Archive: Tai Chi Master

With his latest kung fu-rious flick, Li Lin Jie proves once again that, when working with a veteran Hong Kong helmer, he can deliver the goods in terms of traditional martial arts action. So far, Lee's attempts at modem day thrillers have fallen short of the mark. His self-directed Born to Defence was regarded as a catastrophe, Dragon Fight as a mess with a few neat fights in the final reel and The Masters as a Tsui Hark movie that ran aground due to the complications of filming overseas. On his home ground and in a period piece, though, there's none better than Jet Lee. His Once Upon A Time In China brought back the old-style kung fu film with a vengeance, and subsequent efforts such as Fong Sai Yuk and The Last Hero of China have impressed. His best movie before Once was undoubtedly Martial Arts of Shaolin, in which he was directed by vintage Shaw Brothers' helmer Liu Chia Liang. For Tai Chi Master, he teams with Drunken Master director Yuen Woo Ping, who provided the action choreography on the impressive Once Upon A Time In China 2. Here, Lee and Yuen pull out all the stops to deliver the kind of artistically executed kung fu-fest that modern audiences demand. I doubt that '94 will see a better Hong Kong-made martial arts movie.

Tai Chi Master opens in the famed Shaolin Temple. This isn't the familiar Clearwater Bay back-lot seen in all the old Shaw Brothers films, but the real deal Sil Lum in Songshan. Lee and Chin Siu Ho are adopted brothers who grow up together as Shaolin monks. Jet plays the calmer, more easy-going sibling, while Siu Ho, whom you may remember from Cynthia Rothrock's Blonde Fury, is the aggressive, hot-tempered one. An incident during a sparring match causes both brothers to be banished from Shaolin, and no sooner do they set foot in the nearest town than they become embroiled in the latest round of the Ching versus Ming battle... 

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