Tai Chi 2

It's a Jackie Chan-ish martial arts movie with dangerous stunts, hair attacks, and peculiar meditations (among other things). The movie is sly yet undemanding, but it's not very well made. Then again, we don't watch this kind of movie to see lavish sets or high acting talent.

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!

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)

In the grand scheme of martial arts movies,"Tai Chi II" (not a sequel) is junk. However, for martial arts enthusiasts it might qualify as a B-flick. A sort of dramady about a young Chinese puritan student who wants to win the affections of a hottie while ridding his land of the evils of opium, this flick breaks no new ground as it finds one excuse after another for Wu to do all the same old tired Kung Fu moves we seen a gazillion times before...with the exception using his braid like a whip (yeah, right). Save some pretty scenery including Chung and identifying some of the Tai Chi position used during the fight (eg: leaping lizard, holy cow, etc.), this flick is pure cornball Kung Fu with the same sound effect used for every punch, missed-by-a-mile choreography, and lame wire fu. Lacking the grit of Bruce Lee, the inventiveness and personality of Jackie Chan, and the elegance of "Crouching Tiger...", "Tai Chi II" is just more junk food for martial art film freaks. (C)

Once again, Yuen Woo-Ping has directed another highly entertaining period kung fu movie. He seems to be very good at that. The story is fairly typical, revolutionaries and opium smugglers in turn-of-the-century China. The action is what counts. There is a lot of martial arts in this movie. Jackie Wu, who I believe studied at the Beijing wushu institute, is impressive. He does a lot of good wushu and tai chi. Yu Hai and Billy Chow also show up and do some impressive moves. The bad guy from Fong Sai Yuk 2 and New Legend of Shaolin makes an appearance and copies "Iron Head Rat" from the original Drunken Master film. There are a lot of wires as well as authentic wushu and tai chi so be warned. I also liked the fact that there is actually a relationship in this movie that goes somewhere, something I rarely see in a kung fu movie. Sibelle Hu and Christy Chung are also pretty. Overall an entertaining kung fu flick.