08-22-2006, 06:27 PM
Jet Li kicks butt on the eve of the Boxer Rebellion.
We borrowed this from a friend. Lady Cranefly wanted to see it again because she is revising her novel, which is set in the same locale and time period.
What amazed us is how unfamiliar the whole movie seemed. We saw it soon after it came out, and it left a big impression -- probably Jet Li's second biggest vehicle at the time (after Shaolin Temple). I had forgotten that Yuen Biao plays a misguided (if ultimately good) and bungling martial artist with a few good fight scenes. There's lots if wire work, some of it sloppy, but most of it absolutely brilliant. Jet Li's major fights are against an iron body practitioner who believes he can stop bullets. Unfortunately, he cannot stop Li's onslaught, nor, later, a hail of bullets. The main fight is in a warehouse full of very long ladders, with Li and his opponent flipping the ladders all around while on them, fighting on horizontal ladders -- with every conceivable ladder trick and then some. The two of them would have made wonderful librarians, fetching books for you and me.
A Christian priest has a positive role, serving as a witness when no one else will. I recall being bothered by this when I first saw the movie, as it seems to me the priests were a major part of the attack on China's very identity.
Also, there were times when foreigners opened up with their guns at the slightest hint of a threat, killing dozens of innocent people. When I first saw the movie, I thought this was excessive demonization of the white devils. Now, however, it strikes me as very realistic.
There were lots of little nowhere scenes, attempts at levity and humor. These seldom worked, and certainly couldn't lighten the tone of this very dark tale. It reminds me of King Kong. You know where things are headed, and you can try putting a compassionate spin on things, but the end result cannot be pleasant.
There was a white guy who could fight, of course. But refreshingly he was second-rate, ultimately dealt with by Yuen Biao (though I suppose that disrespects Yuen). Jet Li's best moves (absolutely brilliant at this stage in his career) were reserved for fighting another great Chinese martial artist. We don't know the opponent's name, but I bet drunk monk knows. These fights are outstanding, and sadly show how much Jet Li has lost.
--cranefly
We borrowed this from a friend. Lady Cranefly wanted to see it again because she is revising her novel, which is set in the same locale and time period.
What amazed us is how unfamiliar the whole movie seemed. We saw it soon after it came out, and it left a big impression -- probably Jet Li's second biggest vehicle at the time (after Shaolin Temple). I had forgotten that Yuen Biao plays a misguided (if ultimately good) and bungling martial artist with a few good fight scenes. There's lots if wire work, some of it sloppy, but most of it absolutely brilliant. Jet Li's major fights are against an iron body practitioner who believes he can stop bullets. Unfortunately, he cannot stop Li's onslaught, nor, later, a hail of bullets. The main fight is in a warehouse full of very long ladders, with Li and his opponent flipping the ladders all around while on them, fighting on horizontal ladders -- with every conceivable ladder trick and then some. The two of them would have made wonderful librarians, fetching books for you and me.
A Christian priest has a positive role, serving as a witness when no one else will. I recall being bothered by this when I first saw the movie, as it seems to me the priests were a major part of the attack on China's very identity.
Also, there were times when foreigners opened up with their guns at the slightest hint of a threat, killing dozens of innocent people. When I first saw the movie, I thought this was excessive demonization of the white devils. Now, however, it strikes me as very realistic.
There were lots of little nowhere scenes, attempts at levity and humor. These seldom worked, and certainly couldn't lighten the tone of this very dark tale. It reminds me of King Kong. You know where things are headed, and you can try putting a compassionate spin on things, but the end result cannot be pleasant.
There was a white guy who could fight, of course. But refreshingly he was second-rate, ultimately dealt with by Yuen Biao (though I suppose that disrespects Yuen). Jet Li's best moves (absolutely brilliant at this stage in his career) were reserved for fighting another great Chinese martial artist. We don't know the opponent's name, but I bet drunk monk knows. These fights are outstanding, and sadly show how much Jet Li has lost.
--cranefly
I'm nobody's pony.
