Last 5 years of Asian Martial Arts films in review (2010-14)

[luckystars]

Since the advent of Bluray and (and the subsequent demise of Cine-Asia) I've gone from waiting patiently for domestic releases of films and catching the occasional release at the Cinema, to getting massively out of date and not really checking out whats new (the exception being most of Donnie Yens films). In the last few months I've got the bug again watching and rewatching stuff from recent times and I'm gradually making up for lost time.

I thought it was time to go 'social' on the project and I'm posting up a list of notable films from the last half decade, hoping the esteemed regulars on BnB will come trough with opinions on the choices and help me fill in the gaps.

Note: bold indicates a domestic (UK) release exists. Any tidbits on the releases are welcome (cut versions to avoid etc)

2010

Bangkok Knockout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjuxIbxV8Mk
Bodyguards and Assassins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vAq9h29dr0
Detective Dee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP4ZWqh1oPg
14 Blades http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWYC793liTQ
Ip Man 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkHvX_XluS0
Ip Man Legend Is Born http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwEwJmcZo2w
The Karate Kid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SmmxvHLsKk
Legend of the Fist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M-M9auD7EQ
Little Big Soldier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOln3_DjJOE
Ocean Heaven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMqXr4rigLw
Ong Bak 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4aABw0yKlk
Reign of Assassins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1XuZXxmwyA
Sacrifice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJEWZ33guH4
The Spy Next Door http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrrkQFf6QvI
True Legend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iX0ysc3EM8

2011

Choy Lee Fut http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIsCweTN0JU
Wu Xia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btCJKjAvBn0 (UK release heavily cut)
The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veI3veD-JrE
The Kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmHcjkSX6dw
My Kingdom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkNvU2tlRsY
1911 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhO9juQ1RlU
The Sorcerer and the White Snake http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoJVnniaWQk
Shaolin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=397dRKIHWk0
The Sword Identity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MToHUwmnw3E (UK release coming soon)

2012

CZ12 (Chinese Zodiac) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqxS3vwtAZc (UK confirmed as UNCUT)
The Guillotines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCuxLZAJ-yU
Judge Archer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1LUB1CeLBQ
The Man with the Iron Fists http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FyGHAUpSIQ
Tai Chi Hero Zero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0aZnxypd_I (Cine-Asia had the rights before went under)
Tai Chi Hero Hero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpIbW0dNhIc (Cine-Asia had the rights before went under)
Wu Dang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaNVj0pQwOc

2013

Badges of Fury http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt7YWlYJ9uI
The Deadly Bullet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOmQbAt0x4
The Grandmasters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKWXnNfAXfM
Journey to the West http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPanBHI1rSI



Continued later....

[saltysam]

I think Bodyguards & Assassins has cantonese audio when it should be mandarin (good film btw)

[luckystars]

I think Bodyguards & Assassins has cantonese audio when it should be mandarin (good film btw)

Thanks! Valuable info I'll check that out.

List updated

[grim_tales]

I agree with LS, I'm massively out of date too and I havent even seen Ip Man 1 and 2, Legend of the Fist, Little Big Soldier or Wuxia yet

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Bodyguards and Assassins: I liked it. I think it delves a bit too much into melodrama, especially toward the end sometimes making me cringe. Yet it strangely is decent towards some non-Chinese thought (can't give this away) and has some good fight scenes.

Detective Dee: I really liked this movie and was one of my favorites the year I saw it. My Dad even liked it . Think more along the lines of mystery with special effects.

Ip Man 2: A step down from the first film. But still worth watching.

Ip Man Legend Is Born: I was so-so on this. I probably should give it another watch.

The Karate Kid: Decent, but mostly unnecessary remake in my opinion. Of course it does not help I have seen the original countless times (cue Bananrama's Cruel Summer song)

Legend of the Fist: A so-so from Donnie. I was dissapointed.

