact that I'm a taoist, but the action is top notch, nobody flies for no reason, all the characters (even the comic relief) are fleshed out. great film. not the greatest, but, it's a hell of a lot better than "Shaolin Drunken Monk" (aka, Plan 9 from the Shaolin Temple) lol.