Film Of The Week: MAN OF TAI CHI (2013)

SYNOPSIS:

In bustling Beijing, China, ambitious young “Tiger” Chen Lin-Hu (Tiger Chen) works as a lowly courier; but after work, he is a young martial arts star, rising through the ranks representing the Ling Kong Tai Chi tradition.  Though most associate Tai Chi with peaceful, yoga-like movements, Tiger has perfected the ancient art and started to make a name for himself in the prestigious Wulin Wang martial arts championship. 

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, police investigator, Suen Jing-Si (Karen Mok), who works for the organized crime unit OCTB, has run into a wall in her pursuit of Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves).  Donaka is a powerful Hong Kong businessmen who runs a secret underground fighting ring, where cold hard cash is made by defeating one’s opponent in a no-holds barred fight privately broadcast to wealthy patrons.  Looking for a new “star,” Donaka tries to lure Tiger with the promise of easy money. 

At first, Tiger declines, committed to the purity and integrity of his pursuit.  But when his temple is threatened with redevelopment, Tiger relents so that he may protect the legacy of Ling Kong Tai Chi.  Soon, Tiger is an underground sensation, defeating international opponents with reputations of deadly force.  But the darker side of Tiger’s skill begins to emerge.  His public fights in the Wulin Wang tournament become more aggressive, bringing Tiger unwanted attention and shame to his elderly master (Yu Hai). 

Seemingly unable to harness the darkness inside of himself, Tiger eventually agrees to work with Jing-Si to bring down Donaka’s deadly private game.  But when every fight is the fight of his life, will Tiger be able to sustain his best intentions and manage the darkest and worst possibilities of his craft?

REVIEW:

I have already owned a digital purchase of this film for a couple of months now, and I have not had the chance to write about it until this post. I thoroughly enjoyed actor Keanu Reeves in his latest directorial debut as much as I have been promoting this film since last year through its late 2013 release, and not really knowing what kind of action movie we would end up with despite my optimism. As prominent as he is on his past successes with lead actor Tiger Chen on The Matrix Trilogy, I was almost certain we would get a pretty decent film. Well, it is sufficient to add that the word “decent” would be an understatement at best.

From the get go, we are taken on a truly deep journey of the soul, with Chen leading the way as Tiger, the sole student of a unique style of Tai Chi taught by his master, played by Hai Yu. We see that Chen‘s character is one of immense youth, power, strength, good will and good intentions, all of which earn him the good graces of the public press during his tournament trials. But as with the nature all people, he remains average in that his strength and skillset also make him vulnerable, and a lot of that power is something he struggles with on a regular basis.

The story continues as we are brought into the enclaves of an illegal, multilevel underground fighting circuit hosted by wealthy, elusive criminal, Donaka Mark (Reeves) who uses his private security firm as a front for his operations. Meanwhile, with Tiger trying to improve his time management skills in fast pace of everyday life, he suddenly finds himself at the beckoncall of Donaka, the very man who could be his potential new boss, with a new job and better pay, but with a big catch. Evidently, Tiger accepts the offer and is soon thrust into a world of dark, internal conflict, shaped by the two paths now formulating his destiny: the public face of a young Tai Chi athlete with an earnest message behind his craft, and that of a man whose innocence becomes stained by evil influences that paralyze his ability to make rational decisions, and ultimately threaten the legacy and fate of the ancient temple in which his master resides and trains him.

Aside from the martial arts spectacle, Man Of Tai Chi is a pure work of art that explores just what it means to be human in a world full of events that purport one’s own idea of individuality through life choices. Accordingly, it is here that what we see in Chen‘s physicality and fight performance in the choreography is almost equally matched in his acting skills, which are pivotal to any stunt performer of his calibur in his field. And considering Chen‘s experience with Reeves, the movie delivers a fine vision of two characters from polar opposites, played by actors whose great on-screen chemistry are derived from a long friendship that any fan can appreciate for a film like this one.

