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Directed by: Chia-Liang Liu, Jackie Chan Starring: Jackie Chan, Ti Lung, Anita Mui Despite looking like a middle-aged man whose taken one too many hits to the face, Jackie Chan reprises his role of a young, mischievous, pre-folk hero Wong Fei-hung in 1994’s Jui kuen II aka Drunken Master II aka The Legend of Drunken Master. Here, coming home from a long journey to pick up some traditional Chinese medicinal supplies, Fei-hung finds himself embroiled in a dastardly plot by the proprietors of the local steel mill to smuggle priceless Chinese artefacts out of the country. And that’s it. The story, of course is only there to hang on several spectacular fight scenes featuring Chan himself. In some films this may be considered a bad thing, but in the case of Drunken Master II this is very much the opposite. Released after a deluge of wirework heavy period kung fu flicks in Hong Kong, with Drunken Master II Jackie and director Chia-Liang Liu (of 36th Chamber of Shaolin fame) had set out to outdo all movies that have come before them. And for the most part, they've succeeded. Drunken Master II showcases Jackie at the top of his game, featuring a number of incredibly entertaining fights that combine his trademark physical comedy with an unmatched agility and some very ingenious choreography. From a comical first confrontation with the villains where Fei-hung’s mother (the enthusiastic, late Anita Mui) urges her son to get totally shitfaced in order to show off his skills, to an insane match up against a hatchet-armed mob in a tea-house, to the spectacularly lengthy steel factory confrontation that tops off the film, every fight in Drunken Master II can be said to be nothing less than excellent. The only (minor) grievance I have with Drunken Master II is one overly melodramatic encounter between Fei-hung and his father (Ti Lung), a scene where Jackie’s dramatic overacting, trying to apologise to dad as he is forced to drink gallons of wine, completely dissolves any seriousness to the scene and sees it close to reaching to the silliness level of A Better Tomorrow II’s infamous “apologise to the rice” exchange. But besides this, and some occasional lulls in the film, Drunken Master II is a phenomenal martial arts flick that truly shows off what Jackie Chan could do in his prime. 5/5 PROS: Probably the best Jackie movie ever. CONS: Jackie's dramatic overacting in one scene is almost embarassing to watch. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111512/ mrkillboy fucked around with this message at 14:43 on May 11, 2004 |
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May 11, 2004 14:31
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