HBO and “kung fu” movies? Sounds good to me! New from HBO Asia and now available digitally, arrive two films simultaneously released based upon the embellished stories of two of the Ten Tigers of Canton — that illustrious, albeit little-known in the West, hall of fame of martial artists from Southern China in the 19th century. I was fortunate to receive a review code for both films, and while I would not consider myself a super-fan of kung fu movies or an expert, I do enjoy a good old Shaw Brothers classic over just about any other movie genre and have seen dozens of films in the genre.
Modern or new-age kung fu movies (and please note that I am saying that with respect, not as a derogatory term), present an interesting conundrum. On the one hand, you have a perception of what these movies are going to be like, and to be fair, typically the production values of these movies in years past has been low. That’s not to say the quality of the choreography or even the acting was accordingly poor, it’s just that the budget for the movie was relatively low. Nowadays though, even with a modest budget, there is technology to try to help fill the gap and make a fancier production, but I think to some folks, myself included, that can introduce some awkward juxtapositions — things I hope I can better explain as I look at these two movies.
First up, Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So. Cao Jun plays So Chan, a wealthy scholar who has a lot going for him. Unfortunately, his world is turned upside down when he is framed in the midst of a political battle that he’s caught in the middle of. He’s cast out from the Emperor’s court and left for dead. The Beggar Sect, a loyal band of people who oppose the government, take him in. So Chan is at first reluctant, but soon comes to embrace his new life and his friends and he becomes Beggar So. He realizes too, however, that while his martial arts skills are good, they are not good enough to seek vengeance. He becomes the student of an old man who knows of the lost art of the Drunken Fist. The old man knows a lot about it, but not everything — and his dream is that one day the rest of the art could be restored again, and it’s up to Beggar So to unlock the secrets of the Drunken Fist and win the day.
Thematically, Beggar So is pretty typical, and there’s not a thing wrong with that. I have no issue with martial arts or kung fu movies using tried and true plots because hell, they work. With Beggar So, I think my biggest complaint boiled down to a bit too much melodrama and not enough action. I’ll admit, given the film name and the advertising, I was really hoping for something along the lines of Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master movies, where the action is just mesmerizing. Beggar So has some good, but not particularly great, choreography, and the cinematography was jagged at times. By that I mean some of the cuts between scenes and the use of tech made this film feel less genuine than I think it intended to be perceived as. Overall, it’s worth watching, but I would not consider it a classic.
The second movie released by HBO Asia this week is Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-ying. Kei-ying is actually the father of a very famous character that many actors have played over the years, including Jet Li: Wong Fei Hung. In this movie, Fei Hung is about seven or eight years old. Kei-ying is a very humble and noble physician who cares for his wife and child and anyone that enters his medical hall. Unfortunately, his wife dies from an ailment he could not cure, and this is but one tragedy that falls upon Kei-yings shoulders. He also unknowingly helps a corrupt government official who pretends to be rooting out the numerous opium dens, but instead has a sinister plan that Kei-ying does not fully realize until much later. If Beggar So was dramatic, Shadowless Kick is ultra-dramatic; to the point of being difficult to watch in the later portion of the film. The final fight scene is entertaining, but is tarnished and made nigh unwatchable, especially with sound, thanks to Fei Hung’s incessant crying. I understand these scenes were intended to be powerful, and there is some good acting here and a lot of drama, but, and call me callous I suppose, the drama just didn’t set in with me for some reason and I found I was not very invested in the characters when things got to their most desperate.
Similar to Beggar So, Shadowless Kick is well worth watching for martial arts movie fans, but I would caution that it’s probably not going to be quite old school enough for you, if that’s what your looking for. Both movies have good moments and are overall worth checking out, but both also suffer from low replay value due to limited fighting scenes and too much thick drama to trudge through. At least as far as the genre goes, classic martial arts (and action movies in general for that matter), distinguish themselves from the rest by being fun to watch — something you want to see again and again over the years. As a comparative example, think about The Curse of the Golden Flowers compared to, say, Enter the Dragon. The former is a well made film, but it’s drama is thick and it makes it tough to want to watch again. On the other hand, Enter the Dragon, while offering some drama, has lots of memorable action scenes and it’s a perfect lazy Saturday afternoon movie.
Bottomline, if you enjoy martial arts films, I would encourage you to watch these two new releases from HBO Asia, but just keep your expectations somewhat tempered.
