Rating:

Aka: TAI CHI MASTER

Stars: Donnie Yen, the Yuen clan, Wong Tao

Director: Yuen Woo Ping

1984, Hong Kong, Dragon Group/Peace Films

 

Ching Tao (Donnie Yen) and his brother (Yuen Yat Chor) beat up a guy when he attacks them. The guy’s father (Wong Tao) gets angry and hires a killer (Yuen Hsin Yee) to wipe out Ching and his family. Ching escapes but his family gets killed. Now homeless he saves a drunken old-man (Yuen Cheung Yan) from a fight in the street. The old man lets him stay at his and his wife’s home. The two teach him the art of Tai Chi so he can defend himself from a possible attack from the killer who's still out for him.

 

This one was surprisingly good, the same type of comedy-kung fu as the classic "Drunken Master" but possibly better with more crazy comedy and scenes.

Donnie Yen is acrobatic, fast, funny, charismatic and has some kicks that aren’t easy to beat; easily said, he’s excellent. This was his first movie and maybe his best too. The firewoks scene is excellent but it's also fact that Donnie burnt an arm badly during just that scene; but that didn't stop him from filming.

Yuen Hsin Yee (Ugly Yuen) is a good actor who seems to give an impression every time he’s on screen. Here he plays the mute killer named "Killer Bird".

The woman and her old husband (Yuen Cheung Yan) are amazingly funny, she’s the one who rules in the house.

 

This movie has it all it’s excellent, it even has a bicycle race and a breakdance sequence from Donnie. And not only that, it's damn funny too. I’ve never laughed so much watching a kung fu movie, and it wasn’t because the movie was so bad and I was laughing at the bad acting or dubbing, it was just so damn funny, especially the old Tai Chi pair, they were extremely comical.

The plot is nothing special but it works perfectly, it’s just an excellent crazy Yuen brothers movie that every kung fu fan should have.

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