Here is a post I did awhile ago on a pan-unity theme:

I'll pose another question: has anyone watched some of the recent HK/China collaborations? While I do overall see many positive reviews on these films, for the most part they have been mediocre to good releases with way too much similar themes combining historical eras with xenophobia and an overtly patriotic theme. Part of this is because Mainland has lots of money and too much restrictions on what you can film (no quasi-characters, no anti-heroes, not too much supernatural, no bad cops etc...). But if you watch several you get tired of the cliches of bad foreigners, a one China theme over all(many of these films are historically inaccurate though that does not bother me; they just have a way of making history much more simplistic than it could be). I have no issue with patriotic films (I love Hero), but when you watch the same theme over-and-over it gets repetitive and they start feeling like propaganda. There is so much money put into these movies and they look great, but are not satisfying.

Let's look at some of these:

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010: Andrew Lau Wai-keung): Evil Japanese, I mean seriously they are as stereotyped as they were in Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection). Weird that Jet Li's Fist of Legend is actually the most balanced (none of this is to say atrocities did not happen; there was some horrendous problems during the occupation in the early to mid 20th century).
Bodyguards and Assassins (2009: Teddy Chan): Evil Manchu (though this is the only one that was friendly towards western thought).
Little Big Soldier (2010: Ding Sheng): Probably the best of the list here. The unity theme is present here at the end.
True Legend (2010: Yuen Woo-ping): Its ending reminds you of Fearless, but another example of the evil imperalistic British (ending reminds me a bit of Ip Man 2 as well).
Shaolin (2011: Benny Chan): Evil foreigners, bad Chinese characters (if alive) come around to see that unity is more important.
Ip Man 2 (2010: Wilson Yip): Evil foreigners, bad Chinese characters (if alive) come around to see that unity is more important.

[luckystars]

Bodyguards and Assassins: I liked it. I think it delves a bit too much into melodrama, especially toward the end sometimes making me cringe. Yet it strangely is decent towards some non-Chinese thought (can't give this away) and has some good fight scenes.

Detective Dee: I really liked this movie and was one of my favorites the year I saw it. My Dad even liked it . Think more along the lines of mystery with special effects.

Ip Man 2: A step down from the first film. But still worth watching.

Ip Man Legend Is Born: I was so-so on this. I probably should give it another watch.

The Karate Kid: Decent, but mostly unnecessary remake in my opinion. Of course it does not help I have seen the original countless times (cue Bananrama's Cruel Summer song)

Legend of the Fist: A so-so from Donnie. I was dissapointed.

Agree on all of these but Ip Man 2, I thought it was ever so slightly better than the first.

We are pretty matched tho! Would be pleased if you can recommend me some stuff as the thread progresses

Have you seen sacrifice? Looks well above average and I have it on order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJEWZ33guH4

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

I bought Sacrifice (R1), but have not seen it. It certainly has its fans among critics I read (I remember Ebert liking it quite a bit.)

To really annoy you here is my full length review on Ocean's Heaven (it is also posted on Amazon and KFC):

This has been touted as Jet Li's first starring non-action drama. While that is interesting it is probably the wrong approach to think of Li's past roles before watching this movie. This is a simple bittersweet realist drama that is a moving cinematic experience because of the earnest performances. Jet Li's minimalist characterization is the right approach for his character Wang Xuechang and quite different than his action persona. The director describes Li's character as "like a man who has become a mother." He is described by others in the film as a good man, which he is. He is doing the best he can with this situation with dogged determination, not with brilliance or luck, but perseverance. Wang is a maintenance work for an aquarium and had lost his wife fourteen years ago. He also has complete responsibility of his son Dafu (Wen Zhang: also acts with Jet Li in the later The Sorcerer and the White Snake) who suffers from severe autism. Wang is also dying from liver cancer and is given around three months to live.

The film stars off inauspiciously. Wang takes his son out to the ocean to drown him and himself. This does not work because the son had secretly untied the rope and the son has one special gift in his mostly closed world -- he is an excellent swimmer. So Wang goes back to his home and work determined to leave his son prepared for his passing while his pains get worse by the day. At first he tries to find a place where he can leave his son. But either the institutions are for kids or seniors which the 22-year old does not qualify. While this proves difficult he also spends time going over simple behaviors like riding the bus, cooking eggs, and spending money so he can have some semblance of a normal life.

