SYNOPSIS:
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, war hero Su Can returns home to his beloved wife and their newborn son. Six years later, his vengeful step-brother Yuang returns from war unrecognizably consumed by Dark Martial Arts and severely injuries Su as payback for a long and dark family history. Su and his wife escape with their lives but their son is held captive. Over many and long and difficult months, Su recovers from his injuiries and hones his craft with the help of a mysterious Bearded Man and his apprentice, Lord Wushu, a Golden Monk of unimaginable martial arts virtuosity. But even with this training, Su is unable to save his wife's life when she stakes out to find their son. Utterly broken by grief, Su wanders the streets as a drunken beggar. It is only when his son is once again threatened that an inebriated Su summons all his fighting skills to save him and unwittingly forges a new style of martial arts forever known as The Drunken Fist!
MOVIE REVIEW:
As far as martial arts biopics go, "True Legend" is certainly not one of the worst- contrary to what some reviews may have suggested- but it is also most definitely not one of the best. Instead, this film that sees famed action choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping return to the director's chair after many years is merely adequate as a martial arts flick but boasts nothing outstanding for it to be particularly memorable.
If you, like this reviewer, had high hopes for it, then the result could only be seen as a disappointment. Indeed, "True Legend" seemed to have many things going for it. First, director Yuen Woo-Ping himself, who had always had an interest in the subject of Beggar Su as evinced in his previous films Drunken Master (1978) and Heroes Among Heroes (1993). "True Legend" would therefore be his third on the legendary Chinese folk-hero most often associated with the 'drunken fist' form of martial arts.
Besides Yuen Woo-Ping, "True Legend" also marks the return of Vincent Zhao, who after a disappointing box-office failure The Blade back in 1997, had all but disappeared from the big screen, and for many years was languishing in TV-land. Even during his former big-screen days, Zhao had been in the shadow of Jet Li (owing of course to the fact that he had taken over Jet Li's role in the Once Upon a Time in China series after Li departed)- "True Legend" therefore looked like a golden opportunity for the equally talented martial arts star to showcase his prowess.
Alas the most glaring weakness of the film lies in its plotting. Beginning promisingly enough with the events that set in motion Beggar Su's quest for revenge, the film takes an unfortunate detour into absurdity with the introduction of Jay Chou's "God of Wushu". Though screenwriter Christine To tries to explain how Chou's "God of Wushu" helped Beggar Su invent his 'drunken fist', the sight of Chou in flowing white hair holding a golden staff set against obviously CGI-ed backgrounds is nothing short of unintentional hilarity- not to mention how this approach seemed more lazy than creative.
It doesn't help that most of the film feels almost perfunctory, leaving its audience nonchalant about Beggar Su himself. While most martial arts flicks can get away with just a serviceable story bringing its audience from one fight sequence to another, biopics need to allow their audience to be invested emotionally in their subjects- as "Fearless" and "Ip Man" have so aptly demonstrated. Sadly, the simplicity of its story and Yuen Woo-Ping awkward handling of the dramatic scenes do little to let the audience identify with the central character Beggar Su.
Like "Fearless" and "Ip Man", "True Legend" also shifts its tone in the later part of the film for a rah-rah martial arts tournament. Here, the opponents are Westerners who have little respect for the Chinese, culminating in a climactic fight where Beggar Su will defeat not just one, but several of them. One can't help but be wary of how the recent martial arts biopics have all seen fit to end with its key character fighting several evil foreigners- whether Westerners or Japanese- in an us against them manner. But unlike the earlier two films, the introduction of such a story arc here is particularly unwieldy, as if belonging to a different movie altogether.
Of course, if one is willing to overlook all these flaws, "True Legend" can still be appreciated for its awesome martial arts sequences. Here the one standout would definitely be Beggar Su's showdown with his adopted brother Yuan (Andy On) inside a well, which not only proves Yuen Woo-Ping's flair in creating exciting action sequences, but also establishes Vincent Zhao and Andy On's physical dexterity. Less effective however is the film's rowdy and messy finale, which unlike "Fearless", doesn’t quite have that crowd-pleasing nature- probably because "True Legend" doesn't let its audience connect with the character of Beggar Su.
What therefore could and should have been a thrilling martial arts biopic is in fact no more than just a standard martial arts flick. Indeed, one could hardly think that this was the return that director Yuen Woo-Ping or actor Vincent Zhao was hoping for. Especially with "Fearless" and "Ip Man" raising the bar on such genre types, there is much to be desired with this "True Legend".
SPECIAL FEATURES :
NIL.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 is a treat especially during the film’s action sequences, maximising the use of the back speakers for a surround experience. Visuals are sharp and without any noticeable flaws.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted on 6 May 2010
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