The worlds in which this amazing story is told, based on Michael G. Cooney‘s screenplay, are well formulated and illustrated by some terrific scenes of drama, emotional weakness, and other few moments of peace and levity, and nothing is overplayed by our principal cast to the point where it looks like they are trying too hard. The acting is very solid and concrete between our international cast, including actress Karen Mok and Qing Yi, and actor Simon Yam, as well as The Wrath Of Vajra co-star, actor Steve Yoo, and actors Michael Tong and Sam Lee who manage to hold their own despite having smaller roles. In addition Helene Leclerc also left a pretty distinct impression with her sultry voice as fight announcer; The one exception I do have to make is that of actor Brian Siswojo. This is my first time seeing him in a film among other films he has done where his performances may have been pretty good. But, as much as I wanted to fully agree with his role as Gong, one of the fight circuit monitors who often comes in as the hype-man of Donaka’s organization when presenting Tiger, it came off a little forced and awkward in some of the few minor moments where it was unnecessary, basically. It was a little silly.

Much of Reeves‘ vision is also embodied in some wonderful locations, sets and set pieces throughout the film, with the most intriguing scene being the bar and lounge fight sequence that takes place buried within the confines of a cargo ship out in the middle of the sea and out of reach by the authorities; Everything from the tables, the walkway and the on-set extras, to the dancers and the strobe lights are all shaped like variants of the Yin and Yang signs further illustrating the very point of when Tiger becomes almost fully seduced by his skills as a fighter, which in turn also sets off another chain of events that will ultimately force Tiger to face the ugly truth of what he got himself into.

As rare as Tai Chi is seen now in a lot of action films, this movie offered a very simple, elemental blend to provide a formula for the choreography to convey what it needed to in such a modern-day setting. Master Yuen Woo-Ping and his team provided a solid foundation to tell this story on the action side, highlighted by increasing challenges and dangers presented by a vast array of fighters, namely veteran kung fu cinema actor Yu, along with Jeremy Marinas, Brahim Achabbakhe, Li Xingping and Chen Chao, as well as a special appearance by The Raid 2 star Iko Uwais, and late actor, stuntman, veteran stunt coordinator, performer and Master Yuen cohort, Ju Kun who fights Chen at the top of the film. But most importantly, the biggest deal of all to which anyone would agree would be the final fight, and as it stands, fans would be delighted to see Reeves performing intricate kung fu techniques just like the good old days under the Wachowskis. Some wirework is still a challenge, but regardless, Reeves is a solid actor, as well as a highly acclimated physical performer when called upon, and it shows in the footage.

It would have been interesting to see what Reeves initially had in mind for the “Bot and Dolly” rig, and it was unfortunate that it could not be used. Nontheless, I felt very gratified watching this movie and observing Reeves create such a film that is so crisp in its storytelling, set up and action design, with a first on two fronts-one that would see Tiger Chen break out in America as a leading man, starring in a colleague’s directorial debut.

All in all, Man Of Tai Chi is yet another exemplary result of what happens when great minds unite and think alike. Reeves, Chen and Master Yuen make a truly remarkable team, and if they got back together for another film that will further showcase Chen as a formidable leading man and further enhances Reeves‘ ability to direct, particularly a well-rounded, stylish, epic kung fu drama that speaks so much to the human spirit as this, I would not eschew it.

On a slightly sadder note, it was sometime after seeing Man Of Tai Chi that I learned among many that Ju Kun, 35, was one of the passengers on flight MH-370 that disappeared the week of March 8 this year before the plane reportedly crashed into the Indian Ocean. Although I have never known him personally, I have online acquaintances that did. And here, I want to send them my heartfelt condolences, and to further extend them to the families of the victims. We are nearly a month now since that awful event, and I hope that the healing process has moved forward for all those affected directly in one way or another by this tragedy. And that especially includes the cast and crew of Man Of Tai Chi.