While Dafu spends his days swimming in the aquarium tanks he befriends a travelling circus clown and juggler Ling Ling (Kwai Lun-mei: also acts with Jet Li in the later Flying Swords of Dragon Gate; she also sings a song for the film) who also gives Dafu someone else to trust. But given that her life is nomadic and that Wang's life is slowly ebbing away you are left to wonder what is going to happen to Dafu.

This is Xue Xiao-lu's first directed film. Her only other screen credit is for the writing on Chen Kaige's Together. Xue has stated she has worked on this project fourteen years, referring to her volunteer work with autistic children, and by the time the screenplay got to be read by Jet Li it was in its seventh draft. What is impressive is the crew that was put together for this film. For the cinematography you have Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Hero), for the music you have Joe Hisaishi (Kikujiro, Spirited Away) and production design by Yee Chung-man (Tokyo Raiders, Shaolin). Having this triumvirate is quite unbelievable considering the modest budget. Their collaboration helps the film immensely in sound and image.

This is a beautiful looking film. The cinematography and production design is dominated by blue hues throughout as a constant allegory to the water in their lives. The acting from Li and especially Wen is quite good. There relationship is quite touching as is the relationship between Dafu and Ling Ling. That one is underplayed, but I think that is the right decision for this film. So much of the success of this film depends on how Wen portrays his character's interactions with these two. There are no magical solutions to the familial issues, just a lot of hard work from caring people. There are no real antagonists in this story. Some might consider this a negative, but the movie does not need it. I am glad, because Dafu's life is difficult enough and the movie is emotional enough. I had to watch it in two sittings because the first half depressed me quite a bit. I do recommend this movie and hope those who are on the fence about watching this to give it a watch. I think it is quite a good film.

There are certainly some parallels between this film and Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung's Heart of Dragon. Both films were dramatic roles dealing with a caretaker having no choice in dealing with a mentally challenged relative and both were popular action stars getting a chance to expand their acting repertoire. This film also reminds me of Zhang Yang's underrated Shower in which the relationship between Er Ming and Liu parallels that of the two main characters here. There is also a water motif present in both films though I think the allegory is stronger in Shower and more matter-of-fact here. I mention these films because both are interesting and different approaches to similar matter. Shower is also one of my favorite films.

I saw this on the R1 Well Go DVD release. But there is also a R1 BD/DVD combo available from Well Go which should have the same extras. For the extras there is an 11 minute "Making of" extra which has interviews from Jet Li, Kwai Lun-mei, Wen Zhang and Xue Xiao-lu and inserted footage from the movie. It has some good information, but is ultimately too short. There is a trailer and a teaser for the movie as well. The start-up trailers (not accessible by menu) are 1911, The Stool Pigeon and The Man From Nowhere. I found a mistake in the description on the back cover which uses names for the two characters (Sam and David) that appear nowhere in the film and there is no English dub so I am not sure where they came from. The two dubs for this are a Mandarin 5.1 Dolby and a Mandarin Dolby Stereo. There is also an R3 Edko release of this film that came out in 2010.

[luckystars]

Thanks! I know it's not Martial Art film at all but felt it still of interest for genre fans. Jet's a superb natural actor and I'm really looking forward to checking it.

Interested in opinions on The Sword Identity as I've heard mixed reviews...but I suspect I'll really like it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MToHUwmnw3E

List updated

[Markgway]

Bodyguards and Assassins -- Good film; the Cine Asia BD is Cantonese dubbed only, however their reissued budget priced DVD contains the original Mandarin/Cantonese audio.

Detective Dee -- Pants, another nail in Tsui Hark's career coffin.

14 Blades -- I have this but haven't gotten round to watching it yet.

Ip Man 2 -- Fun, but certainly not as good as the original.

The Karate Kid -- Nepotism run rampant, but it could've been worse, I suppose...

Little Big Soldier -- Another Jackie Chan disappointment.

The Spy Next Door -- Strictly for kids, not fans. You have to accept that to enjoy it.

Wu Xia -- Not terribly good.

CZ12 -- Another Jackie disappointment, Part 2.

The Man with the Iron Fists -- Glorified fan project, rarely works

[luckystars]

Bodyguards and Assassins -- Good film; the Cine Asia BD is Cantonese dubbed only, however their reissued budget priced DVD contains the original Mandarin/Cantonese audio.

