Tai Chi Master

Tai Chi Master Review

How awesome is TAI CHI MASTER? Answer: pretty damn awesome. Years ago, this was the first Jet Li movie I've ever seen and, from then on, Jet Li could do no wrong. Not even lesser stuff like MELTDOWN and UNLEASHED could diminish him in my eyes. You gaze at all those old folks practicing their boring tai chi at the park and it all seems far removed from the exhilarating brand of tai chi you see in this film. Jun Bao's tai chi absolutely takes liberties with practical cause and effect, but it's these over-the-top visual effects that popped my eyeballs out of their sockets.

Jun Bao (Jet Li) would eventually found the tai chi discipline, but before that he and his best friend Chin Bao were youths who grew up as Shaolin monks. Jun Bao and Chin Bao were inseparable, which meant that the troublemaking Chin Bao time and again got the well-behaved Jun Bao into all sorts of scrapes (most of them pretty funny). But one particularly nasty misadventure led to the two young martial artists being tossed out of the Shaolin temple. In the outside world, Chin Bao's ruthless ambition and Jun Bao's easygoing nature force them on separate paths. When they meet again, it's set in the backdrop of a rebellion rising up against a tyrannical government. They find themselves on opposing sides, Jun Bao now an underground rebel, Chin Bao a merciless warlord. Something's gotta give.

There are several elements which make this such a good viewing experience. Start with the acting, with all the principals turning in very good performances. Jet Li isn't as self-contained as he normally is in other films. He allows himself some chances to goof off and show more personality, with some really amusing results. I really enjoyed the extended sequence in which Jun Bao loses his mind. At one point, he even thinks a wooden post is his old master. Big things were planned for Chin Siu Ho, but I guess things never did pan out for him and he never did make it as a leading action star. Still, as Jet Li's foil, Chin Bao, there is a ferociousness and a dark intensity to him that raised anticipation for that big showdown between him and Jet. The story does a terrific job, though, of laying out the friendship between the two, so it does mean something when they become estranged and then, ultimately, the most bitter of enemies. Even when Chin Bao, in his craving for power, had passed the point of redemption, I still couldn't help but feel for the guy. The showdown between Chin Siu Ho and Jet Li is worth the wait.

Michelle Yeoh is spectacular and, as always, her kung fu is a match for the guys. Acting-wise, her best moment comes during her introduction as she hesitantly approaches the husband who'd abandoned her. Then comes her skirmish with her husband's new wife, in which you have got to see Michelle spin tables with her legs and feet. I am in awe of Michelle Yeoh, and she may be the most effortlessly convincing female kung fu fighter I've ever seen in cinema.

Even Fennie Yuen, who isn't a martial arts practitioner, learns her moves enough that she's able to sell her fight scenes. But a stunt double does all her flips and tumbles and more hazardous stuff.

Plenty of rousing fights in this one, even if, here and there, you can just... sort of... maybe... see that intrusive wire supporting this or that fighter. It's a treat seeing Jet Li and Chin Siu Ho undergo the harsh Shaolin training regimen and then apply it in their scuffles, and then see Jet Li's conversion to the more fluid, more internal tai chi style. And this being Jet Li, I could almost believe he can actually create a whirlpool of leaves just by moving his hands a certain way. I look at those old folks in the park with their tai chi routines and I shake my head. Sometimes reality punches you in the face.

I also like the bit, during the fight in the Shaolin temple, in which Jet indulges in impromptu monk surfing.

This Dragon Dynasty DVD release presents the movie in its Cantonese language with optional English sub-titles. The bonus stuff includes: the always informative audio commentary by the ever lurking Hong Kong Film Expert Bey Logan (probably the most fun bit of trivia he discloses is that Michelle Yeoh can drink anyone under the table; he claims that she has a hollow leg); an interview with actor Chin Siu Ho as he talks about his background and reminisces about his experiences in TAI CHI MASTER (00:20:14 minutes, with English sub-titles); a documentary exploring the art and roots of Tai Chi, shot on location in Chen Village, the birthplace of Tai Chi (00:14:55); Director Brett Ratner and Film Critic Elvis Mitchell offer their thoughts on Director Yuen Wo-ping; Director Brett Ratner and Film Critic Elvis Mitchell rave about Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh (00:14:32); and the original home video trailer.

Tai Chi Master Overview

Superstar Jet Li shows off his legendary speed, power, and agility at the peak of his martial arts prowess in this sweeping action epic. In an age of swordsmen and rebellion, two best friends and fellow martial arts students are expelled from the storied temple of Shaolin, only to meet again on the battlefield one a power-hungry general, the other a freedom-fighting rebel, both mortal enemies. Featuring Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon s Michelle Yeoh and directed by the celebrated Yuen Woo-Ping (action choreographer of The Matrix films), Tai Chi Master is a quintessential martial arts classic.

Tai Chi Master Specifications

Tai Chi Master is the greatest "wire-fu" film from Yuen Woo-ping, best known as the martial-arts choreographer of the Matrix and Kill Bill films. "Wire-fu" films were created during the martial arts film resurgence of the late 80s and early 90s, and in terms of fight choreography, this is arguably the best of the entire genre. Tai Chi Master demonstrated Jet Li’s martial-arts abilities at their most frenetic and fluid, and Li was at the height of his athletic prowess. If that wasn’t enough, it's also one of action queen Michelle Yeoh’s finest performances in a wuxia period piece. Li and Yeoh were supported by an equally athletic cast, led by the remarkable Chin Siu-hou, who plays the nemesis to Li’s hero. Chin manages to steal every scene, even when he is being beaten to a pulp. Li and Chin play best friends Jun and Tien, who grow up in Shaolin Temple during the Manchu Dynasty. Gentle Jun is satisfied with the simple things in life, but hot-tempered Tien craves power and wealth. The film’s exposition pays homage to the 70s Shaw Brothers films (such as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin), and the closing scene in the temple is only the first of a series of spectacular martial arts set pieces. Jun and Tien’s dispositions lead them to two different paths in life; Jun joins the rebellion against the cruel Manchu regime, while Tien joins the army. Here, Yuen treads all-too familiar territory, but the actors still throw themselves into the thin material. The film’s mid-part is weighed down by the usual intrusion of feckless Hong Kong slapstick, but the story quickly recovers when Jun discovers the secrets of tai chi. When Li fires up his tai chi skills, the results are some of the best boxing scenes the genre has ever witnessed. Tai Chi Master established Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh as the best martial arts actors in the business, and Yuen the best choreographer. Though elements of the film are dated, Tai Chi Master remains a landmark in the martial arts genre. --Roberto Azula

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