Interesting.

I rented the Blu which wasn't put out under the Cine-Asia label but the new parent company E1. To be honest I didn't notice anything wrong with it but the specs were Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo.

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/ ... ssins.html

Is this the budget release. Did this actually come out?

[HungFist]

In case you're interested in what's going on in Japan... well, not much.

Bushido Man (2013)
Ugly digital video and some humour aside this kicks ass. The best crew + the best cast + no budget. The final fight is insane, like straight out of a 1980's / early 1990's Hong Kong film.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETTAq1sAv7k
- viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6230

High Kick Angels (2014)
New low for schoolgirl karate with terrible story, characters, and too many villains just waiting to get kicked... but Mayu Kawamoto kicks ass (the girl in grey school uniform). Whenever you see good fighting in the film, it's her.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HR01Pp6hrE
- viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6705

Girl's Blood (Red x Pink) (2014)
Imagine 1990's Michael Bay directing an all lesbian cage fighting movie with girl melodrama, 5 minute lesbian sex scenes, and absolutely ferocious fighting. Don't be fooled by the really bad trailer that includes all the worst bits of action (and out of context) and none of the best. Pretty awesome film.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqz0rolI_pQ
- viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6691

[luckystars]

Thanks Hung!! I've got High Kick Girl on order at the minute. I need to check those thanks for sharing.


Added more. I'm particularly intrigued by this:
The Deadly Bullet (2013) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOmQbAt0x4

Anyone got the scoop?

[grim_tales]

That looks interesting, the music in the trailer sounds really out of place though.

[Markgway]

I rented the Blu which wasn't put out under the Cine-Asia label but the new parent company E1. To be honest I didn't notice anything wrong with it but the specs were Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo.

According to Rewind the languages are Cantonese only:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/f ... ?fid=16277
Are you saying that there's a bilingual UK BD release?

Is this the budget release. Did this actually come out?

Yes, that's the one. I got it in HMV for a fiver.

[luckystars]

No I'm saying I don't remember the UK Blu being a canto dub. I think reviews can be wrong I don't like to go on hearsay only trusted experience of the *actual* disc

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Wu Xia:
Even the cut version of Wu Xia (aka Dragon for the R1) is pretty good. The wirework is overdone and their is not a lot of fight scenes, but like Detective Dee there are other elements to the storyline that makes it interesting to me (and others on KFC.)

The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate: Better off watching or rewatching any of the previous incarnations of this story.

1911: My least favorite film of 2011 and probably my least favorite JC film. A complete mess.

The Sorcerer and the White Snake: I was going over the extras on this a few days ago. Still have trouble remember certain plot elements, but overall this is in the lower echelon of films to watch that you have listed.

Shaolin: I liked it. So many facets could have been better, but overall I liked it.

Tai Chi Hero Zero: I still need to see Tai Chi Hero, but the first installment (while flawed in the drama department) Had an interesting mix of martial arts with a touch of steampunk (really could have used more of this angle) to make it worth watching.

(mini review)
Wu Dang (2012: Patrick Leung) China ** (maybe **½)/****

I am concentrating on more 2012 releases this month (and of course the next couple of months as the DVD releases trickle end for the movies I miss in the theater this month) and this pushes me to watch movies I might not give a chance for a long time otherwise. I tend to avoid reviews of films I have not seen, but I generally get a feeling of critical reception and popularity from a variety of online sources. I knew of one review from cityonfire (that I just read today), but not much else.

Tang Yunlong (Vincent Zhao) is an intellectual treasure hunter with a plucky daughter Ning (Xu Jiao). He happened upon a treasure map, while thwarting a conman that leads to seven treasures that could make him a lot of money. His daughter has been entered into a contest at the Wu Dang Mountain where Taoist monks train (the Wu Tang Clan got there name from there) and hold a contest every 500 years (this seems a little extreme; makes the World Cup gap seem quite tame). Meanwhile his daughter falls for a monk (Fan Siu-wong: Story of Ricky) who is taking care of his invalid mother. The age difference (she was 14 when it was filmed) between the two is quite large making their scenes seem a bit awkward especially when marriage is talked about. At the same time another contestant Tian Xin (Yang Mi: Painted Skin: The Resurrection), who obtained her invitation through force, is after a sword that belongs to her family. Of course she is going to end up with Yunlong.

Mainland’s censorship makes it impossible to have bad or even ambiguous characters so when someone is doing something like stealing treasures there had to be a “good-guy” reason for it. If you take this as a kid’s film it comes out better. Especially since the ending is very … sappy.

No real surprises for this one as the term middling seems to fit it appropriately. The fight choreography by Corey Yuen Kwai (All For the Winner) was decent if you are into wire-work, especially when it involved Vincent Zhao who I really liked in True Legend, but then it had too much focus on the two female leads Yang Mi and Xu Jiao (she played the boy in CJ7). I noticed a lot of doubling for Xu Jiao. But when you compare this to his choreography in Above the Law (1986) and My Father is a Hero (1995) you might wonder what happened to him -- unless you have recently seen Blade of Kings.

I really would not recommend this to anyone here, especially if you dislike wire-work fight choreography. There are enough plot holes (the whole stealing treasures under the Taoists), the tournament comes off shoddy and rushed and the relationships are boilerplate. But I do recommend this over Legendary Amazons.

City on Fire Review: http://www.cityonfire.com/wu-dang-2012-review/

[luckystars]

Todays post (Amazon UK £9)


More films added to list

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

My Grandmaster review.

I like Journey to the West. If you like Stephen Chow (and especially the two Chinese Odyssey films with him) then I think might find this a must watch. It was hugely successful in China. Funny that the latest Transformers eclipsed its BO though. It's been pretty popular with people I have lent it to.

I have all three that you bought, but have not seen those yet.

[luckystars]

My Grandmaster review.

Also received the Korean Limited Edition Blu of Grandmasters this week. The only English Subbed 'European' cut of the film.

[Markgway]

OK. I watched 14 Blades. Purists won't like it. Mainstream fans will find it more acceptable. The story is jumbled, too much CGI (for my tastes), but Vicki Zhao and Donnie Yen bump the film up a couple of notches. Neither the best nor the worst of its type.

[luckystars]

Updated list

Just ordered this:
The Kick (2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmHcjkSX6dw

[Beat TG]

Bodyguards & Assassins - 7.5/10 (good story with interesting characters and decent action)

Detective Dee - 5/10 (only liked the action, the rest was quite hard to bear)

14 Blades - 8/10 (Daniel Lee's best film to date imo, good story as well as chemistry between Donnie and Vicky Zhao)

Ip Man 2 - 9/10 (a bit inferior the original in terms of story but the action is better imo)

The Karate Kid - 2/10 (yet another bad remake)

Legend of the Fist - 7/10 (despite its' pretentious plot and Chinese nationalistic vibe in some places, I really enjoy it for the fact that Donnie goes Batman disguised in a Kato suit and delivering great action minus the final fight with the main villain)

Little Big Soldier - 7.5/10 (Chan's best film in probably 10 years or so imo)

True Legend - 6/10 (good action but the plot was a muddled mess)

The Lost Bladesman - 8/10 (not your typical ancient battle film, good performance from Donnie and among the best action and these type of films)

Wu Xia - 10/10 (Yen's best film to date, great story/acting and action)

Shaolin - 7/10 (Benny Chan delivers a surprisingly engaging film about the shaolin tale told many times already)

The Grandmaster 7/10 (good in a different way but still not as entertaining as Donnie's Yip Man films imo)

The Protector 2 - 4/10 (Good action but most are ruined by 3D/CGI and wirework, no comment on the story)

Special ID - 6.5/10 (Donnie returns to the genre he's best doing but unfortunately it's no SPL or Flash Point, great action though which shows that he hasn't lost it at all)

Iceman - 3/10 (terrible in most sense, action is decent but they aren't in great numbers and quite sparse)

[luckystars]

Thanks for the input!!


So tell me, what am I missing?? No one gave suggestions yet

[Beat TG]

Not much. Overall, I'd highly recommend Ip Man 2, The Lost Bladesman, and Wu Xia.

[luckystars]

Maybe I should give Lost Bladesman another try? When I saw it there seemed like a ton of generic warlords type movies were out and I was just over saturated